Jamen’s aghast expression altered. He’d seen something. He gesticulated at the laser beam by her feet—the one lowest to the ground. The red line was broken, incomplete. “Kneel. Crawl. The bottom part of the barrier is still inactive. Quickly. I’m too big to fit through.”

She clung onto the sparkfur. Damned if she was going to leave it now. If it was worth risking her life for, then it was coming with her. She threw herself onto her belly, her arms stretched out in front of her with the sparkfur in one hand, the other clawing at the dirt as she wriggled forward like a worm. She lost her hat along the way and when the apex of her bottom brushed against the barrier, a zap of electricity spurred her on. The breach was closing.

Chapter Twenty

She flopped on the ground by his feet and didn’t move. Her lips were tinged with an ominous blueness and her eyes were shut. The creature she’d clung onto was as limp as she was.

Jamen crashed onto his knees, not daring to touch her. They were far away from any medical support and he had nothing to help her. Why had he brought her here? What had possessed him?

Tentatively he reached o

ut and as he did, she gasped for air. She gulped a lungful, then another, as if she was drinking to slake a terrible thirst. Lifting her head, she opened her watery eyes and blinked at him. The color returned to her pale cheeks.

In her hands, the sparkfur squeaked pathetically. Both of them were alive!

He drew her into his arms, ignoring the little animal that she refused to let go of, and kissed the crown of her head and her tangled hair. Only now could he acknowledge the fear she’d created in his mind and body—his racing heartbeat and the cold sweat trickling down his spine. She stirred and with his help, scrambled to her feet. Her pants were covered in red dirt, the scratched kneecaps exposed where the fabric had torn in her haste to crawl through the gap in the barrier.

Now wasn’t the time to reprimand her for her stupidity. She had inhaled potentially poisonous gases and the quicker they returned to his mother’s house, the better.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes,” she croaked through dry lips.

“Put it down.”

She shook her head. “Not yet. It might go back through again.”

“Put it down, Paige.” He’d had enough of saving silly animals.

“No.” She wriggled out of his grip and staggered away from the barrier and back along the path they’d taken.

There was no point in arguing with her. She possessed a stubbornness that was unbreakable. And courage, too. He had to acknowledge what she’d done though foolhardy was brave.

When he joined her, he supported her as she stumbled, but he didn’t force her to relinquish her grasp on the sparkfur, who remained remarkably placid in her arms.

The shuttle came into view, at last. He breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t wait to leave the buffer zone. She halted, rocking on her toes and stared at the bundle of fur.

“You can’t bring it with us. It’s not a pet. It’s wild.” He spoke with a gentleness. For some reason she’d become swiftly attached to the creature.

She nodded, the tears welling in her eyes. Crouching down, she opened her arms and the sparkfur hopped out of her embrace. It hesitated, sniffing the air, before scurrying away into the nearby rocks.

“Bye-bye, little thing,” she said in English.

He helped her up and this time with her arms free of their burden, she crushed her body against his and let out a low sob.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

The apology was welcome, but it didn’t address his concerns; she acted recklessly and in defiance of him. “Not now,” he said. “We need to get you checked out.”

“I’m okay,” she said, smearing the tears on her grubby cheeks with the back of her hand.

“My mother’s doctor will decide that.” He took her wrist and as she glanced over her shoulder to see the sparkfur disappear, he chivvied her along. “Come.”

He concentrated on flying the shuttle, focusing on the controls to steady his hands. Behind his seat, Paige rested in hers and remained quiet. There were things to say, but only when they were both ready to deal with the issues. What churned inside his belly was more than anger or disappointment at her actions; the feeling went deeper than that. He had nearly lost her—an unimaginable thought.

His mother, upon seeing the pale face of Paige, knew something unforeseen had happened. He quickly explained and she summoned her personal physician. Tonya had gone, having left earlier in the morning to resume her duties. There had been a brief goodbye and she’d promised to stay in contact, something she’d not done before, and he guessed it was because Paige intrigued her. She wanted to see where things went next.

So did Jamen.

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