Page 19 of Rebels Rising

‘Cadmus?’ Bromm’s distinctly sensual voice came from behind me and I swirled in place to look at him.

‘Bromm!’ I beamed, relief filling me at the sight if him standing before me looking strong andalive. But then I tilted my head in confusion. ‘You can see me?’

‘Mostly,’ he said with a frown. ‘How are you here?’

I shrugged, hoping the motion was visible enough for him to catch. ‘I don’t know. How areyouhere?’ I threw back at him.

He snorted. ‘Touché.’

‘Do you know what’s happening to me?’ I asked, eagerly taking a step towards him. I wobbled, though, my weight now present enough to send me almost toppling over the side of the thin line beneath my ghostly feet. My arms windmilled as I fought to regain my balance, and Bromm rushed to me to help before stepping back again, unable to actually touch me. Thankfully, I found my centre of gravity once more.

‘Shit,’ I huffed, the chill of the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

‘Yeah, you need to be careful here or you’ll fall right over the edge.’

I snorted. ‘Yeah, no shit.’ I looked over the side, vertigo making my eyes swim. ‘What happens if you do?’

His beard shuddered with the rest of him as his eyes darkened. ‘I would assume you would be… lost.’

The void suddenly seemed even scarier and I pulled my limbs closer to my centre as possible, unwilling to even let them dangle close to that fate. But I hadn’t missed Bromm’s confidence as he stood before me, unfaltering in his stance.

‘How are you doing that?’

His expression took on a wistful note, his beard parting to reveal the smile tugging at his purple lips. ‘Artemis showed up one day. The lines grabbed us and sort of… magnetised us to them before merging into one. They won’t let me fall.’

My bottom lip poked out as I pouted. ‘Why won’t it do that for me?’ I knew I was whining, but I couldn’t help it.

He just chuckled, ignoring my petulant tone. ‘I have a feeling it will eventually. It took an entire solar before I connected with Artemis like that. Maybe it will happen for you sooner when she comes back. I assume you’ve already been here before if you’re somewhat opaque now?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah, last night. When was your first time?’

‘Right after Artemis and I were intimate for the first time,’ he admitted, a longing note in his tone that bled into his expression as he gazed into the distance, clearly remembering their time together with a fondness I was suddenly envious of.

Lucky bastard.

‘What do you think is causing this?’ I asked.

‘Artemis,’ was his immediate answer.

I puffed out a breath in frustration. ‘Well, duh. Of course it has something to do with her. Buthow?’

His shoulders lifted with a nonchalance I was struggling to match. ‘Beats me. Nothing to be done for it now, anyway.’

‘But… what exactly is happening?’

‘Again, I don’t know, but we seem to be meeting Artemis on her wavelength somehow. Whatever this is, it’s connecting us toher. She’s the common denominator.’

We devolved into silence, and I couldn’t decide if it was awkward or peaceful. Perhaps it didn’t have to be either, or it could be both. Either way, I wasn’t going to be the one to break it. Artemis was a sore subject for me with him, since my feelings for her were growing exponentially with everything breath that passed through my lungs, and he was the man she had chosen to love.

Not that love was what I was after, nor did I even know what it felt like, but it seemed the longer I dwelled on the enigmatic cyborg badass the more whatever these feelings were swelled. I knew that they would crescendo until they were too loud to contain, but I wasn’t ready to rush into that, especially considering my chances of her reciprocating were so low. A single sexual encounter – or even the potential of more – did not equate to a commitment.

But this whole experience had proven one thing to me. Iwanteda commitment. That was what I had been chasing, after all, but the type of commitment I realised my entire being was craving was what was shocking me speechless.

‘You can go for it, you know,’ Bromm spoke up softly, and I raised my head from where I had been staring unseeingly at my see-through feet.

‘What?’

He peered at me from beneath half-mast lids, the lust I found there almost knocking me off the line again with its intensity. ‘Artemis. I’m not adverse to sharing. In fact, I quite enjoy it. And she deserves all the love this life can offer after everything she’s been through. If you want that with her, I’m not an obstacle.’

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