Blix pulled herself higher onto Alf’s shoulders, twisting in the harness to keep it from putting pressure on the throbbing wound. Now you’ll see what I have to deal with, he’d said. She burst out laughing at the thought. The shaking from her laughter made her butt hurt even worse, but she couldn’t help it. Alf had just called her a pain in the ass.

“What’s so funny?” He leaned back, the five-day-old scruff of his cheek prickling against her sensitive skin.

Her breath caught in her chest. Could he be more annoying? She was supposed to be furious with him. She was furious with him. He’d just called her a pain in the ass. But he was so stupid sexy. “Nothing,” she ended up saying, but at least she had forced some proper annoyance into her tone.

Shadows glided past her as carried her through the darkest parts of the forest. She closed her eyes, leaving the navigation to him. He had a map in his head. Surely, she could trust him to find his way. Would a guy refuse to look at a map, even if it was right there in his head?

He stopped in a small clearing and crouched to set her gently on the ground.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered. “Trackers?”

“Major Healing’s off cooldown,” he said in a low voice. He reached back and helped her out of the harness.

“I thought…” She decided to let it rest. She’d already alienated him enough. Balancing on her right bun, she looked up at him. Waiting. While he just stared at her. “Alienated,” she said to fill in the silence. “If this was a science fiction movie, that’s what it would be called. Alienated.”

Alf grinned. It wasn’t quite a chuckle, but it was nice to see the stress crease disappear from between his eyebrows, even if it was only for a few seconds. “Jane hasn’t said anything all day. Either she trusts us, or she’s gotten bored an moved on. I can’t figure out which would be most disconcerting.”

“Of course, she trusts us. These aliens have no idea what they’re doing.” Blix looked up at him. Like a poodle begging for table scraps, she thought. Disgusting. She wiped the eagerness from her face and waited calmly for… whatever he decided to do. She would never be a poodle. Even if her life depended on it.

“I’m really sorry.” His eyes matched his voice. “I’ll heal your face next, okay? It’s only one more hour, but I can’t handle you being in pain any more.”

“What about your leg?” she asked. And why hadn’t she considered it before? He’d been walking on it for the last five minutes. God, she was such a bitch.

“It’s fine. The dust has already started healing it.” He reached out for her, but she flopped down on the ground, tired of him always trying to help. Not that he hadn’t been helping her all night. “I’m onto you, Alf Alvarez. You just want to feel me up.” She wiggled her butt at him suggestively.

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Alf froze, right hand extended.

“Just kidding,” she said, but when he still didn’t move, she added, “It’s probably a bigger bonus for me, than it is for you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he mumbled before finally making contact. Such a big hand… It flooded her with tingling warmth that slowly expanded out to fill her entire body. It was even more intense than before. And before had been ridiculous.

“Wow,” she said when she finally remembered how to speak. “I wish I had gotten hit by more arrows.”

“We should get going.” He helped her into the harness set off at a rapid pace through the woods. “What does it feel like?” he asked after a long silence. “When I cast healing on you?”

She grinned, but decided he was probably still a virgin. Not that she was judging. It was impossible for a super brain to get through middle school without a boatload of scars—social and emotional as well as physical. “It’s impossible to describe with words. Maybe someday I’ll show you.” She died a dozen deaths the second the words left her mouth. She couldn’t believe she’d said that. When had she gotten so brazen? “Um… What does it feel like for you?”

“Kind of like sticking my hand in a fire and holding it there.”

Blix sucked in a breath. She needed to say something, anything, an apology or something sympathetic, but her brain had completely locked up.

“I’m so sorry,” Alf blurted out. “I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay.” She willed her words to be true. “I… didn’t know.” She wrapped her arms around him and just sort of lay there, holding him tight, but whether she was comforting him or he was comforting her, she couldn’t exactly say.

They came to a wide trail at the top of the ridge and followed it south for what must have been several miles before turning west to head back to whatever was left of Berkeley.

“Wah!” Alf jumped like he’d been hit by another arrow. “Don’t scare me like that,” he said in a low voice. “We’re destroying the competition just like we said. What did you think we were doing?”

“Is that Jane?” Blix asked. “Tell her we’re in the middle of something and need to be quiet.”

“She can hear you,” Alf said and then fell silent for a full minute. “Fine, but not until after we… execute the current plan.”

“It’s impossible to describe with words,” he said. “Just watch, and we’ll show you, but I have something important I have to do now. Bye.” He jerked to a stop.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing.” He crouched in the middle of the road and began unbuckling the harness.

Blix searched the trail behind her but didn’t see anything.

“Hop off.” He helped her out of the harness as she continued to search for mobs.

“What’s going on?” she hissed.

“Major Healing is off cooldown.” He sat down facing her. “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t have an unheal spell.”

She nodded, unable to find the words. Taking a deep breath, she captured his hand and pressed it to the ruined side of her face. “Thank you…”

One second, two seconds, three… Nothing happened. Her eyes sought his. He didn’t seem frustrated. Had he even tried?

His hand pulled gently away, leaving her cheek suddenly cold.

No!

Leaning closer, he searching her eyes as she searched his. No disgust, no revulsion, she couldn’t detect the tiniest hesitation. His lips pressed to her cheek, trailing warmth over every square inch of scar tissue.

Then, almost reverently, he cupped her cheek with his hand and flooded her senses with waves of prickling pleasure.