Page 134 of Only Cold Depths
“Thank the stars!” Wendell said.
He rushed forward and enveloped Zane in a tight, bone-crushing hug. Then, to my surprise, he did the same thing to me. I just stood there, my mouth gaping, my eyes wide, my arms hanging limply by my sides.
I glanced over at Zane, who rolled his eyes.Have you never been hugged before?
The uncomfortable truth was that yes, I never had been hugged before. Not by a parent.
Zane’s face softened with understanding.Well, don’t ruin the moment.Hug him back, you idiot.
I glared at him over Wendell’s shoulder, but my arms crept up, and I returned my father’s hug. It felt . . . nice, safe, comforting. Everything I had always thought a father’s embrace would be. Everything that had always been missing my entire life. Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away.
Wendell hugged me a second time, and I glanced over at Beatrice, who nodded at me. After a moment, I returned the gesture, my chin scraping against my father’s shoulder. I still didn’t know how I felt about Beatrice, but I could at least be civil to her for Wendell’s sake.
“Sorry,” Wendell said, clearing his throat and dropping his arms. “I didn’t mean for that to go on quite so long.”
Zane clapped his father on the back. “It’s okay, Father. I think Vesper has realized you’re a hugger.”
An embarrassed blush tinted Wendell’s cheeks a bright pink, but a grin crept across his face.
“At least some of us are getting hugged,” Zane added in a low voice only Wendell and I could hear.
I followed his gaze across the library. Verona was clasping Asterin’s hands, but her eyes were cool, and her face was unreadable. Aldrich was staring at his stepdaughter, a tense line creasing his forehead. Guilt spiked through me. The last thing I had wanted was to cause any friction between Asterin and her family.
I glanced at Kyrion, who nodded back. Together we went over to the Colliers. Verona dropped Asterin’s hands and stepped back beside her husband. Aldrich regarded us both with an icy expression.
I squared my shoulders. I wasn’t going to apologize for going after Kyrion. I would have done the same thing again right this very second. But I could at least try to smooth things over for Asterin.
“You should know that Asterin found me in her workshop trying to fix the Techwave cannon. She tried to stop me, tried to get me to call the Hammers and tell them what I was doing, but I refused. I forced her to let me go to the cavern.”
Zane stepped up beside me. “And I helped. I trussed up Asterin like a ham just waiting to be baked for winter solstice dinner and dragged her along with us.”
Asterin glared at him, her left eye twitching in obvious fury, but she didn’t refute his lies.
“Is this really true?” Aldrich stared at me. “Or is it just a convenient story?”
“More or less,” I replied. “I’m happy to give you all the details about how Zane and I snuck out of our suites and off the estate.”
Zane snapped his fingers. “And we should tell them where we stashed their hoverbike. The one you hot-wired and I drove right out of their transport garage.”
Siya sucked in a breath and opened her mouth, but Rigel touched her arm and shook his head, and she swallowed her angry words.
Aldrich kept staring at me, and I looked right back at him.
“I don’t approve of your reckless actions,” he said in a stern voice. “You disobeyed your host’s orders, escaped from custody, stole House Collier property, and commandeered House Collier resources.”
“But . . .” Verona prompted in a gentle voice.
Aldrich blew out a breath. “But House Collier owes you a great debt. Without you confronting Esmina and Pollux, we never would have found their base and realized just how close they were to launching another attack.”
The Erzton lord didn’t say anything else, and that was as close to an apology as I was getting. I was okay with that. I was alive, and so were Kyrion, Zane, and Asterin, and that was all I cared about right now.
Aldrich gestured over at a couple of chairs close to his desk. “I’d like to debrief you both. We already have teams combing through what’s left of the cavern, but I want to know everything Esmina and Pollux said. They might have had other allies we don’t know about.”
I looked at Kyrion, who nodded. Together we stepped forward and sat down.
KyrionandItoldAldrich, Verona, and the others everything that had happened. While we talked, Hammers, guards, and servants came and went, bringing updates along with them, as well as food, drinks, and more skinbonds.
By the time we were done, it was well past midnight, and yet I wasn’t tired. Maybe it was funny, but everything that had happened made me feel more alive than ever before. One by one, the others left the library to get some sleep, although Aldrich and Verona remained behind.
