Page 198 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
No one corrects me.
Because we did.
Jayce
We appear inthe desert again to see the masked bastard standing at the steps that lead to the temple.
“You can’t stay in there forever,” he snarls.
“Oh, please, trust me, I can. Now come on, huff and puff, Mr Wolf and blow down my sanctuary.” Theo’s voice is like fucking grace right now.
Ahren looks at me, signalling.
We have three seconds to teleport to the steps. I’ll grab Theo, then kick the bastard away so we can teleport without him getting caught up in it. My relics materialise, and I flex my gauntleted hands.
Theo, we’re not far. Be ready to give me your hand when we get to you,I mind-link him.
Aw damn, rescue mission already? I was enjoying getting a tan on the steps to the temple. I don’t think anyone has sunbathed on temple steps.
The thought of losing him has a vice hold on my heart, and my mind flits to earlier…
“YOU LEFT HER!”
The words rip through my burning throat, but I barely feel it. Rage, panic and fear are all bleeding together inside of me.
Ahren flinches. “This is a war, Jayce. I didn’t want to! But your safety-”
“I don’t care!” I thunder.
“I know what it means to lose someone I love. Don’t make this harder for me. She’s going to come back.”
No. No, you don’t get to say that.
I don’t want to hear any of it. I can’t. My ears are ringing, panic pressing against my skull like it’s going to burst.
I should be out there! With all of them, I’m supposed to bethe goddamn Deimos King! Not a coward hiding!
Carter’s trying to talk to me. His voice is a dull buzz under the sound of my own heartbeat, trying to claw out of my chest.
We left them. I left Sienna. What if something happens to her?
I turn to Ahren, squashing that thought as fury bubbles through me like a simmering pot about to overflow.
“Take me back.” My voice is a deadly, menacing snarl.
He meets my eyes, and for a second, I see the pain in them. He’s seen far more pain than I have…
“I can’t,” he says softly.
“You’re choosing not to!” I sound more animal than human now, my heart thumping loudly. “You left her! If something happens to her, I’ll never fucking-”
“Jayce, he’s following orders,” Dad says from behind me, his voice quiet. “Steady yourself.”
How? When there’s no ground beneath my feet, when she’s not beside me?
I turn away from Ahren. I can’t look at him. If I look at him, I’ll break.
“If they aren’t here soon,” Dad says, still calm, still composed, despite the worry etched on his face. “Then Ahren will take you back.”
