Page 136 of Only Cold Depths
“That you were concerned about me.” I poked my finger into his shoulder. “That you, Zane Zimmer, actuallylikethe idea of being a big brother and having me for a sister.”
He arched an eyebrow in a challenging look, then poked me right back in my own shoulder. “That depends. Canyousay it?”
“Say what?”
His eyebrow arched even higher. “That you were just as concerned about me as you were about Kyrion when we were fighting Pollux. That you would have been devastated if I had been killed.”
I hesitated. Despite everything that had happened, all my old fears arose once again, but this time, I swatted them aside. Verona was right. We only had the present to live in, and I was done letting Nerezza’s cruel actions dictate anything about my life. In the cavern, I had trusted my magic, and now it was time to trust my instincts about Zane.
“I know what you did for me and Kyrion the day of the midnight ball,” I said in a soft voice. “I saw it all from your point of view in my mindscape.”
His lips puckered in a sour expression. “Bloody seer magic. Seems you have a much easier way to eavesdrop than I do.”
“Kyrion and I wouldn’t have reached each other in the throne room if not for you. Kyrion and I wouldn’t have been able to unleash our truebond magic, and we wouldn’t have escaped from Crownpoint. We would still be sitting in a cell, forced to let Holloway take our power.” I shuddered. “I saw that future too, and it was more horrible than I ever imagined. So thank you, Zane, for saving us.”
He didn’t say anything, but emotions flickered in his pale eyes. Wariness, worry, and just the faintest bit of hope. That spark of hope ignited the one that had been flickering in my chest ever since I’d learned that Zane was my brother, and for the first time, I let it ignite into a flame of caring.
“When I was a kid, especially after Nerezza abandoned me, I would daydream about what my father was like, what his family was like. But in all my daydreams, I never thought I would have a brother like you.”
“Like me?” Zane asked in a guarded voice.
“Someone so cocky and arrogant and overall infuriating.”
He nodded. “Those are some of my best qualities.”
“And someone so fierce and loyal and devoted to his family.” I had to stop and swallow the knot of emotion in my throat. “Even the sister he never even realized he had until a few weeks ago.”
Zane blinked, as if he was having trouble understanding my words. He opened his mouth, but I shook my head and cut him off.
“Don’t ruin the moment. Hug me, you idiot.”
He blinked again, then stepped forward and slowly, tentatively put his arms around me. I hugged him back just as tightly as Wendell had hugged me.
We stayed like that for several seconds, then broke apart. Zane cleared his throat. I did the same and swiped a tear out of the corner of my eye.
Then Zane’s face brightened, and he slung his arm across my shoulders as though he’d been doing it for years. “Well, now that we’ve got all those pesky emotions out of the way, the first thing we need to talk about is your horrid taste in men. Kyrion Caldaren? Really, sis? You couldn’t pick someone more suitable?” He shook his head. “I’ve been stuck with that broody bastard my whole life, and now you’ve made him part of our family.”
Our family.My heart squeezed tight. I loved the way that sounded, and as weird as it seemed, I loved Zane’s teasing. In that instant, I felt like we had known each other our whole lives instead of just a few months.
I lightly jabbed my elbow into his side. “Well, if you want to talk about horrid taste, look no further than your shampoo commercial. Galactic Suds for Studs? Really, bro? I’mnevergoing to forget the image of you bare-chested, splashing around in a bathtub surrounded by bubbles and rubber duckies.”
Zane gave me a sour look, but it quickly melted into another arrogant smirk. “You wouldn’t be making fun if you knew how many credits Galactic Suds paid me to hawk their product. And then, of course, there is the lifetime supply of shampoo . . .”
He proceeded to tell me exactly how many credits it was, along with all the other inane details of the commercial shoot and how he had already promised to do another one, this time for conditioner.
It was fantastic.
Zanepracticallytalkedmyear off as we walked over to the guest wing. We finally went our separate ways, and I returned to my suite. Kyrion had already gotten cleaned up, and I did the same, taking a long, hot shower to wash away the grime, dust, and blood of the cavern fight.
The memories would be much harder to slough off. I would have nightmares about Esmina attacking me for a long, long time, but I would manage them—with Kyrion’s help.
I got dressed, then went into the sitting room. Kyrion was standing beside a holoscreen, updating Daichi and Tivona on everything that had happened. A gossipcast was also flickering over the table, although Kyrion had muted the sound.
“What’s your next move?” Daichi asked.
Kyrion shrugged. “Lord Aldrich has agreed to let us stay here as long as we like. We’ll probably take a few days to regroup and see if we can find any trace of Nerezza.”
“Do you think she died when her ship exploded?” Tivona asked.
