by S. E. Smith
He nodded and sat beside her on the bed. “You don’t have to do this.”
She clutched the sheets. “I do.”
He reached up and stroked a strand of her hair, tucking a curl behind her ear. “I knew you would say that. I have something for you.”
He held up a small, circular object. As soon as her fingers settled on the grip, blades flared out above her fingers. She jerked. Yikes.
“It’s called a nular. It’s very sharp, and Maxon only makes a few of them every year.”
She turned it over. It fit her smaller hand perfectly, and wasn’t too heavy.
“When you throw it, it’ll return to you. And it’s small enough to fit in your pocket.”
Warmth filled her chest. He was protecting her. Her own private guard. “Thank you, Zaden.”
His fingers gripped her chin and he lowered his head, his kiss long and thorough.
When he raised his head, she was breathless. “You’re getting way too good at kissing.”
“Good.” But his face turned serious. “Do not get hurt, Calla. If you do, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do in revenge.”
Zaden stayed in the shadows, his gaze on the ruins of the ancient temple.
He was wearing the robes of a desert dweller, with the hood pulled up over his face. He slouched against the wall in a completely uncharacteristic way, just as other visitors around the square were doing.
The temple was made of the same cream stone as the Kor Magna Arena, and most of the city’s buildings. But this ruin was far older than most of the city, and most of it had tumbled down long ago.
No one knew who’d built it. Some speculated that perhaps the Creators—the ancient advanced species who’d seeded humanoid life throughout the galaxy—were the builders. The only thing Zaden knew was that the temple was older than anything else in the city, and it now functioned as a tourist attraction.
He slowly glanced around and spotted Mace. The big cyborg was also in disguise, and dressed in similar robes to Zaden’s.
Zaden knew the other cyborgs were dotted around the square. He glanced up, studying the roof lines. Some were hidden in the shadows. Acton for sure, who didn’t always blend in well.
Zaden’s hands tightened. In the square, there were plenty of tourists and a few locals. He instantly spotted Calla.
Her head was uncovered, the sun shining off her black hair. She wore simple trousers, and a bright-blue shirt.
He took a breath, emotion filling him. He had to pull deep to find some control. He needed his emotions contained so he could safely see this mission through. Calla’s safety was his top priority.
She was his to protect.
He’d touched her, kissed her, pleasured her. He’d been inside her. So now she was his. He wouldn’t let her get hurt, even if he had to unleash the full power of his abilities. The ones he’d spent a lifetime fighting to cage.
“Any sign of the mercs?” Jax’s voice was a whisper in his earpiece.
“No,” Zaden replied.
“No.” Mace.
“Nothing,” Toren said.
“No.” Acton’s voice was cold and emotionless.
Magnus was here as well, somewhere. Zaden’s nerves stretched tight. He wasn’t used to feeling nervous on a mission. Calla had cracked him open, and let his emotions free, for better or worse.
He flicked his gaze over every person in the square. Nothing and no one seemed out of place. There were several tourists pointing at the ruins, interest on their faces. Some laughing children were running through the rubble.
Nearby, a woman with a heavily pregnant belly was walking slowly, her face tipped up to the sunshine.
His gaze moved back to Calla. She was now sitting on the broken remnants of a wall, her hair dancing in the breeze.
Nearby, one of the children tripped. The boy went down and immediately started wailing. The pregnant woman was standing close to the child, but instead of helping, she skirted him, shooting him an annoyed look.
Zaden frowned.
Not so long ago, he wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss with the woman’s actions. But now, he’d spent enough time around Ever—a protective mother—to know that wasn’t normal. He’d paid more attention to the House of Rone workers and their children, as well.
The woman kept walking, moving closer to Calla.
Zaden touched his ear. “The pregnant woman—”
Before he finished his sentence, the woman ripped her robe off. Her belly wasn’t a belly. She had a small drone bot held against her. She threw the device into the air. The drone’s wings flared out and it rose into the air.
Drak. It was armed.
Zaden was already moving. He watched the drone’s weapons swivel and it started firing laser blasts around the square.
People screamed and ran.
Zaden leaped over a low rock wall. He saw the woman lunge at Calla. A second later, Calla’s body collapsed, as though she’d gone boneless.
Energy punched through Zaden. What had the woman done to her?
As he ran, dodging laser fire from the drone, the woman lifted Calla and tossed her over one shoulder. The woman held a blaster in her hand.
Zaden dodged another laser blast and dived in behind some rocks. Laser fire rained down around him, pinning him in place.
“I can’t get to Calla.”
“Hang on.” Mace’s voice came through Zaden’s earpiece.
A second later, a shadow leaped over him. He looked up at sunlight glinting off silver. It was Mace, his skin now all metallic, like a silver shield.
Zaden jumped up and moved in behind Mace. The man’s shield-like skin deflected the lasers.
“Take the drone down,” Mace yelled.
Mace dropped down on one knee. Zaden took two steps and pressed his boot into the cyborg’s back. He leaped into the air.
The drone passed overhead and he grabbed it. Using his enhanced strength, he yanked it downward. He hit the ground and slammed the machine into the dirt. It made a whirring sound.
Zaden rose and stomped his boot down on the weapon. He kept stomping until all the lights on the drone winked off.
Then he looked up. The female mercenary was racing to the other side of the square, Calla bouncing on her shoulder.
All around the square, he saw the House of Rone cyborgs converging—Magnus, Jax, Acton, Toren.
Then, there was a rush of noise overhead.
Zaden looked up, his jaw tightening. Several figures wearing powered wing suits were dropping in, like a flock of birds. They skimmed just above the temple ruins. The woman held Calla’s body up in the air, and one of the mercs in a wing suit snatched Calla into his arms. Then he pulled back up into the sky.
The next merc grabbed the female, and she dangled from below as he also pulled up into the sky.
No!
Adrenaline punched through Zaden. He threw his arms up, letting his power out. It exploded out of him—fierce and brutal.
The wave of the energy caught the mercs, causing them to rock and jerk in the air.
Zaden pulled back, and several of the flying mercenaries flew backward, their shouts filling the air. They slammed into the ground, tumbling and rolling.
But none of them were the one who’d taken Calla.
He spotted the shadow in the sky as the crudspawn took her away from him.
No. He ground his teeth and looked at the closest merc. He flicked a finger, and the merc rose into the air, hovering in front of Zaden.
The man saw Zaden’s face and whimpered.
“Zaden.” Magnus’ firm voice.
But Zaden didn’t listen to his imperator. They’d taken Calla.
He ripped the wing suit off the man. The merc dropped to the ground and started crawling away.
Zaden slipped his arms into the straps of the suit.
“Zaden, wait.” Jax stepped forward. “We need to—”
“Calla can’t wait.”
Zaden touched the controls, firing the suit’s en
gine. He shot into the sky.
Chapter Seven
Calla jerked awake, fighting through the fog in her head.
The pregnant woman. She’d had some sort of robot, and then come at Calla with a pressure injector.
Wind rushed into Calla’s face, clearing the last remnants of the drug away.
She gasped as she realized her predicament. She was high in the sky. Really high. Far below, Kor Magna raced past.
Oh, by the Goddess. A scream lodged in her throat. She turned her head and looked into the hard face of a mercenary. Goggles covered his eyes, and he had a bald head and a tattoo that wound around his neck.
She started to struggle.
Hard arms squeezed her until she could barely breathe. He yanked her up until his mouth was pressed to her ear.
“Be still, or I’ll drop you.”
Fear tried to flood her, but she fought it back. No. No one could scare her. Not anymore. She’d survived the Edull, she’d survive this sandsucker.
She elbowed the man in the gut and he grunted. Then she smacked him in the face.
He dropped her.
Screaming, Calla flailed her arms as she fell through the air.
A second later, the merc swooped in and caught her again.
“Behave,” he growled over the howl of the wind.
Then he zoomed upward, his powered suit driving them higher into the sky. As they rose, she realized he was aiming for a huge skyscraper that speared up into the air.
Moments later, they landed on the shiny, slick roof. The mercenary’s boots slid a little on the polished glass until he stopped.
He set her on her feet and pushed his goggles up. Calla scrambled away from him, felt her own boots slide until she threw her arms out.
“Now we wait for your pick-up.” The wings on his suit folded in behind his back.
“Why?” she demanded. “Why does anyone want me?”
He sent her a harsh look. “I don’t know, but usually it’s because people know too much.”
Calla frowned. She didn’t know anything important. Or did she? She bit down on her lip. Maybe she knew something that could help lead to the other humans who were still trapped? But if she did, she had no idea what it was.
She wrapped her arms around her middle. She needed to escape. But as she scanned the empty rooftop, she saw no way out. The very center of the roof was flat, but the edges were sloped. Her stomach churned. Then after that was only a breath-stealing drop off the side.
She wasn’t physically strong like Quinn, or smart like Ever and Jayna, or unflaggingly positive like Sage. She wasn’t brave or courageous, and she definitely wasn’t a fighter.
Calla pulled in a shaky breath. Zaden and the House of Rone would come for her. She straightened, a sense of calm filling her. All she had to do was hold on until then.
She turned and looked at the mercenary. He had an arm up, his hand shielding his eyes. He was looking up into the faded-blue sky. She glanced up, and her mechanical heart knocked against her ribs.
A dark shape was racing toward them.
Another merc, she guessed, her stomach twisting. But as the shape drew closer, she heard the man beside her curse.
A heartbeat later, she recognized the lean, powerful body. It was Zaden! Her heart leaped into her throat.
“Drakking cyborgs.” The merc yanked a blaster out of a holster on his hip.
A sharp pain speared through her chest. She was not letting him hurt Zaden.
Calla threw herself at the mercenary. As they collided, his shot went wild. He cursed.
They crashed to the rooftop and rolled. Momentum carried them off the flat part of the roof, and they started sliding slowly along the slick, sloping glass.
Goddess. She flattened her body to try and stop her descent.
The mercenary cursed again, and this time, he smacked at Calla’s head. His open palm hit her cheek and she saw stars.
“You’ll regret this,” he said.
“Never. I am so done being a punching bag for sandsuckers.” Calla pushed onto her hands and knees. Then she jumped on him.
She punched and kicked him. Her knuckles cracked into his hard jaw, and pain exploded through her hand. She ignored it and hit him again.
He was muttering all kinds of creative curses under his breath. Fury was a wild thing inside her, fueling her moves. She kept hitting him, over and over, and it felt cathartic to let it out.
Then there was a rush of wind.
Zaden dropped down in front of them, landing with a bend of his knees.
Zaden cut off the power to the flight suit, the wings snapping closed behind him. He strode toward Calla and the mercenary. She was straddling the man, the two of them tussling, and still sliding across the roof.
Reaching them, Zaden gripped her and pulled her off. The mercenary scrambled back and leaped to his feet. He yanked a long knife from a sheath on his back.
He lunged at them, and Zaden pushed Calla out of the way. The merc attacked again, and Zaden dodged.
The roof was dangerously slick and sloping. It was hard to keep his balance, and he used his telekinetic power to halt his slide. Then he charged the mercenary, leading with several hard punches.
The mercenary grunted under the impact of the blows. He dropped to one knee.
Zaden used his telekinesis to lift the man off his feet.
“Drak!” the merc spat.
“You should never have targeted her,” Zaden said.
“It’s just a job. Nothing personal.”
“It’s personal to me. It’s personal to the House of Rone.” Zaden drew the man closer.
The man suddenly yanked a small blaster out of a pocket. He fired the weapon.
A flash of energy hit Zaden, blue electricity racing over him. Drak, a pulse weapon that was designed to disrupt cyborg implants. Pain raced along his veins. He felt his nose start to bleed.
“Zaden!” Calla’s cry.
Zaden dropped to his knees, his implants shutting off.
The merc dropped to the roof, shaking himself. Then he smiled, advancing on Zaden.
“When a drakking machine is causing problems, it’s time to shut it off.” The merc lifted his knife again. It was still clutched in his hand. He stabbed at Zaden.
The blade sank into Zaden’s shoulder. Pain flared and he gritted his teeth. With his systems offline, he couldn’t block the agony or stem the bleeding.
“Get away from him!”
Calla leaped on the mercenary’s back, clinging to him. And suddenly, Cat came out of nowhere with a wild screech.
What the drak?
The cyborg cat leaped onto the merc’s shoulder, and sank her claws into his bald scalp.
“Drak!” The man staggered backward.
Zaden managed to get one boot under his body. He watched Calla repeatedly hit the mercenary. Cat sliced up the man’s shirt.
But then Zaden’s heart thumped. The merc was staggering dangerously close to the edge of the roof.
Zaden tried to form the words to warn Calla, but his systems were still rebooting. He forced his other leg under him.
“Calla.” The word was barely a whisper.
Then suddenly, the mercenary whirled. “Drakking cat!”
He flung Cat off him. The feline flew through the air, landing with her feet spread. The merc fell on his side, Calla still clinging to him. They started to slide down the roof.
Right toward the edge.
Calla rolled away, trying desperately to stop her slide. The merc was scrabbling, trying to find any purchase.
Zaden shook off the last of his system malfunction and charged forward. “Calla!”
Calla’s palms slid along the glass. She couldn’t stop herself. Her heart was pumping so hard she could barely breathe.
Nearby, she watched the merc catch himself, his body flat to the glass. She had no idea where Cat had come from, but the feline had her paws spread, her claws digging into the glossy surface.
But Calla w
as still sliding. Zaden shouted her name.
A second later, her body flew over the edge. She screamed.
A hard hand clamped onto her wrist, stopping her fall. As she dangled over the side of the building, she looked up into Zaden’s face.
He was lying flat on his belly, reaching out over the edge.
“Zaden.” His shirt was wet with blood, and she bit her lip.
“It’s okay, Calla. I have you.”
Then her gaze flickered up. The merc appeared, a nasty smile on his face. He had a scary-looking knife in his hands.
“Watch out!” she cried.
The merc bent over and drove the knife into Zaden’s back.
Zaden’s body jerked.
“No. No. No.” Tears welled in her eyes.
The merc stabbed again, and Zaden made a pained sound, but he didn’t let go of her.
“Can you block the pain?”
“Systems…not working at full capacity.”
So, he was in agony.
There was a furious, feline cry and the merc cursed and whirled. She didn’t know what Cat had done, but a second later, the merc was back. He stabbed Zaden again.
At that moment, Calla made a realization. Zaden wouldn’t let her go. He would hold on to her and ensure she didn’t fall, no matter what happened to himself.
Zaden was loyal to the bone. But Calla knew that he couldn’t hold her and defend himself.
“Let me go,” she told him.
His silver eyes glinted. “Never.”
“Let me go and stop him, then use your power to pull me back up.”
Just the thought of it—of plummeting toward the ground—made her stomach roll. She tried not to let it show on her face.
Zaden’s face showed his torment. God, her cyborg was crazy about her.
“I trust you,” she said.
The merc plunged the knife in again, and Zaden slid closer to the edge.
“Do it,” Calla urged. “Or we’ll both die.”
Zaden made a choked sound, then he let her go.
Calla fell fast, air rushing all around her. Her hair whipped into her face, stinging her tear-soaked cheeks.
Fear rose up, but it was tempered with the knowledge that Zaden would come for her. No matter what, he’d come for her.
