Page 97 of Only Cold Depths
I rolled over onto my back and flung my hand out, trying to use Kyrion’s telekinesis to toss the man aside. Nothing happened. Frustrated, I tried again, with the same useless result.
The merc laughed and dragged me even closer. His hand darted up, and he locked his fingers around my throat and pinned me to the floor.
“Hold still,” he growled, plucking a silver injector off his belt. “The boss told me this wouldn’t happen, but I came prepared, and I’m going to collect the bonus for you too. And then Esmina will have a matched set—”
Boom!
A blast of cannon fire punched into the merc’s back. He screamed and reared back.
Boom!
Another blast of cannon fire hit the merc, and his screams abruptly cut off. His hand fell away from my throat, and I raised my foot up between us and kicked him away. The merc tumbled over onto his side, and the injector slipped out of his fingers and rolled across the floor.
“Vesper! Vesper, are you okay?” Wendell crouched down beside me, the merc’s still-smoking cannon clutched in his hand.
My father had just saved my life.
I’d never thought that would happen, but I didn’t have the time to unpack the emotional implications of Wendell’s actions right now. Instead, I grunted, scuttled forward, and grabbed my stormsword from where it had landed. Then I surged up and onto my feet and spun toward the open door.
I raised my weapon, expecting more mercs to hear the cannon blasts and pour into the room.
Ten seconds ticked by. Twenty seconds . . . thirty . . . forty-five . . .
The seconds turned into a minute. Shouts and screams ripped through the air, along with more cracks of cannon and blaster fire, but the fighting never got any closer, and no footsteps pounded in this direction.
I lowered my sword. No one else was coming for Wendell, so why target him in the first place?
“Vesper?” Wendell asked, still clutching the cannon. “What’s going on?”
“No idea, but I’m going to find out.”
I headed toward the open door. My foot hit something, and a silver cylinder skittered across the floor. I froze. For a split second, I thought someone had lobbed a solar grenade into the room, but then I realized it was just the injector the mercenary had tried to use on me.
I’m going to collect the bonus for you too. And then Esmina will have a matched set.
Matched set? My blood turned to ice. This whole thing had been nothing but a giant distraction. The attack on the main castle had drawn the Hammers and House Collier guards to that area, leaving the Serpens Corp mercs free to storm into the guest wing. Killing Wendell had been one of their objectives, but his death hadn’t been the mercenaries’ main goal.
No, Esmina had a different objective in mind, and it was far more sinister than anything I could have imagined.
“Stay in here! Lock the door behind me! Shoot anyone who tries to enter!” I yelled at Wendell, then sprinted out of the suite.
“Vesper, wait!”
But once again, I didn’t have time to wait. This had never been about Wendell or me or even destroying House Collier.
No, Esmina had another target in mind all along: Kyrion.
Iracedoutofthe suite and sprinted down the corridor. I also reached out with my magic. For once, the truebond worked, and I could sense exactly where Kyrion was—and just how much danger he was in, given the anger and frustration surging through the bond.
Every scrap of my seer magic was screaming that I needed to move faster, so I barreled through the first archway I came to, then another one, then another one . . .
Kyrion!Hold on! I’m coming for you!
No, Vesper!he shouted back through the bond, and for once, I heard him loud and clear.Don’t! It’s a trap . . .
His voice trailed off. A small sting pricked my neck, then something cold, slick, and oily flooded the bond. The sensation was so strong, so verywrong, it made me recoil in shock and disgust. My boots slipped on some loose stones, and I almost lost my footing. My right shoulder banged into a broken wall, but I bounced off and used the momentum to regain my balance and keep going.
Once again, that metal vise clamped around my chest, but this time, it wasn’t because of a lack of oxygen or how hard I was running. No, this time, the sensation was my own fear, squeezing out everything else. My heart roared in my ears, but I sucked down another breath and forced myself to run even faster.
