Page 42 of Only Cold Depths
“It’s like you were on one side of an icy wall, and I was on the other,” Vesper replied. “And no matter how hard I pounded on the wall, I couldn’t break through the ice. I couldn’t break through toyou.”
A tense, awkward silence sprang up between us. Even though Vesper was standing right in front of me, she seemed distant and far away through the bond, as though the velvety ribbon that connected us was stretched to its breaking point.
“It’s not just shelter we need,” Vesper said in a soft voice. “It’s help. With our bond.”
We both know something is wrong with our bond.Her earlier thought whispered through my mind, and each word was like a dagger to my heart.
I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she was right. Somethingwaswrong with our bond, and I had a sinking suspicion it had everything to do with me. If only I had found a way to kill Callus Holloway years ago, we would have had all the time in the galaxy to figure out our bond. The blame for our current predicament was mine and mine alone, and I was terrified Vesper was going to pay the ultimate price for my mistakes.
“The Colliers have had a truebond for years,” Vesper continued. “You heard what they said about how our bond hasn’t solidified and isn’t stable. Maybe they can help us fix that. Maybe they can help us figure out how to use our respective magics and truebond abilities.”
She stepped forward and grabbed my hand. “Tried and true, remember, Kyr?” A wry smile twisted her lips. “I think maybe this is thetryingpart. Either way, I want to figure it out. Don’t you?”
Her determination rippled through the bond, making my own chest squeeze tightly in response. Even if the bond hadn’t connected us, I would have done anything to keep Vesper safe.
Before I met Vesper, I had been living in the dark, like some creature trapped in a cave who never saw the sun. She had brought so much joy and wit and humor and warmth into my life in such a short time, and if anything happened to her . . . well, it would destroy me, regardless of our psionic connection.
“Very well,” I said, forcing my voice to stay level and even. “We’ll stay here—for now. But as soon as we figure out what’s wrong with the bond and you fix the Techwave cannon, we’re leaving. Once Holloway gets word that we’re on Sygnustern, he’ll start plotting to revoke the Colliers’ protection. Holloway won’t care how badly he damages relations with the Erztonians so long as he gets us in the end.”
“I know,” Vesper replied in a low, strained voice. “But figuring out how to fully use our bond is the only thing that’s going to keep us safe from Holloway, the Techwave, and everyone else who might be targeting us.”
The silver flecks in her dark blue eyes brightened, glimmering like pinprick stars, and Vesper’s gaze became dreamy and unfocused, as though she was looking at something far, far away. Psion power surged off her and curled against my skin, even as the velvety ribbon of her vibrated in my mind.
“I also feel like wehaveto stay here,” she murmured in an absent voice. “Like there’s something important we have to do or see or experience before we go anywhere else.”
“What do you think that is?” I asked in a soft voice, not wanting to interrupt her vision.
“I’m not sure.” Vesper stared into the distance a moment longer, then shook her head. When she looked at me again, her eyes were clear. “But the only way we’re going to figure it out is together.”
She squeezed my fingers again, and I nodded, hoping she couldn’t feel the clamminess of my skin or the anger, guilt, and dread still coursing through me.
“Together,” I echoed, even as I vowed in the cold depths of my heart that I would do whatever was necessary to keep Vesper safe from Holloway, the Techwave, and all the other monsters in the galaxy.
Including myself.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
VESPER
KyrionandIunpackedour clothes and weapons, then checked in with Daichi and Tivona.
Daichi hadn’t found out where Zane was, and he hadn’t learned anything new about Esmina and Pollux, although he promised to keep digging. Tivona updated me on a few things at Quill Corp, then our friends signed off.
Once that was done, I headed into the bathroom and closed the door. Somehow I resisted the urge to bang my head against the sturdy wood to release some of my frustration. That would be pointless, just like us running away to another planet would be pointless.
Sooner or later, Kyrion and I would have to make a stand against our enemies. If the Colliers couldn’t help us with our bond, maybe Asterin and I could fix the Techwave cannon or at least figure out why the Techies had gone to such great lengths to steal Jorge Rojillo’s temperature-shielding technology—and especially how they planned to use it against the Imperium.
Either way, the lovely, private, romantic bubble Kyrion and I had been in for the last few weeks on theDream Worldwas gone, and we both needed to deal with the ugly realities we were facing.
I moved away from the door, stripped off my clothes, and stepped into the shower. Like everything else in the suite, the shower was the epitome of luxury, with heated tiles, a steam-bath feature, and a plethora of nozzles that sprayed water in all directions. I stayed in the shower a long, long time, listening to the steady hiss of the water and letting the hot spray beat down on my body.
By the time I turned off the water and put on some silk sleep clothes I found in the bathroom closet, I felt a smidge better. My steps and mood lighter, I went into the bedroom.
Kyrion had taken off his jacket and shirt, revealing his bare, muscled chest. He was standing in front of a full-length mirror, studying the mottled black-and-blue bruise that covered his upper right arm like a macabre tattoo.
My steps faltered. “Is that from where Siya hit you with her war hammer?”
I’d felt his injury through the bond when it had happened in the antiques emporium, but his pain had quickly vanished. Kyrion must have used a psionic shield to keep me from realizing just how badly he’d been hurt.
