Page 36 of Sway's Peace
Was she too in shock to resist, or did she want to come?
He wasn’t sure, but he kept moving determinedly forward as he led them out of the office and to the lift that would take them down to the main lobby.
Chapter 10
Grace
What…
What justhappened?!
The last few minutes were running riot in Grace’s brain. She couldn’t slow down her thoughts enough to even make sense of them, much less understand what she’d just witnessed.
She saw someone get murdered right in front of her eyes.
She saw someone miraculously come back to life like nothing happened.
She saw Sway – afarasie!– crack someone’s rib cage like it was a hardboiled egg.
And she was pretty sure they were now fleeing the scene of a crime. Though what crime, she wasn’t even sure anymore!
It was too much. Way too much for her brain. She needed everything to slow down for just a second and give her a moment to process.
She was given no such second. Sway led her by the hand, Loyalty walking calmly beside them, down through the lobby and out into the station proper.
The station connected to the repair docks was shaped like a long tube – the stem of the flower shape that was Hir-Fallow. There were multiple floors, all connected by a series of lifts in the open center. Individual rooms and short halls came off the central circles, each leading to either stores, restaurants, entertainment sectors, and all sorts of other things.
Sway walked them right to one of the waiting lifts and stepped on. Loyalty followed, but no one else did. The lifts usually held around fifteen or so people. So, it was strange that it was only the three of them. Especially when Grace saw a group of people standing right there at the edge, shifting backwards uneasily, giving them odd, frightened looks.
Could they see the violence on them? Did they know what they just did? Loyalty wasn’t covered in blood, like he should be, but there was an obvious hole in his shirt. Grace honestly looked worse than the two of them. Oh, maybe that’s why people were looking. Maybe they were concerned that Grace was being taken by these two.
But no one stopped them as the lift began to shoot downward. Though there were no obvious walls, there was shielding in place that would keep them from falling off and stopped the rushing of wind from disturbing them.
“Why are you following us?” Sway asked, giving Loyalty a look. Grace wouldn’t describe his voice as hostile, but she wouldn’t say it was friendly either. Loyalty gave him a look and smirked.
“Don’t got many other options. He wasn’t willing to fix my ship even before he shot me and I bit him. I highly doubt he’d fix itnow. Besides, like I said, she was nice to me. And I don’t know who you are. Your scent on her isn’t strong, so I don’t think your claim is either.”
“The strength of my claim is irrelevant. She is not yours.”
Loyalty held up a hand. “I have my own mate waiting for me back home. I’m not interested in her that way. There are few who are kind to my people. When I find one who is, I make sure to repay that kindness by orders of magnitude. I rather hope it will encourage more kindness in the future.”
“Again, I don’t think she knows what you are.”
“Even better. I leave a favorable impression before a negative one.”
“Erm…” Grace’s voice was weak and shaky as she finally managed to speak up.
Both males turned and looked at her at the same time, making her freeze up. Her sudden startlement must have been obvious, because their expressions softened at the same time as they faced her fully, slowly, like they were guarding her on either side.
“Are you alright?” Sway asked, using the grip he had on her hand to lift her arm so he could investigate the bruises throbbing there. Handprints in the shape of Covor’s fists already discoloring. Grace winced when she looked at them.
Sway looked so sweetly concerned. It was strange. The stark difference between the ruthless coldness she’d witnessed before and this warm affection was startling.
“I’m fine…” She mumbled, not entirely sure it was true. At the least, though, she didn’t think that her arms were broken. Liftingher eyes from her bruises, she looked between them. “What’s going on? What just… What just happened?”
Loyalty gave her a soft smile. “I think you know that better than us.”
“I really… I don’t know though. He was getting mad at me because I went out with Sway. And I was telling him it wasn’t his business. He started going on this rant about me being his mate and he wasn’t listening when I told him no. He wouldn’t stop yelling and grabbing me. He just… He wouldn’tstop. Then you were there and I don’t… I don’t…”
