The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

Liran is... impressed

Liran climbed some boulders, going up about two hundred meters and found a nice quiet spot in the shade to rest and wait for his clothes to finish drying. He unwrapped his galabya and laid it out in the sun and then sat down on a smooth, flat boulder. The sun was rising quickly—they had overslept. It occurred to Liran that perhaps the last few days had taken a lot out of him. While he rested, looking up in the sky, he fell asleep.

Some time later, he awoke to a scream coming from below. It brought him to his feet in a split second, and he raced to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the gulley at the spring.

Then another scream—or was that a whoop of joy? He slowly realised there was no danger. She was splashing around in the water like a fish, obviously enjoying herself.

Liran pulled away, annoyed, and waited for his heart to stop racing.

He could hear her, gurgling, laughing and... well, all the sound of a child, playing.

He peered over the edge and watched her—she was so strange, so unlike anyone he'd ever met. She was also a very good swimmer. Liran himself only waded, close to the water's edge, and always staying within a depth that he could touch the bottom with his feet flat. But she went straight to the deepest part of the pool, where the water turned deep blue—and she played in the waterfall, seemingly at home.

"Where did she learn to swim?" he asked himself. Did they have pools underground? He imagined what it must look like down there—was it a natural water pool, or a man-made one, like they used to have hundreds of years ago? Was it dark, and damp like a cave down there—or was it bright and modern like his grandpa's laboratory? He decided he would ask her later, and reminded himself not to say anything about swimming in case she suspected him of watching her.

After another five minutes, she gracefully swam to the edge of the pool and pulled herself onto the rocks. She glanced up, and Liran quickly pulled himself back. His heart was racing again and he scolded him for watching her like an old man—like his father would have done. She'd been completely naked. He shook his head and rubbed his face, trying to rid himself of her image. But it seemed burned into his mind. It made him blush with embarrassment.

He quickly got up and put on his desert suit and the galabya over top of that. He'd been wreckless watching her. If she'd caught him, she would have never forgiven him, and he would have ruined the truce that they'd somehow miraculously arrived at in the lab. 

He realised he was happy having that truce--that it was more than just about doing the right thing. It was exciting. For the first time in his life he was doing something good, and it felt good. And he didn't want to ruin all of it by being a creep. 

He lay back down on the rock, closed his eyes and waited for her. Not more than a few minutes later, she arrived, breathless and happy. And beautiful. He felt his stomach flip, but pushed the feeling away. First of all, she was still very much annoying. Second, he had decided to never let his attractions for a woman control him. Third, she would never forgive him for what he had done to her husband, so it was, all in all, a hopeless cause.

He avoided her eyes, picked up the rucksack, shouldered it, and started climbing. "Let's go," he said without waiting for her.

She kept up. Amazingly. She was a natural-born climber. And as the morning wore on, he couldn't help but admire her skill and technique. Of course he was better, and faster, but she was good. And never once did she seem afraid, and there had been some tricky spots.

He scoffed at the fact that Akim had wanted to use climbing gear on this section of the mountain. What a coward!

They arrived at the top of the cliffs around midday. It was boiling hot, but she never complained once. Liran was impressed.