Page 43

He wouldn’t have left her, she was sure. Maybe he went back to the conservatory. Or he was close by, hunting again.

She turned back for the hidden passage then halted, a small gasp slipping through her teeth.

Kyrxis was standing only a few feet away. And he looked…very different

She tried not to gape at him and failed.

He had covered himself. At least to an extent. He no longer wore the burnt pants but a sleek black pair which was fixed with rough knee and thigh armor padding. Around his waist was a thick blue and gray sash. A belt was tied over it with a small sack dangling from his hip. He wore armored gear on his arms and shoulders, some white and some black around the same size.He’d also covered his mouth in some sort of black face guard with little slits to breathe from.

The get-up was impressive to say the least. And was that…jewelry he wore?

Yes, he also wore gold and silver rings around his waist, tied by a red ribbon. He’d wrapped some around his horns too, which shined in the light like onyx as if they had been cleaned and oiled. Same with his scaly skin, no longer a rusty shade but a deep, crimson red.

He looked like a powerful warrior from another world, about to go into battle.

“Um…wow, h-hi.” The words spilled out of her mouth. “You look…” She didn’t know what to say. But suddenly he was intimidating in a much different way. And it was hard to meet his eyes again. She cleared her throat. “You look good.” She found she meant it. He did.

He stared at her before gliding past, moving over to the table and taking one of his tools, attaching it to his belt. He then picked up the gun he had found for her earlier and offered it to her.

She closed the distance between them, taking the gun. “Thank you.” She transferred her stunner to a different pocket and put the gun in the holster at her belt. He offered her helmet next, and she took it gladly, slipping it on.

Once she had it secured, she drew on her pack last. When she was sure she had everything, Kryxis reached out to her with his blue arms, which had been behind his back the whole time. “Time. To. Go,” he said slowly in her language.

It was clear he expected to carry her again. Though her leg felt better already, she knew she wouldn’t be able to run like normal or keep up with him. But, unlike the last couple times, he wasn’t grabbing her and just taking off. He was waiting for her to choose.

Despite her heart fluttering at the thought of his deep blue hands enclosing around her again, she stepped closer and locked her gaze with his. “All right. Let’s go.”

His hands encircled her waist, pulling her closer. She inhaled sharply, catching his coffee-like scent. He drew an arm under her legs and picked her up, cradling her close to him.

She shifted in his grasp to get a comfortable position, trying to calm the tension in her muscles. She’d been carried by him before and yet she was not used to it. But she felt secure, his steel-like grip around her firm. She wasn’t so afraid, only more alert. And maybe a little hot around the collar.

It was just being so close; he was practically a walking furnace. And she was surprised by his appearance. He looked lethal, stoic, and…

His eyes caught hers, and she glanced away, embarrassed, realizing she was staring again. She could feel the power of him around her, making her feel small and light in his arms. Her pulse was beginning to race as her mind drifted somewhere it shouldn’t. She shook the thoughts away.

“I’m ready,” she said.

Kryxis turned for the hidden passage. Down they went into the tunnel system. Instead of turning right toward the conservatory, Kryxis went left. At a steady gait, he took several other paths, never slowing or stopping.

Only when they came upon a steel door at the end of one tunnel did he halt. On the door, it said KEEP OUT, DANGER. There was a set of chains dangling from the lock, broken already by someone or something else.

Kryxis’ grip on her tightened as he drew closer and slid back the lock. He pushed open the doors, revealing a pitch-black tunnelway beyond. There was a slight draft bringing an earthy and metallic smell with it. Her garometer started to crackle.The lights on her suit only extended so far but she didn’t see anything…yet.

Kryxis, however, didn’t enter the tunnel. Instead, he reached into the pouch at his side and took out a single shiny ball. Then he reached around his other side and grabbed a flaretool and flicked it on, creating a small but intense flame from the tip. He lit a wire attached to the ball with the flare, and as it blew out sparks, he threw it into the dark.

She watched the spark fly as the ball fell to the ground. It rolled a little ways then burst into flame, creating an intense orange flash that consumed the whole tunnelway in a wave of fire, the heat close enough that she felt it in an instant.

She shut her eyes, turning her face away out of instinct. A moment later, she forced herself to look back as she heard screeching from beyond. There on the walls, she saw them. Thousands of insects. They screamed as the fire overtook them, dropping to the ground and curling into their bodies.

Kryxis didn’t hesitate. He rushed inside and swept past the masses of bugs now husks on the ground, some still fluttering around them in an attempt to survive.

He flew through the dark. Even with her lights, she became lost to the tunnel system. He used two more firebombs before they reached another set of doors that said RESEARCH SECTOR above. The insects were bigger here, but Kryxis’ bombs took them out and made the rest flee.

Eventually he took a set of stairs up. When he broke through the last door, she knew they were finally in the right building.

There were bots hanging around. But before they could sound an alarm or attack them, Kryxis swung his tail around and sliced their heads clean off with the tip of his tail. He bounded past them and into a central hub where she asked him to stop.

“There’s a map.” She pointed to the wall. He brought her to it. She remembered what level the bridge was on. That’s where Myrell and Garret had to be.