Page 98 of Only Cold Depths
“No! Stop!” Asterin’s voice ripped through the air, panic ringing through her words. “Leave him alone!”
That horrible, horrible fear squeezed my chest a little tighter, and I ran faster still, my arms pumping by my sides, my stormsword swinging up and down in a sharp, dizzying motion.
I veered past a pile of smoking rubble. The guest wing courtyard appeared up ahead, and I finally forced myself to slow down and slip behind an archway. I drew in a breath to try to slow my racing heart and peered around the side of the stone.
Several mercs surrounded Zane and Asterin, who had their weapons lowered to their sides. A few feet away, two mercs were propping up Kyrion, who was sagging between them, his body limp, his stormsword lying on the ground.
My heart seized, and for one awful, terrible moment, I thought he was dead.
But then his head lolled to the side, and he mumbled something I couldn’t hear.
Esmina was standing next to Kyrion, a silver injector in her hand, with Pollux lurking nearby. Esmina tossed the injector aside, and the spent cartridge tumbled over the rubble in the courtyard. That must have been the phantom sting in my neck I’d felt, and whatever drugs Esmina had given Kyrion must also be interfering with our bond.
A snarl rose in my throat, but I swallowed it, not wanting to give my position away. Esmina froze, then spun around and looked directly at me, despite my hiding spot. Once again, her precognition had told her exactly where I was.
“Let’s go!” Esmina yelled. “We got what we came for! Kill those two! Now!”
The two mercenaries dragged Kyrion backward. Pollux went with them, along with several other mercs. Four men stayed behind, stepped forward, and took better aim at Zane and Asterin.
My gaze darted back and forth between Kyrion and my friends. As much as I wanted to save him, I couldn’t let Zane and Asterin be killed.
Esmina smirked at me. The arrogant bitch already knew what I had chosen.
“Kill them!” she yelled again, backing out of the courtyard.
I sprinted toward the closest mercenary and flung my hand up, hoping, hoping, hoping that this time I could tap into Kyrion’s telekinesis . . .
But once again, nothing happened.
The cold, oily sludge that coated the truebond made it impossible for me to get a grip on Kyrion’s magic. I snarled with frustration, but I kept running forward.
One of the mercs swung his cannon in my direction. I snapped up my stormsword, but I doubted I would be able to swat away a blast from a weapon that powerful—
A violent burst of telekinesis ripped through the courtyard, throwing the mercenary back into another man and knocking them both down to the ground. Zane thrust his hand forward, then pulled it back. Another burst of telekinesis surged off him and yanked a third merc forward.
Zane snapped up his hand cannon and slammed the butt of the weapon into the merc’s forehead. A sickeningcrunchsounded, and the man dropped without making a sound. The other two mercenaries yelled and scrambled back onto their feet. Zane flipped his cannon around and shot one in the chest, while I came up behind another man and sliced my stormsword across his back.
The last merc cursed. His cannon wavered between Zane and me before he focused on Zane. The merc’s finger curled around the trigger—
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Asterin shot the mercenary three times in the chest, and he joined his dead friends on the ground.
My gaze zipped back and forth, but the rest of the mercenaries had retreated with Esmina and Pollux, and no more enemies were left to fight. I tightened my grip on my stormsword, scooped up Kyrion’s weapon from the ground, and ran past both Zane and Asterin.
“Vesper, wait!” Asterin called out.
But yet again, I didn’t have time to wait, and I kept running. Zane’s and Asterin’s footsteps pounded on the ground behind me, but I didn’t slow down. I had to reach Kyrion, even though my seer magic was screaming that it was already too late.
I left the guest wing courtyard behind and sprinted forward. More rubble appeared, along with more and more bodies, showing where the mercs had carved a swath of destruction and death through this part of the estate. I veered around a crumbled archway, and the central topiary garden popped into view.
I plunged into the garden and raced along the center path. My body brushed up against one of the peony bushes, and blue petals swirled through the air like spearmint-scented snowflakes. The aroma reminded me of Kyrion, and I forced myself to run even faster.
Through the topiary trees and hedges, I could see the mercenaries racing through the garden. But instead of heading back to the transport they had landed in, Esmina, Pollux, and their remaining men veered in the opposite direction.
Where were they going?
A familiar buzz sounded, and in the distance, I caught sight of rotors whirling around and around. My heart plummeted into my stomach, but I kept running.
