Page 43 of Aria's Ascension

Backing out, she turned and eyed her men.

“I can’t see shit. Red, can you hold that by yourself? I need Kix’s light.”

He nodded sharply and moved so he was straddling the handle, using both his full body weight and the strength in his arms to keep it open.

“Hurry. Gods’ tears, this is exceedingly uncomfortable.”

He looked like a giant trying to ride one of those stick horse toys she’d seen children play with. She had the sudden urge to laugh, but choked it back.

Kix stuck his arm in with her that time, illuminating a vertical shaft made of perfectly smooth metal ascending upward into darkness. Wiggling until she could draw one of her arms inside, she reached up as high as she could and patted the walls for another seam or a latch of some kind.

If this was an Indiana Jones movie, I would one hundred percent have spiders and shit crawling all over me.

There was nothing but smooth walls.

“Aria,” came Tirox’s strained voice.

Goddamnit!

“Kix, get a rock!”

His arm disappeared, and she heard running footsteps. He was back in less than a second, shoving a rock between the door at the same moment that she backed out. Tirox leapt off the ax handle and yanked it back, letting the door slam down on the head-sized boulder.

It held, thankfully.

Both her men looked at her expectantly, but she grimaced and shook her head.

“I couldn’t see where it led or how far up it went, but it’s possible it leads all the way up to the arena.” Pausing, she braced for their reactions before continuing, “Neither of you would fit. But, I can.”

Matching expressions of incredulity met her statement. Tirox’s changed to what was either appalled amusement or apoplectic outrage. She couldn’t quite tell which.

He opened and shut his mouth several times before his swirling eyes went completely still and darkened to a shade of gold so deep they were almost brown.

His voice was so low she felt more than heard it when he growled, “Female! If you do not stop trying to go off without us I… I will bind you to a boulder and make you clench until you cannot walk!”

Aria’s brows slowly climbed up her forehead.

Hmm. Definitely not amusement. Good to know.

This wasn’t the time, and she tried. She really tried to hold back, but she couldn’t. She never was one to back down from a challenge. Narrowing her eyes, she smiled provocatively and purred, “I’d like to see you try.”

Before Tirox could take more than a step in her direction, Kix was standing between them. He sent her barbarian a cross look.

“Enough. You should know better than to goad her.” Tirox snarled angrily at being scolded, but Kix ignored him and spun on her. “Yet, he is justified in his anger. You are so quick to face danger without us. Do you think us inept? Are you determined to die? What is it that compels you to want to leave us behind?”

In the face of her mens’ ire, and Kix’s angry accusations, Aria was speechless. They’d been irritated with her before, even gave her a serious talking to for planning to reconnoiter the labs without them, but she couldn’t ever remember them being truly angry.

The worst part was that Kix was right, they had every reason to be pissed.

She only wanted to protect them, and it was never her intention to make them feel as though she thought them helpless or incompetent. But, that’s apparently exactly what she’d done.

She was being an asshole. Admitting that, she deflated. Propping a hand on her hip, she bowed her head and rubbed the back of her neck.

Voice quiet, she said, “No, I don’t think either of you are inept. And I have zero interest in dying.” Sighing deeply, she looked back up and met their gazes. “I just… Look, I don’t have a fucking clue how to deal with the two people I love more than anything in the world being in life or death situations, okay? I’m trying, here, but my first instinct is and always will be to protect you both, at any cost. I don’t know how to change that.”

“We have yet to explore all possibilities,aessa. Do not ask us to remain behind while you face danger alone unless all our deaths are imminent, coupled with that being ouronlyviable choice.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “You’re right. I’d be livid if either of you tried to pull some shit like that. Just thinking about one of you running off and leaving me behind makes me wanna go cavewoman on your asses. So, I’ll try to do better, okay?”

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