Page 46 of Only Rogue Actions
I grumbled, but I couldn’t hide my smile.After being on my own for so long, Vesper’s fussing pleased and soothed my inner monster, who let out a little purr of satisfaction.
After I was healed and the medtable released me, Vesper and I joined Siya, Rigel, and Asterin in Lord Aldrich’s library.Our friends had already told Aldrich and Verona everything that had happened, but Vesper and I chimed in and added our own stories to the mix.
The Erzton lord paced back and forth behind his desk, swiping through screens on his tablet.Aldrich had the same hazel eyes, straight nose, and light brown skin as Siya, although his hair was more iron-gray than black, given he was in his sixties.Verona stood off to the side, her hands clasped in front of her.The Erzton lady was a few years younger than her husband, and her long black hair and pale skin made her look like an older version of Asterin.
Verona’s blue eyes flicked from her husband over to Vesper and me.I met her gaze and nodded.Verona gave me a grim smile and nodded back.
Aldrich tossed his tablet down onto his desk in disgust.“Roderick was luring people into his training facility and hunting them like animals?”He shook his head.“I still can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” I said in a wry voice, flexing my left fingers.
Despite the medtable’s ministrations, my hand still ached, and I knew that I would feel the phantom sting of the lava-rigged blaster bolt for a long time, just as I would hear the echoes of Roderick’s singsong voice as he stalked me through the maze.
Siya swiped through some screens on her own tablet.“According to the information Jeffrey gave us, Roderick killed more than four dozen people in the maze.No one ever traced any of the disappearances back to the training facility, and Roderick could have easily gone on hunting people for years to come.”
“If he hadn’t decided to pick Kyrion and Vesper as his next targets,” Verona said in a soft voice.
Vesper crossed her arms over her chest.“And that’s my main question.Whywould he do that?”
Everyone looked at her.
“What do you mean?”Siya asked.
Vesper gestured back and forth between herself and me.“Why would Roderick pick Kyrion and me as his next targets?Whyusspecifically and not some other truebonded couple?”
“Roderick told Kyrion he wanted a challenge,” Rigel replied.“That he wanted to test his skills against the best of the best.”
Vesper nodded.“Maybe he did.But if Roderick truly wanted to test his skills, then why not take usbothon at once?”
“Because deep down, he was a fucking coward who didn’t want to risk losing,” Asterin chimed in, her voice dripping with venom.
She hadn’t said much since Vesper and I had entered the library.Everyone stared at her now, but Asterin crossed her arms over her chest and kept her gaze fixed on the flames crackling in the fireplace.
Vesper cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence.“Plus, the Black Scarab in the maze was trying to capture me, not kill me.Then, later on, in the control room when Jeffrey realized I wasn’t in the maze anymore, he also told the House Battis Hammers to capture me, not kill me.Jeffrey didn’t want to ruin some deal Roderick had made.”
Aldrich frowned.“You think something else was going on?That there was some other reason Roderick lured you both into the maze?”
Vesper nodded.“I think it’s a strong possibility.”
“Like what?”Verona asked.
Vesper shrugged.“I’m not sure.Roderick might have wanted Kyrion and me in the maze, but he also wanted us separated.He also wanted to kill Kyrion but not me.”
Her lips puckered, and her gaze grew distant, as though she was considering a hundred possibilities to explain Roderick’s odd actions.The velvety ribbon of her also hummed in my mind.
Anything you want to share?I asked.
Vesper shook her head the tiniest bit.It’s just a theory.I need to think about it some more.I don’t want to tell the others unless I’m absolutely certain.
“Well, I don’t care about Roderick Battis’s motives, only his actions.”Aldrich shot another disgusted look at the tablet still lying on his desk.
“What do you want to do?”Verona asked in a soft voice.
Aldrich started pacing again.“That’s the problem.I can’tdomuch of anything.I can’t approach anyone at House Battis with this information.If they didn’t know what Roderick was doing, they’ll be stunned.Most likely, they won’t believe me.”
“And if they did know what Roderick was doing?”Asterin muttered, still staring into the crackling flames in the fireplace.
“Then they’ll deny it and cover up the scandal even more so than they already have.”Aldrich stopped pacing, then scooped up his tablet.“Either way, news of the transport crash has already hit the gossipcasts, so I need to follow protocol, reach out to Lady Battis, and offer my condolences for her loss.”
