“We don’t,” Lars agreed. “But it’s more than that. A single girl traveling on her own — and walking on Danu without thick boots to protect her? They’ll want you. You’re an anomaly, Terra. For all we know, you’re the key to ending Danu’s reign of terror.”
“That’s not a responsibility I want,” Terra said. “I just want my dad.”
Lars nodded once. “You're going to need weapons.”
* * *
Adam unlocked the weapons vault and flashed Terra a million-watt smile. “You’re a brave girl. Guess it’s not a surprise, though. Your mom was a cop, right?”
“What? No. I don’t think so. I guess I never really asked…” Terra trailed off as she followed him into the vault.
“I’m ninety-eight percent sure she was,” Adam went on. He flicked a switch on the wall, and a series of dim bulbs popped to life. “Several of our original security guards were cops who had worked for your mom. She was a captain or something high up.”
“That’s news to me. I wonder why Dad never told me.”
Adam unlocked a glass case of bows. “I think he just doesn’t like to think about what he lost. Most of us don’t.” He lifted a sleek, black contraption off the wall. “I wish I had a gun to offer you, but we ran out of bullets a long time ago. You ever used a bow?”
Terra shook her head. “Freya used one.”
Adam held out the crossbow with a grimace. “I’m sorry about your friends,” he said gently. “Like I said — it’s hard for all of us to talk about what we’ve lost.”
Terra accepted the weapon. “Thanks.”
“Crossbow. Smaller than a regular bow, more compact, more powerful, more automatic.”
The weapon felt lighter in her hands than it looked. Adam leaned over her for a crash course on loading bolts and using it. Without room to practice or a target to aim for, she could only be told how to use it.
“How’s your knife?” Adam asked, moving to a set of metal drawers. “It’s old, isn’t it?”
“No, not really. Only a couple years.” Terra slung the crossbow over her shoulder.
“Ancient in blade-years if you’re not sharpening it.” Adam tugged open a drawer. “You have small hands.”
Terra made a face. “I do not.”
“You do. It’s not a bad thing.” He extracted a sheathed dagger and pulled the blade out. It glinted sharply in the overhead light. “Try this on for size.”
Terra wrapped her fingers around the hilt, surprised at how perfectly her fingers fit. “It’s light.”
“Made it myself.” At her shocked look, he laughed. “Plants aren't my only hobby.” He shut the drawer, then turned to eye her seriously. “You realize the danger you’re putting yourself in?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t use the roads,” Adam warned. “Stick to the trees, especially since they can’t hurt you. Always light a fire at night. Make it big. Don’t worry about it being seen. The bigger the fire, the more likely wild animals won’t come near you.”
“You’re freaking me out.”
Adam shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you, kid. You’re walking into a world that wants you dead. Danu may have decided you’re worth saving, but that won’t protect you from cougars or the Wilds. Or soldiers who want to study you like a lab specimen for your special immunity.”
Terra slid the sheath onto her belt and buckled it. She stood up straight. “I can do this.”
Adam crossed the room to another cabinet. He dug around inside for a long moment before he finally found what he was looking for. He returned to Terra and dropped a compass in her hand.
“Head east,” he said. “We don’t know where or what the Poisoned Earth Project really is, but we do know it’s near the city. Point that needle east and keep moving until you find the highway. It will lead you into the city.”
Terra wrapped her fingers around the cool metal disc and watched as the delicate red needle hovered in place.
“We don’t know if anyone even still lives in the city,” Adam continued. “We don’t know if it’s set up for people to survive there. So be vigilant.”
* * *
She had planned to slide discreetly out of the compound, only saying goodbye to her team. Mostly because she didn’t want to be talked out of her mission, but also because she didn’t like being the center of attention.
Not that being immune to Danu had helped keep her out of the limelight.
But leaving without a fuss wasn’t in the cards. Roark waited for her in her room as she returned to get the last of her supplies.
He had changed from his ever-present jumpsuit into jeans and a t-shirt. He looked so much like Rowan — even with a shaved head and an older, more guarded face.
“What are you doing in my bunk?” Terra asked, hovering by the open door. They hadn't spoken since the funeral. Terra had allowed herself to believe it meant Roark had finally come to his senses and realized she couldn’t be the woman for him.
He crossed the room in three strides and slammed the door shut. “Are you fucking insane?”
Terra fought the urge to laugh. “Jury’s still out on that.”
The humor eluded him, lost somewhere in his righteous anger. “You can’t take on the government. It was bad enough when I heard the collective was sending you to the city. But this? Over my dead body, Terra.”
Terra brushed past him to get to her armoire. All she needed was a change of clothes. “It’s cute you think you get a say in the matter. Newsflash: you don’t.”
“No girl of mine is risking her life—”
Terra cut him off before he could dig a deeper grave. “I’m not your girl, Roark. We’ve talked about this.”
Roark grabbed her arm and whirled her around, jerking her against his body. His lips latched on to hers with possessive force, sending a traitorous thrill through her body.
When he pulled away, he said busily, “You are mine, Terra. If it takes me the rest of my life to convince you.”
“Well, the rest of my life might only be the next few days,” Terra said evenly. “And I can pretty much guarantee you won’t get a chance to convince me.”
She jerked from his grasp and returned to her backpack. “This isn’t relationship material, Roark.”
“That’s not true. I’m in love with you.”
Terra paused and closed her eyes, her face hidden in the armoire. At thirteen, pining for her best friend’s hot older brother, those words would have melted all her desires. She'd spent her teen years desperate for his attention, then one day at barely twenty-two, he’d finally seen her.
And she'd finally seen how fantasies could fall short of reality. Not in the bedroom — because god, she’d have given anything to have him one more time. But in expectations.
Terra knew they weren’t compatible. She also knew she would never change herself to be what he wanted.
“You want to get married,” Terra finally said. “You want a sweet little wife who carries sweet little babies she’ll have to watch every minute because the planet wants to kill them. I don’t want that, Roark. Especially now that I know I can exist up there. Maybe I won’t even stay here. Maybe there’s something I can do out there. Something to save the world.”
Now that she had said it, put those thoughts out there, she felt lighter.
“I have a purpose greater than you want of me,” Terra finished. She chose a pair of linen pants and two clean tank tops, and shoved them in her backpack. “This between us was just physical.”
Suddenly, he stood at her back. His hands slid up her arms, leaving goosebumps on her skin. He eased her back until she rested against his body. One hand dipped lower, fingers slipping into the waistband of her pants as he closed his lips on the curve of her neck.
“I’m not going to convince you, am I?” His breath whispered over her skin.
“You’re not the first person to say something similar today,” Terra said as his hand moved lower. She sucked in a b
reath as his fingers hit home.
“I’ll change your mind one day,” he murmured. “Until then… one for the road?”
His surety and arrogance pissed her off, but she didn’t stop him. She turned and fell into his kiss, both of them yanking at each other’s clothes as if it were the last time.
As far as Terra was concerned, it was.
* * *
Her team waited for her in Ground Bay. What remained of her team, anyway.
None of them were wired for hard emotions. It came with the territory they occupied — hunters unafraid to take a shot if it meant feeding the compound. But the past week had been difficult for them all. When Nat pulled her into a painful, teary hug, Terra couldn’t fight her own heartbreaking response.
“Don’t die,” Nat said firmly, her breath ruffling the hair at Terra’s neck. “I need you. The peanut needs you.”
Terra nodded, squeezing her tightly. “I won’t.”
Bill ruffled her hair and wished her good luck, and Jack offered her a glum smile. But Carter followed Nat’s lead and tugged Terra into a painful hug.
“I love you. Please come back to us,” he whispered, his breath catching on the last word.
“Always,” Terra replied, her face buried in his t-shirt.
With a backpack full of essentials, Terra left Ground Bay with one glance back at her team. She memorized them standing there in the open bay; she immortalized that image in her mind.
Because there was no guarantee the Firma she came back to would be the same.
To be continued…
* * *
Continue the Poisoned Earth series in book two, West of the Moon.
http://www.heathermarieadkins.com/PoisonedEarth
* * *
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About the Author
HEATHER MARIE ADKINS writes too much but still too little. She also has too many cats, not enough tequila, and a torrid love affair with procrastination.
Heather resides in north-central Kentucky with a sarcastic cop who is entirely too dependent on puns. When she’s not plotting her next story or herding felines, she works at the library.
Read More from Heather Marie Adkins
http://heathermarieadkins.com
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