Page 89 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
I melted into him. “I’d probably tell you I’m amazed by your strength,” I rasped. “That I admire you.” My hooded gaze dropped to his mouth. He might be harsh, but parts of him appeared so soft. “I’d definitely wonder if you would kiss me if I trusted you.”
His eyes smoldered. “I would move mountains to kiss you.” He gently pressed the pad of his thumb into the center of my lower lip and stroked, almost but not quite letting his finger slip inside my mouth.
My knees went weak. We stood like that, with his hand on my face and my hand on his, breathing each other in with ragged inhalations. Waiting. Hoping.
“But I won’t let myself,” he stated, and I nearly whimpered. “I’ll wait. When you’re ready, you’ll take your kiss because you want it for no other reason than you want me.”
The elevator stopped and dinged, shattering the moment. Common sense returned in a blaze, and I dropped my arms to my side and stepped away from him. I’d let myself be distracted. Traded the opportunity to learn more about the aidem injection for round two of bantering. A mistake. One I wouldn’t make again.
The doors opened. Armed guards marched the hall outside our little hideaway.
“I will be exceedingly displeased if you endanger yourself during guard duty today,” Cyrus stated.
Did he suspect my intentions? “I’ll be safe,” I intoned, going for businesslike but not sure I succeeded.
“Make sure you are, Pink.” His expression softened. “Find me when you’re done.”
“Yes, sir.” Gathering my resolve, I marched off as if I weren’t planning to do something very, very bad.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I will help you; do not fear what they can do to you.
—The Book of Soal2.19.13.6
Focus!I stuffed my riotous thoughts about Cyrus and our momentary indiscretion into a box, along with worries about a second aidem shot, and labeled it “Unpack and Dissect Later.”
Let Operation Mine Peek begin.
I was living the developmentThe Book of Ardenhad predicted. Though I hadn’t memorized the passage I’d read, the words now filled the corridors of my mind.
I rush down the hall as fast as my feet will carry me, determined to get my hands on Cyrus’s transmitter. All I must do is adhere the camera to a mine cart, and I can watch the feed to see what’s being mined.
The perfect plan, there for the taking. I dashed for Cyrus’s quarters. Well, “our” quarters. Perhaps he was headed there too. Perhaps not. I was banking on not. He probably had meetings or something. The passage I’d read hadn’t mentioned him. But one way or another, I’d make this work. His transmitter was the only way to get inside a pritis mine without leaving my post.
I pumped my arms, fueling my feet, only slowing when I reached the security checkpoints. I did my best to breathe and not alert the guards to my mission by insisting they hurry. Just when I thought Imight snap, I entered the suite. No sign of Cyrus. Good. He probably wanted me to do this. He’d all but begged me to speed up my snooping, after all.
I sailed into his bedroom. The armor and its various accessories hadn’t been organized or relocated. Where were the camera and the transmitters? I scanned each piece on the bed. The right nightstand. The left. There! He’d never miss them in this mess. I put in the contacts, but I didn’t activate them. I would watch a recording of the feed as soon as I was dismissed from duty.
Single minded, I shoved the small case into my pocket, raced out the door, and retraced my steps.
A clock kept time above the locker-room door. One minute and thirty-three seconds until the start of my shift. Doubts slithered in, as insidious as a feeder’s worms. Mr. Victors or even Soal himself might be manipulating me, and I was playing right into their hands. According toCured, that was standard maddened behavior. But I had to know more about the pritis stones. They kept coming up. Shiloh believed they were a secret worth killing to keep. Mr. Victors claimed the stones died, as if they had once lived. Ember challenged me to dig into their origins.
I wavered, going back and forth. Do this. Don’t do this. My skin flashed hot and cold. Agreeing to pretend babysit Cyrus to gain access to forbidden places was one thing, but doing full-on spy work was another. A true betrayal ofCured. Treason.
If I intended to back out, I must do it now. Before I stepped over a line.
Head high, I flattened my palm against the door and pushed into the locker room. Truth was too important.
Conversations tapered to quiet, and every gaze found me. I discovered a mix of my teammates and knights. Saying nothing, I soared past them all, going straight to my locker.
“Congrats on your special assignment.” Boots in hand, a grinning Juniper sidled up next to me. “Or maybe I saycondolences.”
I snorted. “Probably both.”
“You’re sleeping with him.” Miller stood at the adjacent bay of lockers, a little huffy. “Admit it.”
Titus elbowed him in the gut.
