The First Flame part 3

Ran turned red in the face with a mix of embarrassment and fury. Noticing the color, Eon’s stern face cracked with a smile.

She shoved him away. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” he replied, dropping his hands and fisting them as if to preserve the feeling of her skin. “But your safety cannot be risked. You have done it for long enough. I will walk ahead of you though the wilderness, I will face the enemies, and I will provide for you. There are millions of me, but only a few females. You cannot get hurt.”

“I won’t,” Ran insisted, tipping her head back

“No, because you will not be fighting.”

He walked to the fire, where the dead Tulisians was still burning and emitting a horrid stench.

He picked up a cotton sack and shook out its contents. Flat spoons, a dagger, a small container, metal coins, a book, and other random odds and ends spilled out.

Eon approached to her, holding up the empty bag. She remained standing with her chest out and her head high. Eon was tall, dark, and handsome, but she wouldn’t let him put out her light.

He placed the sack over her shoulders. “You should… cover up.”

Now look who is blushing.

“Now you’re being distant? You were squeezing my nipples minutes ago.”

He tried to mask himself, but she had already wormed into his system. She was starting to crack his code. Eon wasn’t as bleak as he pretended to be with his flat expressions. Not even the beautiful darkness of his flesh could protect him from her scrutiny.

He was short-fused and dominating. Only a goliath could own those crimson eyes.

“You did your own groping to me, Princess. We are even now.” With that, he turned around and picked up what looked useful. “Let us go. The body smells awful.”

She tied the sack around her chest, but there was only so much it could cover. Her belly remained bare. She desperately looked around for her neck brace, but didn’t see it anywhere. It was extremely important that she found it. Without it, she had no translator or armor. If she ran into a Tulisian, she couldn’t communicate who she was.

At least she had her sword. It would be harder fighting in shorts and the sack she wore for a shirt, but she wouldn’t be defenseless.

She picked up the impressive piece of metal, admiring its design for the hundredth time in her life. The sword belonged to her father, who gifted it to her when she began her training all those years ago. At first, she couldn’t even lift the heavy thing. She was a warrior now, though.

She walked away from the fire, hating the stench. Eon was still looking around resources, but she could tell that he was keeping a close eye on her.

There were dry, leave-less trees for as far as the eye could see. Wanting to get a better view, she stabbed her sword down and climbed a tree. The thing was brittle under her hands, but it held. When she reached the top, she squinted at the horizon. She didn’t like what it had to offer. An ocean of sand surrounded them. They had crashed into a dessert.

There was a huge cloud of smoke nearby. That must have been the crash site.

“I see the ship, or at least what remains of it.”

“Good. We will go there.”

“We can’t poke around for too long. The thing will probably explode in our faces. Or worse yet, the Tulisians will track us down and do the blowing up for it It looks like this moronic trio were only travelers.”

She climbed down the tree and met Eon on the ground. When she picked up her sword and turned her head to look at the body, Eon grabbed her upper arm and started guiding her away.

The move made her heart stutter behind her abused nipple.

He was trying to shield her from the violence. It was an unnecessary protection, but her chest didn’t seem to mind.

“Shouldn’t we kick dirt over that fire to put it out or something?”

“There is no life on this forest. No birds chirping, no animals lurking. The trees produce no fruit. It would not matter if they caught fire.”

“Fair point.” She tugged her arm free and lifted her sword to lay it over a shoulder.

They set off, walking barefoot over Tulis’ brutal ground. The smell of smoke clouded their lungs the same way their presence clouded each other’s minds. Eon secretly kept his hands fisted, and Ran gripped her sword tight to prevent herself from crossing her arms over her chest.

Eventually, the smoke became thick enough to make their eyes burn. If they had the ability to cry like their mothers, their faces would be dripping. They could cry as babies, but the ability went dormant as they aged.

She looked at Eon. Who was his mother?

When they arrived at the site, they didn’t need to get any closer to tell that the ship was destroyed. There was nothing they could salvage from it, and it was a wonder that the Tulisian travelers managed to drag them out.

Wordlessly, they turned their backs on the fire and debris. They walked around the dead forest for hours, looking for water or food. When they figured that they were out of luck, they headed toward the endless desert, where they knew worse things awaited.

Although the sun was dipping, the sand was hot under their bare feet. With every step they took, the sand sunk. It felt like every step they took was useless.

The idea of staying in the needle forest was tempting, but they knew better. The Tulisian scouting squad would be hostile. They would shoot first and ask questions later. It was best to get in communication with Ezron or The Federation so they would tell to the Tulisians that this was all a horrible misunderstanding.

Siox.

That insufferable asshole was behind this. She was going to kill him the next time they met. That is, if her family didn’t get to it first. An attempt against a royal, especially a female, was a death wish. Of course, Ran wouldn’t let her family bloody their hands. She would personally decapitate that bastard and drink his blood.

Hmm. I’m thirsty. Some blood sounds great right now. 

They walked so far into the desert that when they looked back, there was no hint of the dead forest. Thirst was prickling her throat, making her worry. Dehydration was a horrible way to go down.

“It is getting colder,” Eon spoke after hours of tense silence.

“Yeah.” She dropped to her knees and fisted the sand. As they walked, the sand remained hot. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

He nodded. “Sand blankets.”

Well, at least they wouldn’t freeze to death.

“If only we could drink sand too,” she sighed.