Darker the Night (A Star Wars Rebels AU)

Chapter Nineteen

"Father is on his way back."

Hera looked up from the game of lizard-blurrg-snake she was playing with Riya, as the two sat cross-legged on the stone floor in the enormous main cavern of the Ryloth Liberation Movement's underground hideout. Her little brother Val, who was no longer little, smiled as Riya jumped up and flung her arms around his right leg.

"Hello, little one," he said, giving her a pat on the head. "Your mother is looking for you." As the little girl scurried off, he told Hera, "He's bringing guests."

"What guests?" she asked, getting to her feet and brushing the sand from her palms. From the tone of his voice, she guessed that visitors were an extremely rare occurrence.

"Jedi. Clone troopers."

Now she was legitimately curious. "What Jedi?" she asked, keeping her tone light and casual.

"I don't know. But don't worry, I doubt it's your padawan." He chuckled, his eyes sparkling.

She frowned. "I shouldn't have told you anything."

"Come on, numa. We used to tell each other everything. You don't want me to know any of your secrets anymore?"

"That's a bit more than just a secret," she said in a low tone.

"I know it is," he said, putting one hand on her shoulder. "And you don't have to worry. If you can't trust me, numa, you can't trust anyone."

She smiled. "Thanks, nerra. It's good to see you again."

Val looked toward the entrance and said, "Oh, here's Father."

Hera turned and saw her father and Master Windu walk into the main chamber- with Caleb Dume right behind them. She let out a gasp, and all rational thought left her head. Without a word to her brother, she darted quickly out of sight and down one of the passages leading away from the main chamber. As soon as she was out of view, she threw her back against the wall, feeling hot and flushed- and annoyed about it. After all, it hadn't been very long since she'd seen him last. There was no reason- no reason at all- for her heart to be pounding against her rib cage like an angry blurrg against the walls of her pen.

Someone touched her hand, and she looked down to see Riya standing there. She took a quick steadying breath and then knelt down in front of the girl. "Riya, I have a mission for you," she said in Ryl.

The little girl's face lit up. "What is it?"

"One of the Jedi with my father- the younger, taller one with the eyes the color of the river in Tulara Ravine- I need you to bring him to me. See if you can get him to follow you down this passage. I'll wait for you here. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Riya grinned and ran back toward the main chamber. Hera retreated into one of the passages to wait, her heart still thudding away in her chest.

Long minutes passed. What if Riya had failed? But soon enough, she heard the sound of footsteps- a man and a little girl. She saw him walk by the entrance to her hiding spot, and he was distracted by Riya- she would make a fine recruit one day- so she foolishly reached out and grabbed his arm. But he was, of course, too quick for her and he had her wrist twisted in one of his hands before she even realized it. She should have known better than to try to grab a Jedi.

His dark hair was messy, as usual, and there was a fine dusting of grit on his robes that she was all too familiar with. His teal eyes focused on her face and went wide. He immediately dropped her wrist, speaking her name in a low timbre that reverberated in her belly.

Seeing him there, on her home planet- the way he looked, and the way he looked at her - the way he said her name- it was more than enough to push every coherent thought from her mind. She pounced on him and pulled him into the passageway behind her and kissed him. It took him a second to catch up, but he'd already demonstrated that he was both willing and very able to keep up with her, and there were no exceptions. He returned her kiss, pulling her against him as he leaned into her. She flung one arm around his neck and plunged her fingers into his hair, but within seconds both her hands were inside his robe and pulling at the tunic and utility belt beneath as his lips burned against hers. If she had been able to think, she might have wondered what it was she hoped to accomplish while standing in the middle of a chilly, dim, narrow corridor just meters away from her family. But her brain had temporarily lost the ability to process a single reasonable thought, and Caleb's hands were just as busy as hers.