Skyfall by Catherine Asaro

the mountain in such snow.”
    “No.” He couldn’t mean that. “We must leave tomorrow.”
    “It is too dangerous.”
    Roca swallowed. “Is only snow.”
    “Up here, snow can kill you.”
    She had traveled in every type of weather, but always with modern protections and the knowledge that if the unexpected arose, she would soon have a fix for the problem. Here she didn’t know what to do. “Maybe it stop soon.”
    “It could.” He pushed his hand through his hair, pulling it back from his widow’s peak. “It never snows in Dalvador.”
    “We can manage the path down.” Roca schooled herself to calm. She had a good cushion of time, over a day before the ship arrived. She could fool with some of the chips in her clothes to see if she could send a message to the port, though she doubted any had the range she needed. But Brad knew her location, assuming he had received her last message. If he could fix the flyer, he could come for her. But no matter what, she had to find a way back even if snow kept falling.
    Eldri was watching her, a strand of hair curling across his cheek. He trailed his fingers over her lips. “Can you not stay longer?”
    She took his hand in hers. “I wish it is possible.” The depth of her regret surprised her. “But I must go back. Tomorrow, or morning of next day.”
    He turned sideways on the bench and extended his leg behind her. While she was trying to figure out why he had done that, he slid his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her close, her back against his chest. Roca knew she shouldn’t let him take liberties, but he felt so very fine. His mind suffused hers with warmth, and she had been lonely for so long. Leaning against him, she told herself it would only be for “a few minutes.”
    “We need a plan,” Eldri said.
    “When snow stop, we go.”
    “The path could be dangerous.”
    “Can we manage it?”
    “I don’t know. I’ve never tried under these conditions.” He paused. “If we dress warmly, take animals that know the path, and go slowly, I don’t see why we cannot try.”
    Roca closed her eyes with relief. “Good.”
    He twined her curls around his hand. “I’ve never seen hair this way, like metal but soft. So many hues. Gold, copper, bronze, platinum.”
    “Is metal.” Roca paused as her node updated her grammar. “It has metallic components.”
    “Why?”
    Good question. She tried to remember the answer. “My ancestors make themselves that way. My father, even his skin look metallic.”
    “Yours does a little.” He pressed his lips against her temple. “I will find a way to take you back tomorrow.” With difficulty, he added, “After the memorial for my friend.”
    “Yes,” she said gently. “After.”
    Eldri laid his forehead against her head. He was silent for so long, she wondered if he had fallen asleep. His mind felt quiet, his mood shrouded. Then she felt moisture soaking through her hair, and she realized he was crying.
    Eventually he lifted his head. “Perhaps we should sleep.”
    It was the first time Roca thought he actually meant sleep. “I go to my room.”
    “Don’t leave.” He tightened his embrace. “I will sleep here, on the floor, with a quilt. You can have the bed.”
    “You will be cold.”
    He tried to regain his earlier mischief. “You could keep me warm.” But his bantering sounded forced.
    Roca turned and cupped her hands around his face. “I stay tonight, if it helps. But please, Eldri, no more love play. I know you feel my mind, even if you say you do not. I cannot hide my loneliness. You must not take advantage.”
    “Let me ease that loneliness.”
    “It is wrong.”
    “But why?”
    “I cannot give you promises.”
    “I don’t ask for promises.”
    “But you will.”
    His mouth quirked up. “Now who has no humbleness?”
    She flushed. “Is not what I mean. We have…ach, I have not the words. A link of empathy. It make us become too close.”
    “Empathy?”
    “Here.” She tapped