Reckless Rescue by Rinelle Grey Page A

to make out objects and shadows, but not enough to identify them. To the left, the sky was faintly paler. Marlee had timed it perfectly. The sun would rise soon.
    Despite the darkness, Marlee led him unerringly to a strand of trees to the south, taking his hand again when he stumbled on the rough ground. On his own, he would have been totally lost. Until now, he hadn’t left Marlee’s house, and being unconscious when he came in, he had no idea where anything was.
    “What took you so long?” Nelor’s whisper startled him.
    Marlee dropped his hand abruptly. “It took me a while to wake him up.” Her accompanying giggle sounded dangerously loud in the early morning silence.
    “Shh!” Nelor responded. “You’ll wake someone.”
    Tyris couldn’t see much in the darkness, but he followed Marlee further into the trees, focusing on not tripping over anything. None of them said anything until they were sure they were out of sight of the village. “We need to wait until it’s a bit lighter to go the rest of the way,” Marlee said.
    “Why stop now?” Tyris protested. Now he was this close, he wanted to keep going. “We’ve made it this far just fine.”
    “That was over flat ground that’s been cultivated for years,” Marlee pointed out. “In the woods, there are roots and tree branches everywhere, waiting to trip us up.”
    As much as he didn’t want to wait, Tyris had to admit that her explanation made sense. He gave a sigh. Marlee and Nelor found a fallen tree branch to rest on. They sat close together, whispering.
    Tyris remained on his feet, pacing the small clearing to keep warm, impatient to get on their way. He blew on his hands, trying to warm them. Standing still, the cold crept back in through his exposed extremities. He glanced over at Marlee and Nelor. It was light enough now that he could make out their clasped hands. They weren’t cold, he thought sourly.
    He wished the man hadn’t turned up last night. Not that Tyris had anything against him—he seemed friendly enough—but the addition of a third party complicated matters. Marlee was distracted, not as focused on getting to his ship as she had been. He needed focus right now.
    He itched to get out to the Hylista and see what damage had been done. He was over all this waiting.
    Marlee had done all she could to make him feel welcome, he couldn’t deny that, but he wanted to get back to the world he knew, even to the relative familiarity of his spaceship. He didn’t belong here.
    He didn’t dare listen to the fears in the back of his head, squelching the tiny voices that suggested maybe his ship couldn’t be repaired. He wouldn’t accept that option, as if denying its presence could deny the possibility.
    He was relieved when Marlee finally stood up and said, “Let’s get going.”
    Tyris was more than ready, and it seemed Nelor was too because he jumped up and strode off into the woods.
    “That’s the wrong way,” Marlee interrupted.
    Nelor turned and frowned at her. “No it’s not, the ship is this way.”
    “No, it’s more to the right, down that path,” Marlee pointed.
    “You could go that way,” Nelor agreed, “but it’s longer. This path is more direct.”
    Marlee put her hands on her hips and frowned at Nelor. “And what makes you say that?”
    “Because Dad and I went this way and it was shorter.”
    “How do you know it was shorter if it’s the only path you took?”
    Tyris looked from one to the other in frustration. He didn’t need this right now. “Do either of you actually know how to get there?” Both of them nodded and pointed down different paths. Tyris sighed. Marlee seemed so mature when he was alone with her, but put her with Nelor, and she turned into a giggling teenage girl. He much preferred her on her own.
    His question sparked them to start bickering again, and it took all his willpower not to tell them to shut up. He needed their help. “Right,” he interrupted them as gently as he could. “If