Free Prince of Luster by Candace Sams Page B

him tearing at the metal of the hauler bed with his hands. The air on his burned skin had to be agonizing. But he didn’t cry out again.
    She couldn’t imagine the willpower it took for him to remain as silent as he did. Suppressing that kind of pain would likely cost him later. Given everything he’d been through that day, and all she’d seen of him, he was either the bravest man she’d ever known or the most foolish.
    Whatever he was or wasn’t, he was now her responsibility. And she wouldn’t let him be caught again.
    She drove straight to the outskirts of town as fast as the transport could move. There, in a small dense forest were hillsides where the miners used to work. The caves there were devoid of any sizable stones. Miners now worked on the other side of the small colony, under the strict supervision of Prometheus, his slug minions, and Adaman Forrell.
    She knew every bush, rock, cave, and cranny. It was here, in a place where her father had told her it would be safe, that she now made her home. Slugs never came here, and she knew she and her green-eyed victim would be safe. He might not live the night, though some instinct told her he
could
.
    The transport maneuvered effortlessly, right in front of the small opening to her cave. For someone of her size, it was easy to walk right in. But for man Marcos’s height, he’d half to duck and then get on his knees before entering the small, inner chamber where he could finally stand. Standing right now wasn’t the issue. Just getting him out of the transport and into a position where he could move at all
was
.
    Nova hopped out of the driver’s seat and loped to the hauler. Marcos lay there on his side, staring blankly and curled into a fetal position. But he was still breathing. Again, her heart melted when she saw him lying there so helplessly. His current position was in direct contrast to the bold man who’d stood up to Prometheus.
    She put her face close to his and stared into his eyes. “We’re someplace safe. I’ve been here for almost two years, and the Limaxians have never found me. Neither have Forrell’s guards or the constables. They’re all in collusion. But none of them thinks this place is worth the dirt piled here. You’ll be safe. I have things that can help heal you if you want to survive. Do you want to live, Marcos? Do you?”
    Even in the muted moonlight, even as he lay so still and quiet, he turned his gaze toward her. The expression in his bright green eyes said
yes
.
    “All right, then. You’re going to have to hurt some more. I have to move you inside this cave.” She pointed behind her. “But once there, you’ll be safe. Will you try and help me one more time?”
    Slowly, Marcos pushed himself up from the floating platform. She saw the massive agony his movements caused. His eyes rolled back in his head several times, and painted an eerie picture in the moonlight surrounding them.
    The pain almost sent him into unconsciousness again, but she kept talking to him. Still, he never cried out.
    She witnessed strength that must have been delivered by the Goddess herself. He pushed himself into a sitting, then a standing position, and actually walked. It was one slow step at a time but he moved.
    “Gods of old … I-I know what this is costing you, Marcos. But once you’re inside the cave, you can cry out all you want. It’s deep within the hillsides and no one will hear. I know. I screamed for days after the plasma hit
me
.” She didn’t add that she hadn’t been as badly burned as he was.
    He kept stumbling forward, and almost fell at one point.
    When she reached out to help, he held up one hand in denial. The flesh from that arm dangled like skin from a roasted foul.
    “D-don’t touch me … may still have plasma … b-burn you.”
    Once more that day, Nova openly wept. Even now his concern was for someone else. “I’ll use my cloak. It’s eel skin, dried from creatures caught in the lakes. It’ll resist the plasma