Page 43 of True As Steel

But the grateful glance she cast my way when she released him made no mystery she believed I’d been the reason he’d decided to stay. I wasn’t the only reason, but it still tickled me pink that I’d played an important role in it.

“I have a meeting in a few minutes,” Haelin said apologetically. “We can discuss more in detail the kind of role you two will want to play here, as well as more permanent living arrangements. I mean, you’re welcome to remain in the suite, but if you would prefer a house of your own, we can arrange that. Just think on it.”

“Thanks, Haelin,” I said with gratitude.

She winked and headed back up to the executive lounge. Jarog and I exited Perdition and walked less than a block away from the nightclub to the fitness center. While I came here to train every other day, Jarog used the shit out of these facilities every day for a couple of hours. Considering the diligence with which he performed every single one of his routines confused me into thinking he was a fitness freak. But I discovered that my man didn’t particularly enjoy training. However, it remained a necessary chore for him to maintain the muscle mass required to operate the heavy components of his enhanced body.

We were just concluding our warm ups when Loreus arrived. His presence shouldn’t have surprised me. After all, as a Cyborg, he also needed daily training. He smiled at me in greeting, and nodded at Jarog, then proceeded to perform his own warm ups. The atmosphere shifted in the room. I wouldn’t call it tension—as there was no animosity between the two men—yet I felt in the presence of two predators assessing each other.

Jarog picked up two twenty-five pound dumbbells before getting on the treadmill. I got on the one next to his. In no time, Jarog was in a fast jog—more akin to a run for me—with a dumbbell in each hand. He was magnificent to behold with his perfect posture, his lean and muscular body, and graceful movements filled with controlled power. I didn’t miss how Loreus discreetly studied my man while finishing his own warm ups.

Once done, Loreus also picked up a pair of dumbbells before getting on the treadmill. My chest constricted as he began to train, quickly working his speed up to match Jarog. Both Cyborgs were examining each other through their reflections in the floor to ceiling mirror in front of us. At first, I’d thought this was merely some healthy competition between two prime specimens. Now, I realized this was an audition. They were pushing themselves, each adjusting to the other, their movements falling almost into perfect sync. The sight amazed and terrified me.

Last night, Jarog had committed to us. In my happiness, I’d jumped at the opportunity. But deep down, I’d wondered if he had been too hasty in his decision, influenced by his sense of guilt and the wrong assumption that he wouldn’t be wanted for having been a loyalist. Was he reconsidering?

I gave up on the treadmill long before they did, moving on to the resistance machines. I tried not to let jealousy and fear overtake me as I watched them doing free weights, assisting each other when needed. Over the past couple of weeks, Jarog and I had taken to occasionally sparring during our training sessions. But today, he did so with Loreus. I’d thought our fighting had been epic, but seeing the two of them going at it was a painful eye opener. I could never rival their speed, strength, or the complexity of techniques and combat styles they mixed and transitioned to in a blink in response to the situation.

Was he bored this whole time we trained together?

In that instant, I realized how keeping him with me would hold him back. I couldn’t offer him what his brothers could. Even though both Cyborgs had that usual, neutral expression plastered on their faces as they battled, Jarog had never seemed more alive. He’d mentioned missing the special connection with another Cyborg through their closed neural network. Loreus and his pod could give him that. Should I selfishly let Jarog ‘settle’ for me because he had hastily pledged himself to me… to us?

The city-wide alarm going off put an end to my dark musings. The men immediately stopped sparring. Jarog cast a glance towards me, a silent communication passing between us, and all three of us broke into a run. The Cyborgs nabbed their towels in passing, wiping the sweat off their faces as we raced towards Perdition.

Outside, the Narengi troops—which also included non-Narengi soldiers—were rushing to their respective battle stations around the walls and towers defending the city. The reinforced doors, blocking the access to Satos, closed with a hissing sound, followed by a series of loud clanks. The sky overhead seemed to shimmer as the energy field of the city’s protective dome formed above us.

Yelena and Lanish came running out of Perdition just as we were about to enter it. Both of them held a pair of strange-looking staff-like sticks that seemed filled with electricity.

“Suit up and grab some weapons,” Yelena ordered. “We’ve got massive air and ground attacks incoming.”

Without waiting for our response, they hurried outside. Jarog and I raced to our suite to put on the armor Haelin had provided us, while Loreus went up to the room she had assigned to him. I didn’t know where it was located, only that it was in one of the upper floors of Perdition. We came back to the main floor to find the Narengi leader in full battle gear, a hovercart next to her laden with the same type of lightning sticks Yelena and Lanish had carried. Around the dance floor, every giant screen was on, displaying the feed of the different surveillance cameras of the city in a mosaic.

By the time we closed the distance with her, Loreus was coming down the stairs, and hastened to our side.

“Looks like Grellik is even more pissed off than I thought,” Haelin said with a hardness in her eyes that made me shiver. “Judging by the number and type of troops he’s got incoming, he doesn’t want revenge, but to raze this city.”

“With all the Dalirium?” I exclaimed.

“He’s past that,” Haelin said. “He wants to make an example out of Satos so that no one will ever dare challenge him again, and likely to save face. The airstrikes are not a threat. They’re purely a distraction that will never get through our defenses. Their land troops are the true menace, or more specifically, their Burrowers.”

The Narengi leader gestured with her head at one of the giant screens. Using the remote, she set one of the camera feeds to full screen then zoomed in on a series of not particularly remarkable tank-looking vehicles.

“These shits look like inoffensive transport tanks, but they are infiltration devices—trojan horses if you prefer,” Haelin ground through her teeth. “Grellik knows he can’t get through my walls from above or through the front door. So, he will do so from below. The nose of these vehicles transforms into a fairly nasty drill. As per its name, it will burrow underground, and drill a path inside the city before unloading the troops it carries. They have a capacity of fifty men.”

“Judging by these camera feeds, it looks like there’s at least a dozen of these Burrowers,” Jarog said in a tense voice. “They intend to overrun us from within.”

“Yes, which is why we need to stop them with this,” Haelin said, lifting one of the lightning sticks to show us. “Using these ultrasonic blasters, we can force them back up. You only need to place them on the ground and aim the base at your target with the holographic interface. Once you’ve got it in your crosshairs, fire away, and the blaster will emit a focused ultrasonic wave. On top of damaging their equipment, it will make the passengers extremely sick, and will eventually kill them. They’ll have no choice but to come out if they want to have a chance to fight back, or they’ll be buried alive.”

“Won’t it affect the structures above?” I asked.

“Although it will weaken the ground, I do not expect much damage from that,” Haelin said with a frown. “It’s where the Burrowers will come out that could get messy and wreck some buildings. But that damage can be repaired, so it’s no big deal. It’s the troops those tanks carry that I want eliminated before they can harm my people.”

The sound of distant explosions outside had all of our heads jerking towards the monitors on the walls. Fortunately, it was merely the anti-ballistic missiles countering the ones launched by the Fereins against the city.

“Yelena and Lanish are assigning units to canvas the city, and neutralize them,” Haelin continued, drawing our attention back to her. “As you are the best fighters we have here right now, I would like you guys to assist in that effort.”

“Of course,” I replied, while the two Cyborgs nodded.

“I’m sorry you’re being dragged into our war,” Haelin said to Loreus in an apologetic tone.

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