“I guess not.” Sumi brushed the braids back from his face as she hummed to him one of the lullabies Omira used to sing to her. She lost herself to this one moment of pretend domesticity. The cave and everything else fell away as she studied Dancer’s chiseled features, and wondered what it would be like to make love to someone like him. Someone who still had a soul and a heart.

In the serene quiet of this moment, she allowed her fantasies to run wild as she imagined living with him and Kalea in a small apartment on some planet where no one would pay them any attention, and they could go about their boring lives in total happiness.

You’re such an idiot.

She was indeed. It had always been her greatest flaw. As Omira had so often mocked, she was a dreamer. Through and through.

But wanting it to be real, she leaned forward and rubbed her nose to his. Then guilt struck her hard as she remembered her mission and why she was here.

How can I ruin him?

How could she not?

Conflicted and angry at fate for dangling this in front of her when it knew she could never have such a life, she didn’t move until she heard the kids returning. Only then did she gently place Dancer’s head on her poncho, and put a few feet between them.

Thia came forward with a blanket while Sumi went to set up a few things for the night. As Dancer had pointed out, it wasn’t safe here, but they had no choice. They had to make do. At least until morning.

And if more men came for him, she’d make them wish they were facing Dancer and not her.

As they unpacked for camp, she learned why Hauk didn’t play the violin around anyone.

While digging through Hauk’s bag, Darice found the case, opened it, and curled his lip in supreme disgust. “What kind of human thing is this?”

Thia’s eyes narrowed angrily as she snatched the case from his grasp and closed it. “It’s mine. Leave it alone.” But when Thia met her gaze, she saw the truth. Thia knew it was Hauk’s and was trying to save her uncle any more of Darice’s contempt.

The girl placed it in her own pack while Darice continued to mumble in Andarion. “Shut up, Darice,” Thia said irritably. “I’m as fluent in Andarion as you are.”

That set them off into arguing with words that were meaningless to Sumi. But given the nuclear escalation of their gestures and pitch, she knew she needed to break them apart or there’d be blood on the cave walls soon.

“Thia? Can you gather more root and berries for me? We should make additional antidote for your uncle.”