Page 42 of Solar Bound
Dani straightened and pushed to her feet despite the pain. She limped across the uneven terrain. Her gaze stayed fixed on the dark canyon entrance. Waiting. Watching. Ready.
Chapter
Twelve
The jeep bounced violently as it navigated a particularly rough section of the canyon floor. Solar maintained his position in the back seat through sheer will, his energy anchoring him in place while Lunar seemed to flow with the motion, his shadow form adapting to each jarring impact. The silver emergency blanket Poppy had thrown over them to mask their energy signatures crinkled with each movement, creating an irritating sound that Solar's enhanced hearing found particularly grating. It also uncomfortably trapped Lunar’s energy next to his.
His mind, however, was focused on a single objective. Find Dani.
"There," Lunar said suddenly, pointing ahead.
Solar's energy surged at the sight of a figure standing in the desert, waving urgently. Even from this distance, he recognized the distinctive red of her hair, the determined set of her shoulders. Dani.
Relief flooded his system with such intensity that his skin brightened involuntarily beneath the concealing blanket. Lunar grunted at the release of his energy. Solar didn’t care. She was alive. She was here. That was all that mattered.
Poppy pulled up beside her, and Dani immediately climbed in, squeezing into the back between Solar and Lunar. The moment she settled beside him, Solar felt her warmth, sensed the subtle electromagnetic signature that was uniquely hers. Something within his core energy aligned in response, a synchronization that felt both foreign and essential.
"Thank god you made it," she said breathlessly. "Milano teams are swarming everywhere." She looked around, her eyes scanning their faces. "Where's Eclipse?"
Solar noticed how she winced slightly as she shifted position and the careful way she held herself. She was injured. The realization sent a protective surge through his energy field that he struggled to contain. Who had hurt her? How severely?
The question about Eclipse hung in the air, unanswered but for a slight shake of Poppy's head.
"We need to keep moving," Lunar said after a moment. "Milano will expand their search perimeter once they realize we've escaped the caves."
Poppy nodded and sped up, following a wash until it merged with a more defined trail. Solar maintained a careful distance from Dani despite the cramped quarters, aware that his energy emissions might harm her if not properly controlled. Yet even this minimal proximity brought a strange comfort.
"I've got water, food, and some basic first aid in my pack," Dani offered, passing a water bottle to Rowan. "And we managed to grab these from the suite."
She pulled out a small object that Solar recognized immediately as Eclipse's energy stone, along with several other Zorveyan devices. His surprise must have shown on his face.
"How did you know to take these?" he asked.
"I figured they might be important," Dani explained. "When Milano started closing in, one of Rowan’s alien enthusiast friends figured they shouldn't get their hands on any more alien tech. They gave it to me for safekeeping."
Her simple explanation bore none of the self-congratulations a Solarus warrior might have displayed after such a mission.
Rowan eagerly reached for the stone. "Can we use this to contact him?"
"Possibly," Solar told her. "The energy stones are attuned to their owners. It might respond to Eclipse's signature if he's within range."
As Rowan examined Eclipse's energy stone, Solar's attention remained fixed on Dani. He felt her leg slide against his. In the fading light, he could see scrapes along her arms, a darkening bruise on her cheek, and the careful way she kept adjusting on the seat whenever they hit a rough patch of desert. What had she gone through to get back to them?
Why would she put herself through it? For him? The concept was as foreign as it was compelling.
The jeep jostled over rutted earth, causing Dani to wince visibly. Solar instinctively reached out, his hand stopping just short of touching her shoulder.
"You're injured," he whispered, his voice low enough that only she could hear.
Dani met his gaze, a small, pained smile touching her lips. "I've had worse."
"How did this happen?" The question emerged more forcefully than he'd intended.
"Motorcycle crash," she admitted. "Milano patrols came. I had to go off-road."
Solar processed this information, his energy surging with a complex mixture of concern and admiration. "You should not have taken such risks."
"Says the alien who got hunted through a cave system by mercenaries," Dani countered, her green eyes holding his with a defiance that somehow made his core energy resonate more strongly.
