Val's campsite was much more sophisticated than I had imagined. The tents were strewn into multiple large rooms and the platoon of Valeriano soldiers all looked clean and focused as we approached them. One of the men caught sight of Jesse, then of me, and looked like he might faint.
"Jesse Turner what the actual f-"
Jesse hugged the man to his chest with full humor and ruffled his hair. The man eyed me again and turned back to Jesse like he was seeing a ghost. He was muscular but scrawny at the elbows and wrists, and had long black hair down past his collarbones. From the look of it, the two of them were well acquainted.
"No, dude, seriously, that better not be-"
Jesse waved a hand in front of his friend as if to diminish his worries in an instant. He turned to me to make an introduction or something when he froze, eyes landing somewhere behind me.
"Liana?"
The way she said my name made the hairs on my neck stand up. I realised far, far too late how much genuine danger we were in. I turned despite my desire to disappear into dust and let my eyes land on her. I soaked in the sight as though it was the first time I had seen her.
Val locked eyes with me. The long locks of hair that used to run halfway down her back had been cut short. The curls stopped just an inch or so beneath her ears. For a long while, I just stared.
She had crossed the space between us instantly and took me by my wrist, pulling me closely to her. If looks could kill, Jesse Turner would have been combusted into flames on the spot. She abandoned her hatred of the guy for another minute to scan my entire face worriedly. When her survey of my features came back unchanged she began to tug me in the direction of a tent center to their operation.
I followed her without a word, cheeks burning at the varying array of horrified and knowing faces we passed until she had hidden us from sight. Her tent was interestingly the only place in the compound that lacked organisation. Papers and bottles and things were strewn about with messy abandon. The tent was dark and dry and unwelcoming- which could perhaps just be the natural state of military tents.
Val spun around on me when we were inside and opened her mouth to speak when I remembered that I was actually still very angry with her.
"Val, why the fuck did you come back out here so soon?"
The anger failed to reflect in my voice and I sounded worried instead. Val hadn't let go of my wrist yet, towering over me and looking down into my eyes. She started to rub small circles into my pounding heartbeat with her thumb. I swallowed, hard.
"You were worried about me."
She smiled but her eyes were reckless. They swam across my face and flickered down to my lips like a sailor lost at sea, dreaming of home. When I couldn't speak to answer her, her other hand found its way to cup my cheek delicately. The small circles and her warmth had fogged my mind. I stared up at the flecks of lively forest green in her eyes.
"I'm still worried about you."
The words escaped me before my sense of pride could stop them. Her expression was pained. Like somehow I managed to hurt her even now, when I was trying my very best not to. Her hand traced its way up from my wrist to my forearm. My breath hitched in my throat and I was about to ask her what she was doing when her eyes darkened.
"What are you doing with Jesse?"
The same staving look was in her eye. She looked like she was on the brink of devouring me where I stood, licking her lower lip dangerously. I had become drunk on the feeling of her scent draping over me. I couldn't think straight.
"What do you mean?"
Her hold on my chin grew more possessive as she slipped her fingers under my chin and angled my head up towards her. She was so close I could feel her breath. I realised how encased I had become in her embrace. My heart was slamming. Val moved her lips near my ear and spoke lowly.
"I don't want you to be near him. Near anyone."
The hum of her voice against me was intoxicating. I wanted to run from the heat building in my stomach. I gasped when she slipped her hand into my hair and tugged me gently.
"Val-"
I felt her lips brush my ear. My hand went up in reflex, only to be met with the feeling of the bandages through her shirt. I didn't know what I even wanted to say when she pulled back and let her eyes swallow me.
"You're mine, Liana. I don't want anyone else to see you like this."
I stammered to find a response, heart jumping in my chest. The grip of her hands in my hair had softened and I bit back the moan in my throat. She released me slowly, like doing so required every single inch of her willpower and met my eyes hungrily.
"I know."
I was out of breath, but my response made her shiver anyways.
She held my gaze and forced herself to take a step back, so she was against the wooden strategy table and there was space between us. With the newfound distance, I managed to collect my racing heart and push the warmth between my legs to the back of my mind.
"Why did you come back here? The doctors told you to wait at least a month."
She exhaled slowly and rubbed her eyes with both hands. Then she found me again and scanned me from head to toe. Reluctantly, she answered.
"I couldn't stay at home. Couldn't sleep there."
I probed her for answers with my eyes. I wanted to understand why she left, what had possibly provoked her to return to a place she had just become mortally wounded. "Why," I asked, moving closer to her. She was gripping the wooden table behind her so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
"I can never sleep if I feel like she might be close. If I feel like she might be out there somewhere nearby and I could find her."
I didn't have to ask what she meant. Rosaura Valeriano. The purple of the bags beneath her eyes, their permanence. I frowned and stepped towards her with shaky hands. Val stayed deathly still as I approached her. I lifted the loose fabric of her shirt to the bandages and tsked in disapproval, letting the fabric drift back down over her taught stomach and meeting her eyes with a glare.
"You have to change these bandages, I swear to god, I'm going to hurt you."
Her eyes teased me and a smile tugged at her lips.
"Promise?"
I blushed a furious shade of red and rolled my eyes. I turned away from her swiftly and went to wander back out of the tent. Her voice stopped me.
"Where are you going?"
She sounded sad. I turned back and shook my head quickly.
"To get a medic, someone really needs to change the bandages or you're going to get an infection. I'm going to be right back, don't move."