High Flyer (Verdant String) by Michelle Diener

Author:Michelle Diener [Diener, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eclipse
Published: 2020-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Hana woke in Iver's arms again.

She could get used to this, although if she were honest, she'd prefer a soft bed inside four walls, rather than rocky ground under an overhang.

The sun was just rising, lighting the sky above them with pinks, oranges and reds--another type of shadow fold, a mirror of dusk the day before, although not quite as spectacular, with the sun coming from the opposite direction.

She moved her foot carefully, wriggling her toes, and felt a sharp pain run up her leg, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

She was better now she was away from the camp. Much better.

The first gentle fizz in her blood happened as soon as Iver had lifted her over the wall. She'd felt her upgrade wake up, sluggish but thankfully still there, with every step she'd taken.

There was also the relief of having the deep, thrumming beat of the invisible engine fade behind her.

For a while there, lying in the medbay, she'd been terrified her upgrade had been permanently damaged.

She'd suddenly realized she did not want that.

After nearly two years, and plenty of anguish, she'd accepted her new self. She didn't want to lose it.

Right now, she wasn't anywhere near her peak--the magnetic fields here were too strong--but she never was anyway unless she was in Bero or flying high. She could live with the weak response she felt now. It was way better than the dead feeling she'd had before.

“You awake?” Iver nuzzled the top of her head.

“Just about.”

She lifted her hand and covered his own where it splayed just under her breasts. Squeezed.

“Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“You know I wouldn't leave you.” He drew her back against him and she tightened her grip on his hand.

“How did you get in?”

“Hitched a ride in the back of the lander right from the start.”

Hana drew in a quick breath. “Were you the one who took the supplies?”

“No. That was Barre. I was lucky to get in before you arrived.”

“The leader at the camp is angry about the theft. I think Barre is going to regret doing that.”

“Now that you're gone, they may decide I'm to blame.” Iver brushed a finger down her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Did anyone see you at the camp?” She turned in his arms and looked up at him.

“They saw the back of me, carrying a box toward the accommodation huts. I don't know if they worked out later that I wasn't one of their crew, but they didn't at the time.”

“Don't you think they'll assume I escaped on my own?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I kicked the door in from the outside. And you weren't in a good state last night.”

He was right about that.

Iver had half-carried her after they got beyond the river. She'd run out of energy and couldn't go on.

“How close are we to the camp?” She rolled back onto her side, looking out at the view from the overhang.

They were on a

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