Page 126 of Only Cold Depths
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
Esmina shrugged again. “I don’t care what you think it is. All that matters is you’re still not as strong asme.”
She twirled the dagger around in her hand. The hilt gleamed a wicked gold, while the blood of all the mercenaries she’d killed dripped off the blade. Esmina tightened her grip on the dagger, and the lunarium blade sparked with bright gold flecks.
“What about the bounty?” I asked, trying to buy myself some more time to come up with a plan—any plan—to defeat her. “I thought you wanted to turn me in for all those sweet, sweet credits.”
“As you said, the Hammers are probably on their way here right now, so that’s no longer an option.” Esmina gestured back toward the other chamber filled with dead mercenaries. “I never leave enemies alive behind me. It’s your unlucky day, Vesper. If only you had managed to be on the other side of the chasm, you might have lived a few minutes longer.”
She tilted her head to the side. In the distance, several loud yells rang out, along with the sharpbang-bang-bangof weapons. “At least until Pollux finishes killing your friends.”
Kyrion’s anger, frustration, and worry surged through the bond. I could feel how hard he was fighting, and my heart iced over at the thought of him being killed. Zane too, but I couldn’t help them right now, and something about Esmina’s words nagged at me.
“If you’re so strong, then why are you hiding in this cavern instead of toppling House Collier? Leland disabled the estate’s defensive shield, so why didn’t you go ahead and wipe out the Colliers? When your men were attacking the estate earlier today, why didn’t you go after Aldrich and Verona?”
“All in good time,” Esmina replied, but her voice wasn’t quite as confident as before.
I eyed her. What did Aldrich and Verona have that Esmina didn’t? But as soon as I asked the question, the answer came to me. “It’s because the Colliers are a truebonded pair. Together they’re still stronger than you, aren’t they?” My eyes narrowed. “Which meansI’mstill stronger than you are too.”
Esmina scoffed. “Please. Your bond hasn’t even solidified yet. Even if it had, you’re still flailing around in the dark, trying to figure out what you can do with your own seer power.” She gestured around at the empty chamber. “Kyrion isn’t here to thwart my plans like he did in the junkyard. Face it, Vesper. Your magic is weak, and no one is coming to save you.”
Her mocking words stung, but I lifted my sword a little higher. “You’re right. I don’t know all the ins and outs of my magic yet, and no one is coming to help me—but I don’t need anyone torescueme. I was on my own a long time before I met Kyrion, and I managed to survive.”
“Surviving is notwinning,” Esmina snarled.
“Is that what you’ve been doing all these years? Just surviving?”
Agreement flashed across her face before she could hide it.
“What does winning look like to you?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Esmina’s jaw clenched, and her eyes glimmered with unmistakable longing. “Tearing down House Collier. Establishing my own major House.” She hesitated. “Finally coming home.”
Once again, my seer magic stirred to life, and another image flickered in the air: Esmina relaxing in a comfortable chair, a mug of Frozon hot chocolate in her hand, flames crackling in a nearby fireplace.
I blinked, and the cozy image vanished, along with the peace and warmth it inspired. “You’rehomesick? That’s what this is really all about?”
Surprise flickered across her face, but it quickly boiled up into anger. “You’re damn right I’m homesick. Thanks to Aldrich Collier and the other Houses putting a bounty on my head, I haven’t spent more than a few days at a time on Sygnustern inyears.”
I stabbed my sword at the spot on the bridge where she had pushed Micah over the side. “Because you murdered your friend!”
“Micah thought our truebond meant he got to stick to my side and suck off my power like a bloody leech for the rest of our lives. Ineverwanted that. I never wantedhim.” Even more anger boiled up in her eyes, turning them more gold than green. “Micah made his choice, and I made mine—and I chose to set myselffree.”
Part of me understood her desire to be free. When my truebond had first formed with Kyrion, I’d been horrified that I was connected to one of the most notorious killers in the galaxy, and I’d even thought about killing Kyrion to protect myself when he’d menaced me after the Techwave battle on Magma 3. But I hadn’t taken that drastic action. Not because I was soft or weak, like Esmina claimed, but because I’d been strong and patient enough to explore other options, to consider other choices—and loving Kyrion was the best choice I’d ever made.
“You could have chosen something else, gone somewhere else. You didn’t have to kill Micah.”
“Why should I have to leavemyhome?” Esmina replied. “Why shouldIbe shackled to someone and forced to endure all their thoughts and feelings? Why shouldIlet someone else’s weakness drag me down and potentially putmylife in danger?”
“So you took Micah’s life instead? And then took his magic?” I shook my head. “That’s not power—that’s fear.”
Esmina jerked back as though I had slapped her. The anger in her eyes burned hotter still, morphing into crackling fury. She stabbed her dagger at me. “Surrender now, and I’ll make your death relatively quick, Vesper. That’s far more mercy than I showed Micah.”
“Mercy? You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Esmina shrugged. “Have it your way.”
Without warning, she charged forward and slashed her dagger through the air, aiming at my chest.
