Page 79 of Only Cold Depths
“True, but pretending to repair whateverthisis”—he sliced his hand back and forth between himself and Asterin—“was the only way I could land on this mountainous rock.”
Even more fury flared in Asterin’s eyes. Her fingers twitched again and curled into fists, and psion power rippled off her, although I still couldn’t tell what abilities she had.
“I saw an opportunity, and I took it,” Zane continued. “Just like you took the opportunity to break into Jorge Rojillo’s lab during the summer solstice ball.” He tilted his head to the side, studying her a little more closely. “Whatareyou going to do with those designs you stole? What, exactly, does an Erzton lady need with an air purifier?”
A muscle twitched in Asterin’s jaw, and it took her a few seconds to swallow her fury. “None of your damn business.”
“Ah, but itismy business,” Zane countered. “Seeing as how your spying and thieving could reflect poorly on me and House Zimmer, if it were to be discovered. Not to mention what your mother and stepfather would say if they were to realize therealreason you’ve been pretending to hunt for a husband is to steal tech from Regal Houses. That would causequitethe scandal and probably ruin your chances ofeversnaring a husband, among either the Regalsorthe Erztonians.”
“At least then I wouldn’t wind up shackled to you,” Asterin retorted.
Zane clucked his tongue. “Temper, temper, fair lady.”
Asterin’s fingers fisted a little tighter.
“That’s enough,” I growled. “You’ve made your bloody point. Leave Asterin alone. This is between you and me.”
“Ah, but I can’t do that. This is what is called mutually assured destruction.” Zane’s lips puckered in thought. “Or perhaps triply assured destruction, since three of us are involved in this little triangle of nastiness.”
He stabbed his finger at Asterin. “You can’t kick my family off the estate lest I reveal your spying and thieving to the Colliers.” He stabbed his finger at me. “And you can’t give in to your murderous urges and kill me because I’m Vesper’s brother. You also can’t badmouth my family lest I decide to tell Holloway the real reason I’ve come to Sygnustern.”
Zane was right. Asterin and I were stuck with him, and his family, until he deemed otherwise.
I slid off the medtable, stalked forward, and stopped right in front of him, but Zane didn’t back down or back away. He’dneverdone that, not even when we were boys fighting in a Regal schoolyard. He simply had no fear, which was something I’d always admired about him, as aggravating as that was. Curiously enough, he reminded me of Vesper in that way.
“Ah, but there isyourproblem,” I countered in a cold voice. “You can’t tell Holloway you came here because your father wants to have a relationship with Vesper. Holloway would order his Bronze Hand guards to seize you, along with your family, and he would destroy your House, along with everyone with even a drop of Zimmer blood.”
Agreement flashed in Zane’s eyes. We both knew how desperate Holloway was to capture Vesper and me—and how severely he would punish Zane for not immediately revealing our location.
“Like I said, we’re all trapped in this little triangle of trouble,” Zane said. “So let’s make the best of it, eh?”
Neither Asterin nor I responded.
Zane let out a loud, fake yawn and stretched his arms high. He stretched a little wider, then dropped his arms to his sides. “All this family drama has worn me out. I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”
With those ominous words, he snapped off a mock salute, then sauntered out of the infirmary.
“Is it just me, or did that sound more like a threat than a good night?” Asterin asked.
“With Zane, everything is always a threat.”
Now I just had to figure out how much of a danger he was truly going to be to Vesper. Oh, Zane wouldn’t physically hurt Vesper. Family really did mean something to Zane, and Wendell would never forgive his son for harming his long-lost daughter.
No, I was worried how much of Vesper’s heart Zane might destroy.
Asterin’stabletpinged.Veronaand Aldrich had returned to the estate, so she went to check on them. I didn’t ask what she was going to tell them about Vesper, Zane, Wendell, and Beatrice. It didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Zane was right. Anything he, Asterin, and I did to try to free ourselves from this tangled knot of secrets would only end in disaster for all of us.
I returned to our suite and found Vesper in the bedroom, curled up on a long, wide window seat that overlooked the topiary garden where I’d had breakfast with Lady Verona. The Frozon moon and stars were shining brightly overhead, gilding the peonies in a cool silver light.
“A credit for your thoughts?” I asked in a soft voice.
Vesper gestured at the opposite end of the window seat. I sat down on the cushion, but I kept my distance, giving her all the space she needed.
“I’m sorry I ran away,” she said. “I just couldn’t look at them any longer.”
“I understand.” I hesitated, then finished my thought. “I used to feel the same way about my parents.”
