Dragon's Hope (The Dragon Corps Book 3)

by Natalie Grey

  “You don’t have to keep from saying it,” Aryn said impatiently. “The Warlord might try to hurt me. I know.”

  “You don’t know,” Talon told her simply.

  Aryn raised her chin, a smile on her lips, and Cade’s heart turned over.

  “I do know.” She shook her head. “I knew what I was getting into when I came back. I’ve lived with this fear all my life. I’m not doing this because I don’t know the cost. I’m doing it because it’s worth it.”

  There was pity in Talon’s eyes, Cade saw. When he left, his expression said clearly enough—to another Dragon—that he knew this might be the last time he saw Aryn alive. But he was smiling slightly. He liked what he was seeing. Alongside the ice-cold logic that led Talon to use Aryn like any other asset, there was affection, as well. He hoped she wasn’t going to die.

  He paused at the door. “Take care of Williams, will you?” he said to her.

  And he was gone.

  13

  They looked after Talon as he went, Cade rubbing the back of his neck and Aryn trying to find something to say.

  “Cade.”

  He turned to look at her.

  “Shouldn’t it be Mr. Williams?” There was no bitterness in his voice; even the sadness was held in check.

  She knew, in a flash, that he understood everything. It didn’t change the fact that she wanted to say it aloud, know that he had heard the words that she loved him, that she would never have given him up for anything less than a planet’s worth of people.

  “Cade, I love you.”

  “Don’t.” He shook his head. “I can’t bear it, Aryn. I can’t listen to this.”

  “I can’t bear for you to go away and wonder!” Tears blurred her vision and she dashed them away with two swipes of her hand.

  “Aryn.” He managed a smile. “I know.”

  Before she could say anything in return, he had crossed the room in three long strides to take her in his arms. She swayed against him, his hand holding her head close, the other arm wrapped around her waist. Their lips hovered apart, blue eyes meeting green, and Cade shook against her.

  “I shouldn’t have—”

  “Please.” She pulled at his coat. She could never have moved him if he did not want to be moved, but now he bent slowly, carefully.

  “Aryn, I should go.” Forever. They both knew he meant forever.

  “Not yet.”

  “What if he sees us?”

  She almost said she didn’t care, and he saw it in her eyes—and saw that she did not say it.

  “Goodbye, Aryn.” He bent to touch his lips softly to her, just once, and released her. His footsteps were silent as he walked to the door.

  She watched him go, holding herself in place with force of will. She could still feel his mouth on hers and the comforting strength of his arm around her. She watched his hand reach out for the door and wanted more than anything to call him back. But if she did, she would break entirely. His fingers closed around the handle and Aryn squeezed her eyes shut.

  They broke in the same moment, running to one another, colliding with a laugh that was half sob, her hands on the side of his face and him picking her up. When they tumbled onto the bed, he braced himself, trying not to crush her, and she pulled him down to feel his weight. His lips were hot on hers, urgent, and he pulled her head back to trail kisses down the front of her throat, skipping over the priceless necklace and kissing her bare shoulder softly, almost gently.

  They did not speak. Almost, superstitiously, it seemed this might not be real if they just stayed silent. Her hands tore at the buttons on his shirt, and she gasped at the feel of his hand over the curve of her hip. Aryn let her eyes drift closed, drowning in sensation. She could pretend, just for a moment, that this could be forever…

  “Come with me.” His voice was urgent. “He knows about us.”

  “He only suspects. I can convince him—”

  “Why?” He drew away from her, his eyes filled with pain. “Aryn, he hurts people. Every day. Save Ymir, and he’ll only do this to some other planet.”

  Aryn drew him down, shaking, so his forehead rested against hers.

  “I can change him.”

  “You can’t change him.”

  “I can. You saw what happened. And he did what he said he would do—he went to the Warlord and said he wouldn’t deal anymore. I can change him, Cade. And if that robs the world of one bad man, and that man could kill thousands—hundreds of thousands—then isn’t it worth it?”

  “You will sacrifice your whole life to find out,” Cade said fiercely. “What about you?”

  “What about my parents? My sister? Samara and her family? There are more of them than me. And there are more on other planets, like you said yourself.”

  “And you are binding yourself to a life of grief, in the hopes that you can stop someone else from…”

  “What would you do?” she demanded. Fury coursed through her veins. “What would you do, if the path was ahead of you and you had only what I have? I’m not a soldier, like you and Talon. I’m not a politician. I’m just me. You’re going to tell me Ellian should die, aren’t you? That he’s a bad guy, one of your enemies. And I should just kill him and be done with it.”

  “Yes!” He shoved himself away, leaving her on the bed. “You know some of the things he’s done.”

  “And he saved my family.”

  The look he turned on her was haunted.

  “Do you believe, for one moment, that he did that out of kindness?” His eyes met hers bleakly. “He did it so that you couldn’t walk away. Don’t you see that?”

  “And that doesn’t change a thing.” She lifted her shoulders. “Because it’s still the same. Stay, and they live. Leave, and they die.”

  “If he was a man you could change…” He was back at her side, kneeling by the bed, her hands gripped in his. “He would have brought them to New Arizona. Set them up somewhere with a life they would have forever. He wouldn’t have left them on Ymir.”

  She stared at him, shaking, and felt her face begin to crumple.

  “I don’t know what to do. I’m doing the best I can, Cade. I’m trying to make it right, I’m trying to pay back the debt.”

  “It was never your debt.” He spoke the words gently.

  “When you have something someone else doesn’t have,” she said quietly, “that’s a debt. I had safety. I could have lived my whole life without fearing the mines…if I’d just kept my mouth shut once I knew.”

  “And what were the odds of that?” He smiled into her eyes, matching her half laugh with his own. He drew her against him and rocked her back and forth slowly. “Aryn…”

  “You don’t understand. You can’t.” She swallowed back a sob. “You want to know the real reason Ellian and I haven’t had children?”

  His arms tightened around her, but he said nothing. His breathing was deep and even. Her eyes were drifting closed; this was perfect. This was how it should be, his arms around her, her head nestled under his chin.

  “Tell me,” he said finally.

  “In the rebellion,” Aryn said finally, “you weren’t allowed to. You couldn’t join if you had kids.”

  “Why not?” He pulled away slightly to look down at her.

  “Because…if they caught you…” She closed her eyes. “You watched your family die before you did. Unless you gave information. Then they just killed you. And so I never…”

  Cade sucked his breath in through his teeth.

  “Cade, if I run away now—”She took a deep breath.

  “Then not now,” he said, low and urgent. “It might be the pause we need, the opening to take the Warlord down. And when that’s done, Aryn… Come with me. We’ll live here, on a new Ymir, or we will go as far as you want to. You could have children, and they would grow up safe.”

  “Don’t.” Her voice was panicked. She could not bear to hear this.

  He held back his words, but she could read them in his eyes as clearly as i
f he had shouted them out. She could see a little apartment in one of the smaller towers, maybe a view of the mountains that she’d always wanted. She could see children taking their first steps on the rough carpet with their tiny hands wrapped around Cade’s fingers.

  He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, and this time when she pulled him up onto the bed, he gave no protest. He kissed her cheek, the tender skin of her neck, his fingers drawing the zipper at the side of her gown down slowly. She shivered at the cold air on her skin and arched as he brushed his fingers gently along the line of her ribs. The hem of her dress rose, gorgeous fabric shimmering over his hands as he bared her legs. She felt her hips move against his and his eyes closed briefly.

  When the faint beep of his comm link went, he tore the earpiece out and threw it across the room. Another kiss, slowly, their mouths opening, and the faint, insistent beeping of the comm as it lay on the rug. Cade sighed, his head slumping against Aryn’s shoulder, and the felt a laugh bubble up in her chest.

  “You should get that.”

  He picked his head up and gave her a look.

  “It’s your husband.”

  “I know…”

  “Run away with me.”

  And something inside her broke. Aryn smiled back at him, recklessly. “All right.”

  “What?” He paused, half off the bed, looking down at her.

  “All right. I’ll do it.” She pulled him down for a kiss. “I’ll … I’ll be a pilot. And you’ll … can you cook?”

  “I’ll be your bodyguard,” he said, against her mouth, and she felt his chest shake with a laugh. “Aryn…”

  “You’re right. You were right. We’ll help Talon, and then we’ll take my family and run away.”

  “Damn you and your sense of honor.” He nuzzled at her neck. He pushed himself up and picked up the earpiece, murmured a few words, listened. Aryn frowned at the whispered conversation.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s James. Ellian wants me to help the audio hacking in this wing. In case the Warlord is unhappy.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Not long, but…” Cade glanced worriedly at the door. “I shouldn’t leave you right now.”

  “You know Colin is watching everything,” Aryn told him soothingly.

  “Aryn….”

  “Go.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll pack.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He smiled as he slipped out the door, and Aryn pulled a bag onto the bed and began sorting. All of her jewelry, of course, and the few sensible clothes she had. She grinned as she shoved them down into the bag. It wasn’t much, but she didn’t need much. When the door opened, she looked up with a smile.

  The smile died when she saw James, and the barrel of the gun he had casually pointed in her direction.

  “James?”

  “Hello, Aryn.” His eyes were colder even than Ellian’s.

  “Whatever Ellian told you—” She would give him this bag right now, tell him to leave with the jewelry….

  But he laughed at her.

  “Ellian? No. The Warlord pays better than Ellian.”

  “What?” Her throat seemed to close up.

  “Come along, Aryn.” He smiled coldly. “I don’t want to hurt you, you know. I’d rather you and I have a long life together when this is over.”

  “You and I?” Aryn managed.

  “Ellian failed the Warlord, and I get the prize.” His smile was chilling. “But I won’t let what’s about to happen to Ellian happen to me, too. I will hurt you if you make a fuss. So come along now, Aryn.”

  14

  Nyx and Samara were huddled over a map when Talon slammed his way into the bunker. Samara jumped, but Nyx had had enough experience with Talon not to worry. She waved a hand to get Samara’s attention back, and pointed at the map.

  “See, if we breach the walls there, it will allow an easy flow through Erebus district. You keep looking, I’ll be back in a moment. Boss?”

  “Yes?”

  “Complications?” Nyx turned to lean on the table, crossing her arms.

  “Not the bad kind.” Talon made himself comfortable on one of the cots. He laced his fingers under his head and stared up at the rock ceiling. “Ellian is no longer working for the Warlord, apparently.”

  “What?” Nyx frowned as Samara looked over sharply.

  “Yes. Apparently, if my sources are to be believed, his wife asked him to stop supplying weapons that were going to kill citizens, he agreed to do so, and then he wandered into the Warlord’s office and quit.”

  “I, uh….” Nyx looked back at the maps briefly. “So….”

  “So, if we could actually get him to be a man of his word and leave, I’d feel better about the assault.”

  “But?” Her frown deepened.

  “Williams is right.” He rubbed at his forehead. “The guy’s up to something.”

  “Wait.” Samara looked a bit nervous at speaking up, even more so when both Dragons looked over at her, but she went on. “Aryn asked Ellian to stop supplying weapons, and he just … did it?”

  “He certainly told the Warlord that was the case.”

  Nyx chewed on her lip as she thought about that.

  Samara looked between the two of them. “What aren’t you two saying?”

  “We don’t know what he’s up to,” Nyx explained. Talon had worried that she might be impatient with the resistance fighters, being more accustomed to overseeing a team of eminently capable, professionally-trained soldiers. On the contrary, she had quickly become as protective of the resistance fighters as she was of the team on the Ariane. She never minded explaining things to them—though she told them in no uncertain terms that an order given in combat was to be followed without question. “Ellian is no match for the Warlord, but he’s a dangerous man in his own right. Whether he’s just putting on a show of not working for the Warlord—”

  “I don’t think so,” Talon murmured.

  “Good to know. Long story short: there are a few options of what he might be up to, and all of them add an element of significant chaos to the next couple of days.”

  “So there’s no chance he might just kill the Warlord for us?” Samara asked.

  Nyx grinned. “I like the way you think. But it would be foolish to count on that. We should assume it’s a bargaining tactic of some sort.” She looked at Talon. “And why would he kill the Warlord? What could he hope to achieve?”

  “He wants to get out and he knows that’s the only way to do it without dying?” Talon suggested. “It’s a pretty big risk, though. He’d have to want to get out of the game entirely.”

  “If he’s telling the truth, though, he does.” Nyx stared at him. “What? What is it you aren’t saying.” Talon nodded to Samara, and Nyx shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not like she isn’t involved. Talk.”

  “Fine.” Talon sat up and rested his head in his hands. “She’s going to die, and it’s going to kill Williams.”

  “Who’s going to—oh.”

  “Who?” Samara looked between them.

  “Aryn,” Nyx said. Her gaze was faraway. “The Warlord?”

  Talon nodded.

  “Well, she knew that was a possibility when she came back.” Nyx’s tone was businesslike. “She’s not stupid.”

  “She has no idea what she’s getting into,” Talon said. “He should have stopped her. This is going to kill him.”

  For the first time, he saw annoyance in Nyx’s face. “What do you want me to do about that?”

  Talon stared at her.

  “We knew what this would cost,” she told him. Oblivious to the white-faced woman at her side, she met his gaze and did not waver. “We knew it was going to cost us good people. We knew civilians were going to die and lives were going to be ruined.”

  “Yes!” Talon pushed himself up to pace. “That’s why. We do what we do because people die when we don’t. But we don’t live in that world, and so we … we forget
.” His chest felt hollow. “And then you see it again and—” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  He looked over, and found Nyx staring at the floor, her face unguarded.

  “Never mind,” Talon said again. “Keep doing what you’re all doing. I’m going to scout a bit more.”

  “Be careful,” Nyx said. She looked up. “Don’t stay up in your head.”

  “Why do you think I’m going?” Talon asked wryly.

  Talon left, and Nyx stared after him for a long moment. Samara wondered what she would say when she looked back. Would she mention the doubts Talon had spoken of? Would she want reassurance? After all, the people in the resistance were only a small fraction of the citizens on Ymir. What if the others thought this was too much of a risk—

  While she had been thinking. Nyx had gone back to the map. She was sliding markers into place, and Samara couldn’t make out an expression on her face.

  She looked up. “What?” When Samara said nothing, Nyx sighed. “Did that freak you out?”

  “No,” Samara hastened to assure her. “No, I … agreed with you.”

  Nyx stared at her for a moment, and when Samara said nothing else, she said, “Good,” and went back to her work.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Samara asked after a moment.

  “I really don’t.”

  “It’s just, you looked—after he said it, I mean—about fighting for something, but never having it.” Samara bit her lip. “That’s how I always felt.”

  Nyx looked up, her dark gaze unsettlingly direct.

  Samara swallowed nervously. The words just seemed to keep coming. She couldn’t stop. “Because, well—I thought I’d die when we tried to kill him. It seemed right to think that way, you know? So I wouldn’t do something stupid when I had to choose between doing the right thing and….” Samara’s voice trailed away finally. “And living,” she finished, still lost in the other woman’s gaze.

  Someone else might have tried to assure her that she would live, but Nyx nodded and said, “That’s a good way to think about it.”