Page 16 of Rogue: Planet Athion
“Fuck, she’s going into shock.”
The rough scrape of a towel was followed by the warmth of a blanket.
“We can’t leave her,” Marlon said.
“We can’t stay,” Killion reminded him.
“I have to.” Marlon hugged me tighter.
Stay … in my cell with me? Marick would go nuts, he’d hurt them just to hurt me. No. “No.” I opened my eyes and clenched my teeth to stop them from chattering. “I’m fine. I will be fine. You need to go. Now, before lockdown.”
Marlon looked down on me, his gaze soft and filled with sorrow. “Rogue, you can’t be alone right now. You shouldn’t be.”
I blinked and dislodged the moisture gathering in my eyes. “I’ll be fine, but if Marick finds you in here, you won’t be, and I can’t lose you too. Please. Just go.”
Marlon gathered me close and squeezed me tight. He pressed kisses to the crown of my head.
Killion let out a strangled sob. “Fuck. Fuck this shit.”
Static was followed by Marick’s disembodied voice. “All fighters return to your cells immediately.”
His arrogant, unaffected tone sent the heat of rage coursing through my veins. This was his fault. He’d chosen Anton, a human, to go up against the Pack. Anton was dead because of him and his kind. The chill was gone, and my palms grew hot.
Killion leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Marlon, we need to go.”
Marlon kissed my forehead and then carefully extricated himself from me. He tucked the blanket around me, and with a final look, they both left my cell. The buzzer went off a moment later, and then the doors began to slide closed, but not before I caught a glimpse of Xavier standing in the doorway to his cell opposite mine. His mouth was a downward curve, and his eyes were shrouded in darkness. He inclined his head once before he was blocked from view.
The sound of the outer doors opening echoed down the corridor. Marick? My jaw ached with tension. I pushed off the blanket and strode to the bars to peer out. My heart stalled in my chest at the sight of the monolith led by two guards.
Vex’s hair had come loose and fell about his marble-cut face in waves, his jaw was tight, and his amethyst eyes were chips of ice. Marick strode ahead of him looking pissed. He’d wanted us to lose, he’d wanted me thrown to the Pack, but we’d won even though right now it felt like we’d lost everything.
Marick’s gaze fell on me, and his mouth twisted in a sour expression that had my lips lifting in a satisfied smile. Fuck you, Marick. Fuck you.
But then his eyes lit up, a light bulb moment that sent a lance of ice down my spine. He came to a standstill right outside my cell and held up a hand to halt the procession behind him.
He stood tapping his foot for a moment, his tongue pressed to his top teeth, and then his face broke into a grin.
“You know, we seem to be a little short on cells right now. Plumbing issues in corridor A. Might take a few days to get fixed.” He shrugged. “I think we’ll have to put our newest arrival with another fighter.”
My body went cold.
“Unlock cell four.”
“Hey! No, you can’t do that,” Marlon shouted.
Xavier looked stunned, his mouth parted in horror.
“Put him in with me,” Killion called out.
Marick ignored them all.
Cell four. My cell. He was going to put the Trad in with me. I glanced at Vex, but he’d tucked in his chin. The only indication that he was affected by the news was a tightening of his massive shoulders.
One of the guards strode toward my cell. This was really happening. He was going to do this. He wasn’t bluffing. I hated Marick, hated what he’d done to me, hated what he stood for, and like fuck would I ever beg for anything, but right then, at that moment, my pride took second place to my survival instinct.
“Marick. Please, don’t do this.”
“Please, don’t do this,” he mimicked my tone with a sneer. “Oh, Rogue, I can’t wait to hear you scream.”
