Boulder
From the moment I got Christina inside the drone we were in constant physical contact. My hands on her thigh, interlacing our fingers, or playing with her long brown hair. We didn’t talk much, mostly out of respect for Magni, who sat quietly starring out the window trying to spot Laura.
Our eyes searched the streets too. At least mine did. There was nothing I wanted more than for him to be reunited with Laura and take her back home with us. Hours passed and the closer we got to the border, the more somber he grew.
After a few hours of flying, Jonah turned in his seat and asked Christina. “What did you think of Boulder’s new haircut?”
She smiled and looked up at me. “I think he looks really handsome.” That brought out a smile on both Jonah’s and my face. “But he was always handsome,” she added softly and squeezed my hand. “It’s just easier to see when he isn’t hiding behind his beard and wild mane.”
“And the clothes?” Jonah asked.
She wrinkled her nose and pulled at the golden scarf. “It’s not really your style, is it?” Her fingers trailed up to my face and she shook her head in disbelief. “And you’ve got makeup on.”
“Of course – have you seen all the scars those two have?” Jonah complained.
“It comes with being a warrior,” Christina mused without taking her eyes off me. “It doesn’t bother me.”
Jonah was still talking but all I could see and hear was Christina. Her eyes were telling me a million things that she didn’t want the others to know. My hand slid to her thighs, squeezing her tightly, letting her know that I was never letting her go again.
It felt like we were having a real conversation in our own little bubble, making promises of what was to come.
“Is that Laura?” David exclaimed when a red-haired woman came into view.
“Where?” Magni eagerly leaned forward. “No,” he said, his voice dripping with disappointment. “That’s not her.”
“And you have no idea where she lives?”
He shook his head. “None.”
We didn’t find Laura, and it was heartbreaking to see Magni retract back into his shell of anger. While we had been on the hunt he had been full of purpose and determination. Now that he had failed for the second time, he fell into a bitter silence and would hardly look at me and Christina.
Papa Hunt met us that same night and took us back through the tunnel, keeping his promise of paying David with a precious amount of smuggler goods.
He didn’t give Magni shit about failing again but left my brokenhearted friend alone. I was relieved because I’d already decided that I wouldn’t let him taunt Magni.
I kept Christina on my lap in the wagon – there were no safety regulations. Papa Hunt talked to her all the way back, entertaining her with gruesome details from the time he was mauled by a bear and lost his right eye.
We dropped Magni off at the Gray Mansion and told him to let Pearl and Khan know Christina was back. It was long past midnight so I didn’t want to stay, but flew us home to my island, fulfilling a dream of mine when I leaned in and said, “Welcome home, Christina.”
She had been in my house once during her flying lessons, but never slept here.
“It’s so good to have you back,” I muttered into her hair, unwilling to let her hand go, even as we were walking up the stairs.
She gave a small giggle that rang sweetly in my ears. God, this house had been empty without her. My life had been empty without her.
“I still can’t believe you came for me,” she said and turned around when we reached the top. With wonder shining from her eyes, she placed her hands around my neck and kissed me. “It feels like a dream that I don’t want to wake up from.”
Sliding my hands up the backs of her thighs, I lifted her onto my hips and carried her to my bedroom, placing her on my large bed.
“Let’s see if I can do better than Victor.”
It was meant to be a joke, but I was still resentful of the way I’d found her.
Christina raised up on her elbows. “I didn’t have sex with Victor,” she said. “I just slept in his arms pretending he was you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Boulder. I didn’t even want to but Kya insisted because she couldn’t bear seeing me so depressed.”
