Without Hesitation, Talia Jager [warren buffett book recommendations txt] 📗

you trying to show off, Empress?” I teased.

“Maybe.”

A hint of pink colored her cheek. I was glad she was finally talking. I knew she hated me. She had told me plenty of times. The way I betrayed her was not something easily forgiven—if ever. The silence was killing me though. I wanted to hear her voice, watch her eyes light up as she talked about something she loved. Revel in her animated expressions. I moved her hair off her neck and traced her marking. Slowly I pressed my lips to it and felt her body shiver. I wanted so much more, but instead I moved her hair back into place and buried my face in it. I couldn’t get enough of her milk and honey scent.

I thought about what she said. Terronda? What did I know about that planet? “Terronda. Dangerous terrain, erratic weather, survivable, but difficult. Seems accurate. There’s a settlement somewhere.”

“And if we can get to that settlement, we can call for help.”

We got up at first light determined to make it across the ice. Not that either one of us had any clue how far it spanned.

“Ready?” I asked.

“No,” she answered. “But we have no choice but to try, right?”

Truth was, there was no way that either of us could be ready for this. We didn’t have the proper gear for cold weather. It didn’t take long for Akacia to start shivering.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked.

“Yes.” I wasn’t as cold as she was apparently. In fact, I was surprised that it wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be. Inhaling deeply, I released my breath, which formed in a white cloud.

The ice was beautiful, but deadly. One wrong move and we could die. The way the sun danced off the ice made me squint and I wished for sunshades.

The ice spikes got steeper and in some places we had to crawl over them. The cold that had seemed mild at first now whipped at my face and crept under my clothes. Oh, how I wished I had something hot to drink. Or to be wearing one of those protective suits to help with the temperature.

We walked sideways among the spikes. I shoved my foot into the snow, pressing down, making sure I had good footing. A deep, booming noise erupted and a cascade of white thundered down the mountain. We both fell backward, snow covering us. I began kicking immediately trying to get us out of there before we suffocated. The snow on top wasn’t too deep and I burst through it. Taking deep breaths, I searched for Akacia. She had been right next to me. Using my already numb hands, I dug through the snow and grabbed her, pulling her free.

Her eyes were alight with fear and she was hyperventilating. “Breathe. You’re safe.”

“Can’t…” she gasped, trembling from cold and panic.

I met her gaze and repeated, “Breathe.” I took deep breaths to show her what I wanted her to do and soon her breathing stabilized.

We were both shivering now that our clothes were wet from the snow. Her lips were tinged with blue. We had to keep going. We couldn’t stop. I took her hand in mine and pulled at her. “C’mon.”

“Look,” she said with chattering teeth and pointed when we finally made it over a high snowdrift. “Are th…those tr…trees?”

They were far in the distance, but I thought she was right. We could make it by nightfall if we hurried. I tugged her hand and forced her to continue on.

“I’m so cold, Ever.” She slumped against the ice.

“I know. We have to keep going.”

“Rest.”

She was getting tired and hypothermic. I had to get us out of there. I couldn’t let her die here. I needed to warm her up, but how would I do that quickly without anything?

“No. You can’t. We can’t. We have to keep going.” I grabbed her and without thinking, pressed my lips against hers. The kiss was intense, filled with passion and fire. My heart beat hard and fast and I hoped hers was doing the same. She moaned into the heated kiss, pressed into me and our tongues met. Her hands were on my back, holding me against her. I was the first to pull away. If it weren’t for the fact that we had to get out of the cold, I would have happily kissed her all day long.

“I need you to walk with me.”

She nodded with eyes wider and more alert than they had been a moment before.

Before we continued on, I scooped some of the snow up in the bowl. Once it melted, we could drink it.

The ice thinned and soon our feet touched rock and then dirt. Akacia stumbled, but I grabbed her and held her up. We needed to get further from the ice. If we could make it to the trees, I could build a fire.

Arms wrapped around each other, we finally made it. We both fell to the ground at the edge of the tree line.

My body warmed quickly, but my hands were red and raw. Akacia was still shaking. I needed to get both of us warm. “I’ll be right back,” I told her and wandered into the forest to gather as many branches as I could. My hands were so cold that it took extra long to get the fire started. Both of us started to relax as we warmed up. I offered Akacia water first. She drank some and gave it back to me to finish.

Once I was toasty warm, I knew I needed to find us food. I set up a trap and looked around. I saw a plant that I knew grew nuts. Kneeling next to it, I pulled it out and brought it back to the fire.

The fire I built kept us warm. I wanted to talk to her. To hear her voice. Learn more about her. What she said before about not being able to move on circled in my head, filling me with regret. Maybe if I hadn’t turned her over to Caspar, we would have had a shot. Maybe in another life. Still, I dreaded the moment that we would part because I knew she wasn’t going to have anything to do with me once we were off this planet. So I might as well talk to her while I could. Though I wasn’t sure why I was torturing myself.

“Tell me something.”

Akacia turned to me and studied my face. I wasn’t expecting her to respond, but she did. “Just something? Or something in particular?”

“Something interesting.”

She poked the fire with a stick. “My life pales in comparison to yours.”

“I’m sure there’s something.” I handed her a few nuts.

“You would just call me privileged. I spent my childhood with parents who loved me. When they died, it fell to the counsel to raise me, teach me, and train me. Then when I was old enough, I took over.”

“No special moments? No first love?”

She looked up and held my gaze. “No.”

“What were your parents like?”

She laughed. “What I remember apparently isn’t who they were.”

“They must have loved you.” I popped a few nuts in my mouth.

“I guess. I mean, they must have, right? To do something so crazy?” The fire danced in her eyes. “My mom was a good teacher. She was kind and patient. Everyone loved her. My dad was smart. He was confident and committed. I looked up to him.”

“So he was the Emperor of Valinor?”

“Yes, but he was also a scientist. He was the head of Daystellar Research Incorporated. He loved science. Loved research…”

Her words faded into the background. Daystellar Research Incorporated…DRI. My mouth went dry. Those were the people responsible for…well, my whole life. Akacia’s father was the head? It made sense, though. The experiments. Her nanites.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I…uh…think I heard my trap going off.” I stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

My mind filled with questions. How could the universe be so small? I had always imagined myself meeting the people behind DRI. Finding out more about the experiments. I had pictured a crazy old guy. It was also bizarre to find out he had a family, was the Emperor of a planet, and that the people loved him.

In the woods, I found a small animal in the trap. Quickly, I snapped its neck, filled my pockets with berries, and returned to the fire.

Akacia looked up as soon as I stepped out of the trees. Her eyes lit up at the sight of food in my hand. She didn’t say anything else and I didn’t offer an explanation as I skinned and cooked the animal.

I overcooked it a little, but it was food. We ate the nuts and berries with it. Afterward, I buried the bones.

“What about your parents?”

I looked up. “What?”

“You asked about mine. What about yours? What are they like?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. She was watching me, waiting for me to say more. “They’re smart, resourceful, kind people. At least I think they are. I was taken from my parents when I was young and trained on a ship. I don’t remember much about my family. I know what they look like, but who they really are…I can’t answer that. Everything I do, I do it for them.”

She was satisfied with my answer and I was thankful for that. Talking to her was scarily easy. I wasn’t used to it and I wasn’t sure how much I should tell her. I didn’t want her looking at me differently. More than anything I wanted a chance to make things right.