Page 60 of Angel's Vengeance

It was as much of an icebreaker as he could muster, and mages, did it feel utterly ridiculous given the things the two of them had shared and lived through.How in the holy hell had he let it get to this?Theirs was a history that spanned whole existences.Worlds had literally come and gone during the stretch of their friendship, and now they stood there, in a dilapidated bowling alley, like strangers who cringed at sharing a parking lot, let alone lifetimes.

Not to put too fine a point on the rejection, but it fuckinghurt, and after hurting for so long, Rhode never thoughtthiswould be the torture that truly unraveled him.

Chrome’s hatred was a powerful thing.Rhode saw that now and regretted every moment he’d let the fireball get that big.The sentinel’s loathing had turned into a living, breathing thing that raged with a life of its own.Most beings had the capability to be soothed.He had his Neela to help him realize that.This, on the other hand, had unraveled to the point of uncertainty, mistrust, and despair.

Andthathe couldn’t allow, even if it meant Chrome chose to sever him from the sentinel’s life entirely.Permanently.

He would deserve no less.

“You’re not worth marring the resin.Just had this polished.”Chrome leaned down, ran a gentle hand over the gleaming bowling ball, and took his next shot.The ball careened down the lane with a force Rhode suspected was more of a challenge for Chrome to temper than triangulate.It hit slightly off-center, knocking the bulk of the middle pins down but left two lone soldiers standing on each side.

Chrome cursed.“If you came here to fuck up my game, you’re doing a bang-up job.”

“I came here to explain.”

“Nah, no need.”Chrome waved a dismissive hand at Rhode and looked up at the hanging television—tube, not flat screen—to check his score.The beard painting the angel’s square chin was new and wouldn’t have looked half bad if Chrome hadn’t let it consume half his neck and cheeks.“Damn splits.”

“Chrome—”

“Iron and Tung already talked to me.No, correction.Tung talked to me while Iron, I’m pretty sure, was just asked to be there as a blocker in case I lost my damn mind again and decided to break more shit that wasn’t mine.”

“You had every reason to react the way you did.”

“I know.”The statement was the period at the end of a lifetime’s worth of resentment.“Tell that to Molly, though.”

“She’ll forgive you.”

Chrome shrugged and let the topic die.

“What did Tung tell you?”

Charcoal eyes flashed the molten silver of Chrome’s fire but seemed to be fueled by melancholy rather than malice.“What do you think he told me?”

Rhode took a deep breath.“That I wanted to see you.”

“Well, you found me.Congratu-fucking-lations.”Chrome grabbed his ball from the ball return and sent it sailing toward the pins again.That time, he hit the left pin just right, and the thing careened to the side, taking the other pin with it.

Mages, this would be so much easier if?—

In a race to lose as much patience as Chrome had already lost, apparently, Rhode rounded the corner of the ball return and ignored the sticky wood floor as he squared his shoulders in front of the lane, pins to his back and Chrome to his front.

The sentinel narrowed his eyes.“What are you doing?”

“Trying to get your attention.”

“Looks to me like you’re trying to get your head taken off by a bowling ball.”

Rhode leveled his chin but didn’t move.“If that’s what it takes.”

They stood like that for a long moment, letting the tension charge whatever stage Rhode was about to willingly step onto.He wasn’t one for pretty speeches or motivational pep talks.He’d not done a single one when commanding Chrome’s spy legions, instead preferring to stick to the hard truths of what they would face and the tactics that would see them through the mission.

This was different, though, and uniquely painful, even for someone like him, who’d known endless pain.One never quite got immune to the stuff.

“I didn’t tell you what happened to me because I wanted to protect you.”

“Oh, bullshit.”Chrome waved him off and moved to get his ball.“If you came here to insult me, you wasted your time.”

“Wait!”

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