Page 42 of Only Rogue Actions
I should have gone slowly, just in case any more Hammers were lurking in the facility, but my steps quickened, and within seconds, I was running through the corridors.I raced down the stairs to the ground level and plunged into the maze.
Without the psionic dampeners, I was able to sense exactly where Kyrion was, and it didn’t take me long to reach the forest biodome.He was sitting on the bench watching the leaves twirl up and down in the man-made breeze.Roderick’s hammer was now laid out across Kyrion’s lap, like he didn’t have the strength to hold it any longer, and the lunarium was barely glowing with his dark blue magic.
Tiredness rippled through the bond in continuous waves, along with the discomfort of the gruesome blaster burn on his left hand.The psionic shield Kyrion had used to wall off the injury was slowly cracking, allowing more pain to seep back into the Arrow’s body and reverberate along the bond to me.
“Kyr!”I rushed forward.“Are you okay?”
It was a silly thing to ask, since I could feel just how much he was hurting, but Kyrion smiled at me anyway, and it was as warm and welcome as the sun breaking through a dark, stormy cloud.
He set the hammer aside and slowly hoisted himself onto his feet.He smiled at me again, but his shoulders slumped, and the sticky cobweb of him ached.“More or less.You?”
“More or less.”
I put the trident down, and Kyrion stepped forward and cupped my cheek in his uninjured right hand.I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.The air in the biodome was chilly, but Kyrion’s lips were warm and firm, and I drank in the solid, quiet strength radiating off him.
Kyrion’s hand drifted up into my hair, and he wound his fingers through the tangled locks and drew me closer.I curled my hands into his ruined jacket, relishing the steady beat of his heart underneath my fingertips.I drew in a breath, and his spearmint scent sank deep into my lungs, sharp and sweet, just like the blue-moon peonies in my mindscape.
The sticky cobweb of Kyrion in my mind vibrated with pleasure and relief.I hummed in response and deepened the kiss, my tongue flicking against his—
“I told you they were fine,” a familiar voice said.
Kyrion and I broke apart.
Siya was now standing in the forest biodome.She lifted her war hammer and propped the weapon on her right shoulder, then jerked her chin at Kyrion and me.“They’re well enough to kissy-kiss, so I’m assuming neither one of them is particularly close to dying.”
Asterin stepped into the biodome, still clutching her silver blaster.She glanced back and forth between Kyrion and me, then sighed with relief.
“Any more Hammers in the facility?”I asked.
Siya shook her head.“No more Hammers are roaming around, and no guards are stationed outside.Looks like Roderick kept his inner circle pretty small.Not surprising, considering the circumstances.”
Asterin walked over and stared down at Roderick.Her face paled, and her eyes darkened with grief.Thanks to Kyrion’s telempathy, I could feel exactly how much she was hurting.The bumps and bruises the Hammers had given her were small stings compared with the spears of shock that kept lancing through her chest.
“I can’t believe Roderick did this to us, tome.I thought he was ...”Asterin’s voice trailed off, and she shook her head in a violent motion, making her long black hair whip around her shoulders.“I don’t knowwhatI thought he was.”
Siya stretched out a hand to comfort her stepsister, but Asterin skirted away.She didn’t even see Siya’s hand or the concern that creased the other woman’s face.
A bitter laugh spewed out of Asterin’s lips, and Siya, Kyrion, and I all grimaced at the harsh, caustic sound.“Yet again, I was completely wrong about someone,” Asterin muttered.“Sometimes I think that’s the story of my life.”
The shock on her face quickly vanished, replaced by a disgusted sneer, although I couldn’t tell if she was angrier at Roderick for his horrid crimes or at herself for not seeing the charming lord for the cruel beast he had truly been.
Asterin sneered at Roderick’s body a moment longer, then spun around and stalked away.Siya watched her leave, but she didn’t call out to her stepsister.
In the distance, shouts sounded, along with a high, piercing whistle.Kyrion and I both tensed, but Siya waved her hand.
“That’s Rigel giving me an all clear,” she said.“I used my tablet to send him a distress call, but he was already on his way here, thanks to you, Vesper.I should go find him and the other House Collier Hammers.And Asterin too.”
Siya nodded at us, then left the biodome.
Kyrion looked down at Roderick’s body, and the sticky cobweb of him pulsed with even more weariness, along with an icy rage that took my breath away.“If I could, I would kill that bastard all over again for everything he’s done,” Kyrion growled.“To me, you, Asterin, Siya, and all the people he hunted and murdered in here.”
I laid my hand on his upper right arm, careful of his injuries.“I know.Me too.”
At my touch, Kyrion shuddered, and some of the icy rage thawed in his body.When he looked at me again, his eyes were calm, although his body sagged with exhaustion.
“Let’s get out of here,” Kyrion muttered.“I never want to see this place again.”
I slipped my arm around his waist.Kyrion leaned on me, and together we left Roderick’s body behind to be covered up by the swirling, falling leaves.
