I had already regained my composure, but I was still lying on the ground when I noticed Jazzia taking off.

  “You two, get up,” AX said firmly. “We found two people beyond the snow-covered mountains, in a large and deep valley.”

  He paused as we looked in the direction of the mountains he referred to.

  “It’s the forbidden valley. It takes many days of travel to reach it,” Aluram explained. “The valley fills with the pollen of the Death Flower. It’s lethal.”

  “That explains the dozen bodies we found there,” AX reported.

  “Did Jazzia go there?” I asked, noticing the trio of Sekvens approaching.

  “In the atmosphere, we’re faster than Jazzia,” AX positioned himself to receive them. “We’ll take you to rescue the two young women who are still alive. In the fragile state they’re in, they won’t survive the trip in an observer.”

  “Go!” Kane urged us, not giving us time for more questions.

  To exist in absolute nothingness.

  Several seconds passed—eternal ones—while my consciousness struggled to accept life in a body that didn’t breathe, didn’t see, didn’t hear…

  We appeared at the base of a cliff, literally unbalanced. I leaned against the first rock I found, while Aluram expelled everything he had eaten for breakfast.

  Despite the nausea, I observed the place. There were only rocks where we stood, but the valley below had a beautiful bright blue carpet formed by millions of flowers.

  “The Death Flower?” I asked.

  “Yes…” Aluram replied, sitting on the ground. “Even here, we’re in danger.” He grimaced. “That was horrible.”

  “You’ll have to climb along the slope to the entrance of a cave. We didn’t leave you up there because there’s no flat ground,” the Observer explained.

  “The way we are,” I took a deep breath, “we’d fall from up there.”

  “Willian is clever,” AX joked. “Can we go?”

  “Show us the way, AX,” I said.

  We climbed carefully, close to the rocky wall. Even with traces of a trail, it took us nearly half an hour to find the opening: a not very deep cave.

  “They’ve already been medicated, but the human needs to be placed in the regenerative capsule as soon as possible. Her heart won’t last,” AX explained, lighting the interior.

  Aluram and I came across a scene that was, at the very least, curious.

  A young Selium was pointing a knife at us while protecting an unconscious human girl, holding her tightly. They were dirty, dressed in rags, and seemed far too young.

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  “We came to help,” Aluram said, crouching. “You’re poisonous to humans, but you don’t seem to wish her harm.”

  “She asked…” the girl sighed, unable to hold back her tears. “She wanted to die holding a friend.”

  “Your affection for this human saved both of you,” I said, wiping the tears from her face with my hand. “Are you friends?”

  “That’s why they sold us…” She looked at me, frightened. “When they discovered our friendship, they wanted to kill us. Instead, they sold us to bandits.”

  Aluram watched as I gently caressed her face. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, comforting her.

  “We’ll take care of you,” I assured her, then turned to the young human.

  “She’ll stay in my village,” Aluram said.

  “No. She’s mine. Both of them will stay with me,” I retorted.

  “You want all the Selium for yourself?”

  “I love them all. You’re the ones who can only have one,” I replied, picking up the girl in my arms.

  “Stop,” AX warned. “The human is waking up. The poison is slowly dissolving her organs. We need to go down.”

  Aluram and I looked at each other. If climbing without carrying anyone had already been difficult, the descent would be… challenging.

  “One step at a time,” Aluram said, standing up with the Selium on his back. “What’s your name?”

  “Elvinia.”

  “And your friend’s?” I asked.

  “Karen.”

  “Karen, can you hear me?” I called, resting her face against my shoulder. “I’ll take care of you, my love.”

  The medication was taking effect. She opened her eyes. There was no life in them.

  “I’m blind…” she murmured weakly. “I can’t take care of myself anymore. Let me die.”

  Those were her only words. And they were for her friend.

  Aluram and I were still carrying the lightness left by the Sekvens’ energy. That sentence, however, pierced me like an arrow in mid-flight. I had forgotten how cruel Donna could be.

  “You’re far too young to say that,” I replied, choking. “And you won’t go blind.”

  A few seconds of silence took over the group until we reached the cave entrance.

  Aluram placed Elvinia on the ground and helped me position Karen on my back.

  “How old are you, Karen?” I asked.

  “She’s unconscious,” AX informed.

  “AX, that way we won’t be able to go down.”

  “Wait…” he asked. “Jazzia is arriving. There’s room to extend the ramp.”

  The strong, icy wind made me hold Karen even tighter against my chest. Aluram did the same, lifting Elvinia.

  “She’s nine years old,” the Selium said.

  “That makes…”

  “Fifteen Earth years,” AX interrupted.

  “And you, Elvinia?”

  “Thirteen.”

  “What happened?” Aluram asked, shielding her face from the dust.

  “I… I couldn’t take what they were doing to her anymore…” she confessed shyly. “So I told them about the salt river at the bottom of the valley.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, trying to contain my anger.

  “You chose death rather than seeing her suffer.”

  “We knew about the poison… we covered our faces… but we were poisoned anyway.”

  “You did the right thing,” I replied.

  “But… I killed humans…” she murmured, shrinking.

  “They weren’t human anymore,” I said gently. “Elvinia, you’re beautiful.”

  She pulled her hand away from Aluram and looked at me.

  “There’s no beauty here,” she said, touching her severed ear.

  “You don’t need hair or fur to be beautiful.”

  “He’s right,” Aluram agreed. “You really are.”

  She smiled, but closed her eyes as pain hit her.

  “Aluram… she’s very young. Can she see me as a father?”

  “After that? No.”

  “I only said she’s beautiful.”

  “You asked her out.”

  “What?!” I jumped.

  Jazzia’s shadow, cutting across the sunlight, grew over our heads. The ship positioned itself, almost touching the rocks. Even so, the ramp remained nearly a meter away.

  “Jump,” AX ordered. “Don’t fall, Willian. Even if I catch you, Karen won’t endure it. And if that happens, we’ll have to revive her before placing her in the capsule.”

  “You can bring someone back from death?” Aluram’s eyes widened.

  “It depends on many factors,” AX explained, stepping aside as the shadow of another, even larger ship appeared. “But if it’s within a few hours, it’s possible. Mirtis is here, if we need to bring her back to life.”

  “So much for one person…” Aluram murmured.

  “Of course,” I replied, holding Karen even tighter. “There is love.”