"Nhoj is dead?" He fell back, panting, his heart slamming his ribs. He relaxed slowly. "I won. Gods, I won," he breathed.
"Nhoj is dead. So were we, almost. They carried us in from outside only in time."
He ate ravenously. "We have no time to waste. We must get strong. My leg—" He looked at it, tested it. There was a swathe of long yellow grasses around it and the ache had died away. Even as he watched the terrific pulsings of his body went to work and cured away the impurities under the bandages. It has to be strong by sunset, he thought. It has to be.
He got up and limped around the cave like a captured animal. He felt Lyte's eyes upon him. He could not meet her gaze. Finally, helplessly, he turned.
She interrupted him. "You want to go on to the ship?" she asked, softly. "Tonight? When the sun goes down?"
He took a breath, exhaled it. "Yes."
"You couldn't possibly wait until morning?"
"No."
"Then I'll go with you."
"No!"