Page 6 of Ruin

His name was Ruin.

And he was hers.

Chapter 3

Ruin carried the tiny female through dimly lit corridors, heading for Skeldra’s abandoned districts, his footsteps as silent as a ghost.

The corridors were a labyrinth of cracked walls, flickering lights, and debris strewn across the grimy floors. Shadows lurked in every corner and the air was thick with the stench of decay and neglect.

Though his senses remained on high alert, he moved with confidence, navigating the dark, narrow maze with practiced ease. He'd used these passageways before, when jobs brought him to Skeldra. He knew which twists and turns to take to avoid any unwanted attention.

A faint tremor rippled through her, likely from the cold suffusing these areas. He barely felt the chill, but he’d heard humans were particularly susceptible to it.

Tightening his hold, he tucked her closer against his chest, trying to share more of his heat. The curve of her cheek grazedone of the runic scars slashing across his pectoral, and an uncharacteristic tenderness stirred in his gut.

He glanced down at her, taking in the delicate features visible through the tangled locks of dirty hair—the slope of her nose, the soft curve of her cheek.

She was a fragile thing, like a wisp of smoke that could vanish in an instant. Yet there was a quiet strength in those green eyes peering up at him, a resilience that spoke of the hardships she'd endured.

Her breaths were shallow but steady, her scent—like caramelizedchoc’kor—filled his lungs with each inhale. It was intoxicating... and unsettling.

Finally, they made it to the abandoned sections of the spaceport.

This district was a ghost town, an entire sector of derelict buildings webbed with deserted streets and alleys abandoned after a plague outbreak decades ago.

Faded signs hung askew, their messages lost to time, and every turn revealed another stretch of desolation. The pale glow of the bioluminescent vegetation growing through cracks in the walkways and up the sides of buildings offered the only break from the darkness blanketing this entire area.

Lira lifted her head off his chest, peering around with squinted eyes. “Where are we?”

“Abandoned sections of Skeldra. They call ‘em the ghostways.”

Her lips curled a little. “I like that.”

Surprised, he cast her an interested look. Most beings he’d met who believed in lingering energies feared them.

“Why?”

Her slim shoulders lifted. “If there are ghosts, then you’re not alone.”

Godsdamn. Why did that simple, honest answer hit him like a mag-coil slug to the chest?

Another few minutes of navigating deeper into the district, and he spotted their destination: an old, rundown warehouse he’d secured on his last job here. As he slipped inside, he tightened his grip to draw her dangling legs in closer, careful not to let her bloody feet knock into the frame.

The heavy door creaked as he shouldered it closed, making him freeze. Pausing, he listened intently, increasing the sensitivity of his hearing with a thought.

When all he caught was the distant hum of machinery and the occasional skittering of small creatures in the shadows, he relaxed.

He carried Lira past the towering sentinels of long forgotten equipment and into one of the small, secure offices in the back. Setting her down on a stool, he secured the door, then activated the sub-dermal implant in his left forearm.

With a few taps, Ruin enabled the security measures he'd installed on his last visit. Micro-sensors came to life, forming an invisible net around the perimeter. Any intruders should be detected long before they got close and became a problem.

Looking up, he caught Lira’s curious gaze drifting over the sparse furnishings.

A pop-up bed he’d left last time, hermetically sealed to ensure it remained clean, took up the majority of the room. Crates ofsupplies he’d scavenged lined the far wall, and a table and two stools sat to his right. Past those was a broken down but still functional cleansing room.

Wasn’t much, but it’d suffice.

Ruin retrieved a small med-kit from one of the crates and knelt before her. “Lemme see your feet, little bird.”

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