Page 111 of Xerxes Ascendant
“Master Epsilon,” Kyle corrected stiffly.
Her expression was sly. “By your outrage, Mr. Randall, am I to understand that you believe whatAkiratold the Coterie three weeks ago about Theta’s conspiratorial involvement with the mayor?”
“Believe?” Kyle knew he should hold his tongue but just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t lie like Akira surely was to the remainder of the Coterie at this very moment, and perhaps thatwas why his boyfriend had asked him to stay behind. “I don’t need to believe it, Rho. Theta wasright fucking therewhile he watched them torture and beat Akira.”
Kyle jabbed an angry finger at where a wide-eyed Casey was standing in the training room staring back at them with Chaos clutched in his arms. “I felt him touch me. Felt his hands on my skin and his breath on my ear as he promised to rape me.” Indira stiffened at his side. “And I saw how the coward fled when the Fall happened,” he snarled, but his voice cracked at the memory, “leaving Akira bound and unconscious and expecting him to die. That’s the kind of man you have in your organisation,Master, and if any good comes out of tonight, it will be that I no longer have to see any of you again.”
Kyle was breathing heavily, as though he’d sprinted across three sectors. It felt good to express all that fury and frustration, but...
Stars, he’d fucked up, hadn’t he? Akira was on Level C with the other House Masters right now, putting himself at risk to save Misha’s life, and Kyle had just gone and ranted more of what the Coterie would now see as false and malicious disparagement.
All Kyle had needed to do was keep his head down and stay quiet so they could ride out the wave of whatever sanctions were imposed upon Akira, but if the Coterie thought they were still spreading rumours about Master Theta...
“Master Rho,” he began, uneasy. “Please don’t-”
“Good,” she interrupted. Her crimson lips folded into a warm – albeit extremely pleased and smug – smile. “I knew I had the right of it.”
Kyle blinked at her, and then at his cousin, who looked equally as bemused.
“What?”
Rho tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. Generous diamonds dripped from the lobe, refracting dancing strands of neon light that ventured in from the street outside.
“I’ve known Epsilon for many years,” she said. “He doesn’t lie...well, hedoes,” the Master amended, seemingly catching Kyle’s sceptical look, “but not about things like this. Not aboutyou.”
Her voice seemed to soften on that last word, but that couldn’t be right. Rho wasn’tsoftin any sense of the word.
Then again, hadn’t Kyle once thought the same about Akira?
“You believe us?” he asked, scarcely daring to hope.
“I do. Theta’s always been a sycophantic bottom-feeder, so it’s not really much of a stretch to imagine him latching onto Benedict Mackenroth in lieu of kissing Omicron’s ass all the time.” Rho sniffed in distaste. “Prick thought he could get one over us? Damn idiot.”
Then she clicked her tongue as if to summon a pet. “Well? Are you coming, Mr. Randall?”
“Coming?”
“To enlighten my colleagues as to the events of that night. Your testimony will be invaluable to the Coterie.”
“As glad as I am to discover you’re not 100% of the cruel, ruthless bitch I thought you were, but rather a solid 99% and change,” said Indira scathingly from Kyle’s right, “you can’t just flounce in here with your fake tits and dyed hair, and think you’ve fixed everything.”
Rho looked outraged. “You little...”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lifting her arms high and bringing them back to her chest in a slow, wide circle. “I will not rise to it,” she murmured, seemingly to herself. “I am calm. I am peace. I let your words wash over me.”
Indira looked like she’d prefer to find a bucket of ice water to wash over her old Master, but at Kyle’s pleading glance, she miraculously held her tongue.
“Theta kidnapped one of our friends to ensure Akira would take the fall for him,” Kyle told Rho the moment her eyes opened again. A spark of hope had begun to ignite in his chest, and he told himself he was foolish for it but his optimism refused to let that hope be extinguished. “If you can help us to find and rescue Misha, I will tell the Coterie what really happened.” Something Kyle should have done from the beginning, but Akira’s fear for his safety had kept him silent, and now it was too late. Now Mish – sweet, playful, full of mischiefMish– was paying the price.
“I anticipated that too,” Master Rho said with visible pride, glancing furtively at Indira as if seeking his cousin’s approval. “I paid a couple of Theta’s men to report back to me, and half an hour ago was advised that they had one of Epsilon’s whores in their custody. It cost a tidy sum to have him delivered to me instead of whatever torment Theta intended for the poor boy, but worth it for a friend.” Her smile glistened, telling everyone present that it was a favour she’d expect to be repaid one day.
And by all the stars in the vast night sky, Kyle would ensure it.
“You mean...” he croaked, and then cleared his throat and began again. “You’re saying Mish is safe?”
“He’s in the car outside.” Rho waved a careless, ring-adorned hand at the door. “I told him to follow me into your House, but I rather suspect he’s still chatting up my assistant.”
“I...”
