It was warm and dry where she was, and for a long moment, before her brain became fully aware of her surroundings, Nuri thought she was back in the dwelling of her father. Firelight flickered on the walls and she felt safe for the first time in ages. Why had it been so long? Like the fog clearing away from the mountain ridges, her memories came into focus, her marriage to Topan, the birth of a stillborn son...Jack. With a sudden gasp, she bolted upright, her head spinning from the motion. Strong but gentle hands pushed her back down despite her vague protests.

"Not so fast." His voice was deep, like the rumble within the Striped One. "Soon Nuri, soon."

Too weak to fight back, she didn't resist. Once her head stopped whirling Nuri tried opening her eyes again, looking around. He was to her left, strong and sure, kneeling with his back to her, adding more fuel to the fire.

For the first time, she noticed how large he was, tall like her people, but broad and powerful. His back rippled with honed muscle and she could see the flex and pull of them under his skin as he shifted. Nowhere was he thin, even his hips and thighs muscular and strong. The men of her race were tall and lithe, deceptively strong but without the depth and width of the man before her. She wondered if all men of Jack's race were built so. His hair was longer now, hanging past his shoulders, and she briefly wondered if he had always worn it long. Feeling she should not linger looking at his bare skin, Nuri shifted her eyes to her surroundings, wondering just where they were.

It looked like a lodge made of fronds and branches, but it was quiet and still outside. The interior was not large, maybe ten feet in diameter with a small opening at the very top to allow smoke to escape. Turning her head she saw the edge of a large boulder making up most of one wall. Sudden understanding dawned on her, and she smiled, her eyes moist. She was where she fell, and Jack had built this structure around her so he would not have to lift her into his arms. It was the first gesture he had made to do things her way. As though sensing she was more awake he turned to look at her.

"I hope you're wanting to eat something. Suppers about ready."

His words were lost on her. Utter shock consumed every sense, eyes bulging with disbelief and a kind of panic that slammed her heart against her ribs. What happened to his face? Nuri shrank away slightly as he approached, concern etched on his features.

"What's the matter? Are you all right?" Stopping about four feet away, Lantern knelt, making no effort to come closer.

"What happened to your face?" Her voice was tight. "The hair is gone!"

He did not have to understand her words to know what she meant. He had grown weary of his beard and carefully shaved it off with his long blade several days ago. Since then, he'd shaved every morning. His lips twitched in a smile.

"It's okay, Nuri, I know it looks a little different. I shaved off the hair. It's okay."

He rubbed a hand reassuringly across his jaw as he spoke. Jack's words made no sense to her, but his calmness told her that the change in his appearance was deliberate. His deeply tanned skin was at odds with the flesh that had been hidden by hair. It would take a little time to even out in the sunlight.

"You did that on purpose?" Her wide amber eyes were still fixed on his face. "Is that what you really look like?"

"I have no idea what you just said, but I want to learn Nuri. You'll need to teach me if you'll forgive me for being so bull-headed."

She was still trying not to stare at his face, more disturbed now by his striking good looks than the lack of hair.

"Nuri, teach Jack to speak Nuri? Please?" He was hoping she would understand what he wanted and be open to it. There was much to make up for and he was not one to put anything off.

A frown crinkled her brow as his words sank in. Teach Jack to speak? Was she hearing him correctly? Heart beating a little faster, her head began to spin slightly with all the new stimuli on a still weakened system. Sinking back onto her makeshift bed her eyes closed without responding to him, but a tiny smile etched into the corner of her mouth. When she was strong enough, she would teach Jack to speak.

Lantern watched her eyes close, her body relaxing as Nuri dropped back into a deep exhausted sleep. Not absolutely convinced she understood his request, her utter lack of reply made him less confident of her cooperation. In the days since he found her collapsed here, skin hot to the touch, delirious with fever, communication had transformed into a consuming need. At first, he had worked frantically to gather large palm leaves and vines, tying them together to form some sort of shelter for the night. Early the next morning Lantern had run back to the rock overhang to retrieve their packs, bringing them back up the mountain.

Then had begun the task of finding enough materials to build the existing lodge, albeit with no experience in constructing one. He had coated the outside with thick mud found not too far from where she lay, plastering it on in three even layers. At the last minute, he realized there ought to be a hole in the roof for the exit of smoke and chided himself for not thinking that through before he started. Easily fixed it was now a semi-solid structure and he'd felt secure enough to leave her in it when he'd eventually gone hunting.

For the first several days, Lantern had stayed close by her side, and in her fevered state, Nuri had slept with restless dreams, crying out the same expression over and over again in desperation. Nothing he'd done had soothed her. Managing to nurse her with water and then broth made from boiled meat, he could do nothing to ease her burning fever. There were neither blankets for the chills nor medicine to heal her. Mostly he'd sat nearby, watching and waiting, feeling completely helpless.

Now she was making progress toward recovery. Her eyes had been clear, the flush of delirium gone. She would be weak, needing to stay still for some time to recover her strength, but he was willing to wait. He owed her that and more. Reaching out now, Jack let his knuckles barely brush the long strands of ebony hair feathered around her head.

"You're going to be all right." This time, her lips moved softly in answer to his murmur, showing the faintest of smiles.

Another afternoon of rain came, soothing him with the familiar sounds of water hitting the roof of the lodge. Keeping watch at the entrance ensure he did not become too lax. There had been no sign of the Hunters or the predatory animals that he now knew to be roaming about here, but it was only a matter of time before he crossed paths with one or both. It would be wise to maintain vigilance.

Knowing nothing about the weather patterns here, experience told Lantern that colder weather was coming. It was on the wind and in the subtle shift of color in the sky. Although doubting it would snow in this tropical climate, the cold rainstorm from last week seemed a herald of things to come. It seemed imperative they acquire warmer clothing, in his case, new clothes. His shirt had ripped almost in half during the construction of the lodge, which left him nothing save threadbare britches and the footwear Nuri had made for him.

Her thigh-length dress was in sad disrepair, full of rips and tears, the once brightly colored pattern long ago soiled by sun and dust. It was loose fitting and baggy so he figured it was meant only for her pregnancy, but soon it would not be fit for anything. He sincerely hoped she knew something about making clothes in the wild, if not they were in for some extremely uncomfortable situations.

Sitting motionless at the hut entrance until the sun dipped behind the mountains he watched the last rays of golden light fade from the sky. Pulling the flap closed he tied it off to a peg he had driven into the ground to secure it while they slept. There were makeshift beds made of sand, grass, and large leaves, and banking the fire he laid down, his spear within reach the long knife in his hand. For a long while, his mind turned over his position here. This was the longest he had been on land since leaving home. Lantern's home had been the sea, and he had sailed far, seeing new races and new countries in his journeys to the farthest reaches of the trading empire.

Leadership was in his blood, it helped him to survive the bloody naval battles during the Great War, it had earned him a Captain's rank and his own vessel at a very young age and he had never looked back. Now, though, in a strange land linked with this native woman who had her own ways and traditions, he found himself without anchor, drifting lost in the sea of mixed cultures. It got him thinking of his family, or what was left of it. For the first time in nearly ten years, Lantern wondered if his father were still alive, and fell asleep wondering if he would see his face once more.

Murky dreams of being on the Constance haunted him, her sails furled tight in preparation for the coming storm. Experienced seamen tied down the cannons on deck while Lantern stood at the helm, fighting the gusting winds to stay on course. The sky had gone from blue to black in minutes, the wind tugging at the ship, trying to force her off course. Lightening and roaring thunder cracked overhead, drowning the shouts of the frantic crew. The foamy sea threw waves across the deck of the ship, soaking the men, and pulling at everything not tied down.

The storm grew to its full fury in a matter of minutes, the sea bucking like a wild stallion. The Constance dipped into the deep troughs of water only to rise on the next wave, still obedient to the firm hand on her helm. Men were shouting to one another above the storm, their captain at the wheel, fighting against the power of nature to see his ship and crew to safety. A bellow at his elbow along with a jabbing finger turned his attention to port. To his horror, he saw a towering wall of water rushing toward them like a colossus.

In one heartbeat, without an instant to act or shout a warning, the wave swallowed the ship, spinning the Constance like a top. Crewmen were plucked from the deck like dead leaves from a tree, and thrown into the churning sea. The ship groaned, leaning heavily to one side as Lantern was ripped overboard by powerful waves. Almost paralyzed by the icy water, he struggled for the surface, his one thought for the lives of his crew. Lightning flashed, outlining the ship as it plunged into the sea, then something slammed into his head as blackness swallowed him.

Bolting upright, gasping for breath Lantern sat up in the darkness his body sheathed in sweat his heart pounding wildly. Cold fingers had hold of him and would not let go. Scrambling to his feet, he shoved fingers through his hair, trying to shake off the ropes of the dream. Adding wood to the still glowing coals he stirred them a little, shivering as the flames grew and shadows began to dance on the walls. Once the fire was burning, he got a water pouch and poured some on his face, trying to wash away the memories that clung to him like tendrils of a spider's web. His crew, his ship...

Rubbing his face and taking deep breaths Lantern sat by the fire's edge, watching as the trembling in his hands subsided. Anger filled him. Sixty-nine lives he had been responsible for, sixty-nine good men that died on his watch! He clenched his fists as their faces paraded before his eyes, each one like family. He failed them! Never would he forget them, though living in the past served no purpose.

A soft sound made him glance up, seeing Nuri lying awake, her eyes glowing in the firelight. The expression on her face captured his attention. Time seemed to stand still as she sat up, seeming to peer right into his soul, laying bare parts of him he kept hidden from the world. Neither spoke and for the first time, her eyes held his in a gaze so intense he could not look away. Prickles shot up his spine as amber pools swirled into him.

A sudden pop of wood in the fire startled him and Lantern glanced over to make sure there were no sparks. When he looked back Nuri lay with her back facing him and the moment was gone. Not wishing to push the truce they had established, he warmed himself for a while longer, then lay back down and closed his eyes, praying for swift dawn.