Page 87 of Xerxes Ascendant
“You stubborn child,” sneered Theta, but now a note of uncertainty threaded through both the words and his expression. “Your Master has made his decision, boy, and you will comply.”
“I’m not really one for compliance.” Kyle’s drawl matched the casualness of his sprawled pose. “Maybe you better come over here andmakeme move, if you think you’re capable of it.”
The Dominant in Theta bristled at the bratty taunt and immediately opened his mouth to retort, but nothing he could say would be sufficient to enforce his will over that of the headstrong man seated between them. Akira knew from long and exasperated experience that Kyle only followed the orders he chose to, and as Epsilon he’d always had to employ a variety of creative threats and cajoling to keep his favourite employee in line.
Kyle bent for no one, but if you held his respect, his friendship, or his love, he’d bow to you willingly.
And he was huge. Big enough to easily lift Akira and cradle him in gentle arms – or not so gentle, depending on what mood the pair of them were in – and while many of the Carrion’s enforcers had towered nearly a head over him, Theta held no such advantage. He was of a similar build to Akira, more slender than solid, and had precisely zero chance of hauling Kyle bodily from the strut against his will.
As the two men watched him with shrewd, assessing gazes, Kyle just beamed back at them happily, entirely unfazed.
“Look,” he declared, pointing away from them to the brightening horizon between the two cities. “My first sunrise! It’s gorgeous!”
Theta frowned over at the orange glow in the east. Taking the momentary distraction for what it was, Akira threaded his fingers through Kyle’s.
His own fingers were squeezed tightly in return, his boyfriend’s quiet and steadfast reassurance soothing his racing heart.
“It is indeed exquisite, sweetheart,” Akira murmured. “Just like you.”
A pleased flush spread up Kyle’s neck and he terrifyingly swung his feet through the air on either side of the strut, regarding him with such unconditional love in his eyes that Akira feared they might have been splattered across the surface of the irradiated Earth after all. Surely real life couldn’t be this perfect?
“Stop getting so fucking distracted, Randall,” Theta snapped, kicking at the strut and abruptly wrenching Akira back to the less-than-satisfactory parts of their reality. Namely, the presence of the man who had profited from and exploited him for years, now demanding that Akira lie to protect him when he’d been the one to come after the pair of them in the first place. Led astray by Mackenroth’s illusion of power and whatever promises he’d made to the avaricious House Master, Theta wasn’t even worth the recycled air it took to speak his name.
But he also held their lives in his hands.
“How do you think this is going to end?” Theta was now vindictively hissing at Kyle, his fingers hooked unconsciously into claws like he wanted to tear the blonde’s throat out. “You can’t stay out there all night.”
“Can’t I?”
“Akira, make him move.”
Akira wasn’t going to do a damn thing this bastard said.
Kyle craned his head, peering intently at something on Lower Xerxes thatwasn’tthe silver-haired man snarling threats at them from mere feet away.
“For the stars’ sake.” Eyes flashing with fury, Theta lodged the heel of his shoe firmly against the edge of the strut. “You have ten seconds to get over here and prove to me you know what sincere grovelling looks like, or you’re both dead.”
“I’m sorry,” Kyle said to him distractedly, still squinting past him. “Can you be quiet for a moment? I’m trying to see.”
Akira hid his chuckle as Theta spluttered with indignation.
“Ibeg your pardon?”
“I thought it was us who were meant to be begging?” drawled Sir with more of that delightful insolence. “Don’t tell us you’ve given up so soon.”
The ex-Master’s mouth dropped into a thin, unimpressed line. “When I get my hands on you, Randall, what I was going to do to you that night will seem like a fucking pleasure trip.”
Akira’s pulse roared in his ears. Dead. He wasdead.
“Listen,” Kyle said casually to Theta. “This little chat has been great and all, but I can only keep him-” He jabbed the thumb of his other hand over his shoulder at Akira, whose breath halted at the sight of his boyfriend removing both hands from the piece of metal that was the only thing between him and a death that would give him plenty of time to regret it. “-away from you for so long, and you really don’t seem to be picking up on the vibes here.”
Theta’s lip curled with disdain. “Thevibes?”
“Mmhm. The great big neon ones shrieking about how if I let Master get past me, he’s going to slit your fucking throat.”
It was almost humorous how Theta’s grey eyes dragged up to meet Akira’s once more with something like exasperation, clearly expecting Kyle to be talking out of his ass, only to sharpen into wary caution when Akira let his true intentions slide through into his expression.
“Akira? But I have you both…”
