Page 57 of Stealing the Star Stone
She rolled her eyes.“They swell…when my period draws near.”
“Really?”Horror contorted his features.
“Yup.Welcome to womanhood.”She chuckled as she headed clockwise.
“Not funny,” he called, stomping after her.
A vision of his swagger in denims with the coat flapping behind her had her spinning to arch a brow at him.Sure enough, he was staring at her ass.Instead of responding, she faced forward, trying to unravel how she’d known his thoughts, had seen through his eyes.This planet had to be affecting her mind.Could be the air?That made sense since she hadn’t touched anything.With machete in hand, she hacked at the fauna, making a path for them while keeping the side of the cavern in view.Hours ticked by, sweat formed, and the thought that they were going in circles ate at her.
She stopped when Thorne offered her a bottle of water.“This place is huge.”
“Yeah,” he said, after a long drink from his bottle.“I haven’t seen any lettering or alien-made objects to guide us.”He grimaced and hitched a thumb at the center of the oasis.“We could try there.If I was an alien culture, that’s where I’d put a marker or shrine.”
She gazed in that direction.“I’d build it into the rock walls on the circumference.”
He stilled.“No, we’re not splitting up.”
“It would cover more ground, and you can’t get lost.”
“When you fell into a hole?Who’s to say there isn’t another?Or a massive creature swallows you in one bite?”
“The problem with actors is their overactive imagination,” she said, taking another gulp of water before capping the bottle.“I just want to reach our starting point, to make sure we’re not missing arrows or other instructions.Then we can head to the middle.”
He peered over his shoulder.“I haven’t heard anything other than the wildlife.”
“Same.”She dipped her head, fear building in her spine.Orien wouldn’t give up, not if their footprints led to a solid wall of rock.He’d find a way in.
Thorne flashed his smirk.“We’re lost, thanks to you.I’ve been kidnapped by the sexiest man in the galaxy.”
She laughed.“Humble, much?”
“Nominated for that title two years in a row, I believe.”He puffed out his chest then sighed.“Everything’s sore, Nova.This jungle-forging isn’t for the faint of heart.”
She nodded.“To the beginning, then we stop for lunch.”
He grinned.“Sure, protein bars sound good about now.”
She marched on, slashing or holding back snapping vines.Great silver leaves moved aside as if sensing their approach, coating the ground with a fine layer of white pixie dust.She stomped her feet, trying to keep the stuff off her boots.Who knew if it was like acid or a narcotic.She’d rather not find out.But with every thump-thump, a fresh cloud of white rose.So, she gave up on that futility.
When Thorne stumbled, she spared him a glance.Sweat drenched the T-shirt to his chest, and he’d looped the coat through the bag’s straps.The temperature, its warmth to be expected of a jungle climate, wasn’t hot enough to cause discomfort.They’d been walking for hours, but her body was in pique condition.
She paused at a pool of water that disappeared under jagged rock.It was orange, and so clear, she could see the bottom where iridescent eels swam between silver weeds.They seemed to be the length of her arms, and tiny green fish trailed each one.Beyond that was a shore then more jungle.Somehow, she knew, they were close to the start.Then they could head to the center.
“What bothers me,” she said, facing Thorne who’d dropped the bag and sank onto the sand.“Where’s an exit?We need to get out of here.Up isn’t an option—no rope.”
“Didn’t see any on the shuttle,” he said before drinking more water.
“Which means into another hole or cave or through a secret archway.”She wiggled her fingers.“Gimme a bar.Might as well eat.”
His smile was weak, but he did as asked, handing her a purple-wrapped bar.“Blackberry.”
She took a bite, chewing around the ‘berry’ pieces.“Want me to investigate the opposite shore while you rest?”
He bit into his and moaned.“Didn’t realize how hungry I was.”Waving his bar at the pool, he said, “Be my guest, but stay within line of sight.”
With the bar gripped between her teeth after every bite, she hacked a path around the pool until she reached the other shore.She waved at him before heading deeper into the foliage.The cavern’s wall was to the left, rising high with nary a carving.To the right, the ground climbed a little to the middle of the oasis.
She struck stone and glanced down, finding geometric rocks stacked high.“Found something,” she called.
