Our stories end. Luke's plan gives us a tomorrow. Pride is a heavy shield, brother, but it does not stop a cannonball. Nantan looked at his daughter with a strange mix of sorrow and pride. He saw the strength in her, the leadership that had been forged in loss.
"She is right." Nantan said, "We will follow the white man's plan." "Taza, you will choose 10 men to stand with Luke. I will take the families to the ravine." The council broke up, the camp dissolving into frantic silent activity. Late that night, the camp was a ghost of itself. The wikiup stood empty. The women and children had melted away into the darkness hours ago.
Only the small group of defenders remained, waiting for the dawn. Luke walked down to the stream to splash water on his face. He felt hollowed out, vibrating with adrenaline and fatigue. The moon was full, casting a silver path across the black water. He sensed her before he saw her.
Ayanna stood on the bank. She should have gone with the women, but she had stayed behind to bring extra ammunition to the defenders before leaving. "You should be in the ravine." Luke said softly. "I am going." she said. She stepped closer.
The moonlight caught the tears standing in her eyes, tears she refused to let fall. "You are staying to hold the pass." she said. "It is a suicide post." "We have good cover." Luke lied. "We'll be fine." She reached out and took his hand. Her fingers were trembling.
"I heard you today." she whispered. "In the office, I heard you fight for us. You risked your life to speak for people who have treated you like a prisoner." "They are my people now." Luke said. The barrier between them, eroded by months of shared hardship and the storm in the cave, finally crumbled completely. The fear of tomorrow stripped away the hesitation of today.
Luke pulled her to him. It wasn't gentle this time. It was a collision of two people standing on the edge of a cliff. Ayanna threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the hollow of his shoulder. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her so tight it was hard to breathe.
"Luke." she breathed against his neck. They clung to each other, swaying slightly. The desire that surged between them was overwhelming, a fierce hot demand to feel life before facing death. Luke's hand tangled in her hair, tilting her head back. Their foreheads pressed together, eyes closed, breathing in the scent of each other.
"I want to stay." she whispered. "I want to fight beside you." "No." Luke said, his voice rough with emotion. "If I know you are safe, I can fight. If you are here, I will be looking at you, not the enemy." He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. The moonlight made them look like obsidian.
He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to pull her down into the grass and forget the war, but he saw the resolve in her face, the condition she had set that night in the cave. No shame. "Ayanna." Luke said, his voice steady and solemn. "If we get through this, if I walk off that ridge tomorrow, I'm going to ask Nantan for you, in front of everyone.