Page 18 of Kazmyr: Molten for Her
"Breathe," he murmured, his voice a low rumble against my ear. "It will pass."
I leaned into his strength despite myself, grateful for the support even as I resented needing it. The pain crested, then began to recede, leaving a strange tingling sensation in its wake.
"Integration complete," Silvyr announced, his projection clapping hands that made no sound. "Congratulations! You are now equipped with state-of-the-art genetic signature amplification technology. Activation is controlled through this interface?—"
A small holographic panel appeared before me, showing a simple on/off toggle.
"—which only you can access. Your unique biometric signature is required for activation."
The enhancer settled into my system, its presence fading to a faint awareness at the edge of my consciousness. I straightened, pulling away from Kazmyr's support though my legs still trembled slightly.
"When do we move?" I asked, looking between Maya and Vylit.
"The next trading convoy passes through the Nyx Corridor in twenty-eight hours," Vylit answered. "That's our window. The Voraxx will have scouts stationed along the route, watching for high-value merchandise."
Merchandise. The word made my skin crawl, but I kept my expression neutral. "Then we have twenty-eight hours to prepare."
The meeting concluded shortly after, Maya and Vylit returning to their ship to make final preparations. Silvyr's projection lingered briefly, his silver form flickering with barely contained excitement.
"Try not to have too dramatic a reconciliation," he advised, glancing between Kazmyr and me with something like mischief in his code-streaked eyes. "The mission requires you unbonded for maximum effect."
Before either of us could respond, his projection dissolved into streams of data that flowed back through the communication relay.
Silence fell in the chamber, heavy with all that remained unspoken between us. Kazmyr stood apart from me, his ember marks pulsing slowly, steadily, like a heartbeat finding its rhythm again. The anger was gone, but in its place was something that cut deeper… resignation. Acceptance. Fear.
I moved toward him, my fingers reaching out to trace one of the marks on his forearm. The scar flared brighter at my touch, heat flowing between us.
"I'm not trying to hurt you," I said quietly. "I just need to be my own person in this fight."
His golden eyes met mine, burning with an intensity that stole my breath.
"I will burn the galaxy to ash before I let them take you," he promised, his voice low and fierce. Not a command now, but a vow. "That is my choice in this."
The enhancer pulsed once beneath my skin, a reminder of what I'd agreed to become. Bait. Target. Sacrifice, perhaps. But on my terms, by my choice. And with a guardian of living fire ready to scorch the stars themselves if I called for him.
CHAPTER 8
KAZMYR
The enhancer thrummed to life beneath Jenna's skin, its activation sending a sympathetic vibration through the Heartforge's core that set me blazing like molten rivers. The ship trembled, systems struggling to compensate as Silvyr's creation awakened fully. I pulled Jenna against my chest, feeling her fragile human form against mine as the resonance built between us, her genetic signature amplifying into a beacon that would draw our hunters straight to us. She'd chosen this. chosen to become bait. and every scar etched across my obsidian skin burned with the need to shield her from what was coming.
"Status?" I demanded, my voice rumbling through the command chamber as the ship's consoles flickered beneath my touch. The ember-veins running through the obsidian walls pulsed erratically, matching my heart's frantic rhythm.
"Enhancer at sixty percent capacity and climbing," Silvyr announced, his projection dancing with barely contained excitement. Streams of code cascaded from his form as he manipulated the enhancer's output. "The unbonded signature is already broadcasting across three sectors. They'll feel it like an itch they can't scratch."
Jenna pressed against me, her body shaking in sync with the enhancer. Her skin lost color, and she started sweating, though I'd made the chamber cool to pull heat away.
"You're burning up," she whispered, her fingers tracing one particularly bright scar that curled around my forearm.
I was. The enhancer's resonance fed something primal in me, something that recognized the signal as what it was… an advertisement of her availability, a declaration to the galaxy that she remained unclaimed. The ember marks responded with possessive fury, blazing bright enough to cast shadows across her face.
"I'm fine," I lied, forcing the heat back, trying to bank the fire that threatened to consume me from within. "How do you feel?"
"Like I'm being pulled apart and put back together with every pulse." She offered a weak smile that did nothing to mask her discomfort. "But I've had worse hangovers."
That Earth humor again, sharp as flint even when she trembled. I tightened my arm around her waist, supporting more of her weight as the enhancer's pulse intensified.
"You don't need to endure this," I murmured against her hair, low enough that only she could hear. "We can find another way."
