Page 26 of Burning Ice
Yes. He totally was.
“Who’s this guy? Why are you chaining him and bringing him on business?”
Because he couldn’t leave Mirel alone. But he’d rather bite his tongue than speak that truth.
“Don’t worry about him. Tell me what happened when you were with Enzo.”
“Yes, so we heard the tech team going crazy. Some software hack caused the prison bars to just open. Can you believe that? I thought the prison was unbreachable.”
Kylix pushed Mirel inside the hovercar until the other man nearly fell face-first onto the pillows. He was pissed off for taking him, for his heart giving such misleading information to his brain. “It should be. We’ve never had any escapes before.”
He sat down next to Mirel, pressing his thigh against his. The hum of the hovercar was steady as a heartbeat, too confined for safety. Every turn threw their shoulders together, every silence made the air denser. Kylix told himself the heat came from the engine, not from him. “Comfortable?”
Mirel flinched at the touch, but didn’t move away. The warmth bled through the thin fabric. Kylix watched the pulse at his throat, small and frantic. He told himself it was curiosity. He was learning how the body reacted, how the frost behaved under stress. Still, his hand drifted closer. Not a command this time, only contact. The chain clicked once, settling between them like a word neither dared say.
Mirel stared at him with wide eyes. He looked as baffled as Kylix felt. “Y-yes.”
“Good.” Kylix handed him the packed food. “Now, eat.”
The car left the curb.
Across from him, Helianth sat, eyes darting to Mirel.
“How many of them escaped?” Kylix asked.
“Five, including Bekn and some medical doctor.”
“All Attica members?” Kylix was already busy typing on his multi-slate, hating to have been temporarily indisposable. He was Head, he was control, he should have been the first to know. “They’re still checking background details,” he confirmed before Helianth could answer. His cousin still looked pale, but the past few days had healed his earlier injuries. Right now he carried that same enthusiastic look in his eyes that made him remarkable and loved by Helions.
“I want to be on the case with you, Kylix. I’m feeling much better. I can do this.”
Kylix nodded. He hadn’t expected anything less. “Of course. We’ll get those bastards. And when we do, they’ll regret ever having gotten in our way.”
They arrived at Moargan’s mansion when the sky had gotten fully dark. The car stopped in front of the door. Against it leaned Aviel, smoking a red-cinder cigarette. It glowed in the blackened light, sparks catching the frost in the air.
“Are you going to take him inside?” Helianth asked.
“I—” Kylix glanced at Mirel. He had finished his food and had dozed off. He seemed to do most of that these days, in his attempt to catch up with normal life. Eat, drink, sleep. He should just let him rest in the car.
But he didn’t want to.
He watched frost bead along the window. Mirel’s reflection looked almost peaceful, lashes pale against bruised eyes. Kylix had the absurd thought that waking him might break something sacred. He brushed the back of his fingers over Mirel’s hair.
Besides, there was no delaying this any longer. He hated hiding from Moargan and Cyprian, especially with Cyprian having felt Mirel’s presence. It wasn’t as if he was going to give him away anyway.
“Yeah, he’s coming with me. Go ahead, I’ll just wake him up.”
“Are you sure?” Helianth frowned. “I mean?—”
“Go. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Alright, alright.”
Kylix watched them leave inside the house. He leaned into Mirel and breathed in his quietness. His soap. His innocence. “Wake up, little ghost. We’re here.”
Mirel stirred, then blinked. His body tensed the moment he saw Kylix.
Kylix grinned. “Welcome back to reality. We’re here.”
