Volcano's Glow: Meridian Down Book 1 by Celeste Philliips

Author:Celeste Philliips [Philliips, Celeste]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Iwake up to the sun cutting stripes of light between the trees and my face aching from the respirator.

Khade’s arm is under my neck, his fingers tracing gentle circles on my temple like he’s been helping me sleep while he just lies there staring at the sky. Or what he can see of it through the layer of ash coating the top of the shield like it’s levitating.

I push myself upright and blink down at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that.”

The corners of his eyes crinkle. “I was glad to provide the comfort of rest.”

“Ugh, stop being so… so…”

He lifts his eyebrows, waiting for me to spit something out.

“Anyway, I’m guessing we should skip breakfast.”

“I do not advise removing our masks unless it is absolutely necessary.”

“’Cause we’ll die?”

“We could survive exposure to the air by this point, probably for hours.”

“So then?”

“You would taste nothing but sulfur for several days.”

“Eugh, okay, pass on the rotten egg breath. I got a taste of it last night and I’m not in a hurry for more.”

Deep gashes of churned earth scar the clearing, chunks of moss thrown like shrapnel.

I shift onto my knees to get a look at my handiwork from last night. The blue salve has soaked into Khade’s skin, but a long, angry welt stands high across his torso. My stitches aren’t perfect. The spacing’s a little uneven, but the wound looks good, considering.

My eyes wander down the rest of his torso, taking in the little bit of padding on his abs, the way they taper into a rounded V that disappears into the torn fabric of his jumpsuit. I can’t help thinking about those piercings I’ve seen on most of the other men, and I have to focus to keep my mind above Khade’s belt.

I clear my throat. Down, girl. “You got a spare shirt in that pack?”

When I meet his eyes again, they’re blazing green, his look hungry.

He pulls himself up to sitting, muscles working under his skin, and shrugs his shredded clothes up over his shoulders.

“I’ll manage,” he says.

He reaches out a hand and pulls me close to him, that intense gaze devouring every line of my face. I sink onto my hip and let my body rest against his, my heart pounding, waiting for him to pull the mask off his face and kiss me. Instead, he scoops my head against his chest and tells me to close my eyes.

He pulls the cord on the field generator and the ash falls over us in one big cake.

We stand and shake ourselves off, squinting against the haze we’ve stirred up.

Khade lifts his chin toward the far side of the clearing where the dead albacnid lies in a grotesque heap, swings the pack onto his good shoulder, and hands me the staff.

“Maybe you should hang on to that,” I tell him. “In case.”

“You proved yourself quite capable with it last night.”

“You saw that?”

“It’s why I lost consciousness for a moment.”

I freeze, my eyebrows high. “Oh shit.

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