Page 48 of Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden #1)

The only power Astan can wield against you is the power you give him.

Despite another sleepless, dreamless night, I dressed and bounded to the kitchen early with extra energy, determined to make breakfast for Cyrus. But no, he’d beaten me there. He stood at the counter, gripping the edge, with his head bowed.

The somberness of his posture struck me, and I skidded to a halt.

A terrible jumble of emotions created a force field around him.

I recognized the sting of guilt, the prick of shame, and the siren’s call of fear.

But. This made no sense. He was the intractable, unflappable Cyrus.

A warrior as unbending as steel. Had the berry finally caught up with him?

Sensing my presence, he stiffened and straightened but didn’t face me. In a heartbeat, the emotional cloud evaporated. Tone upbeat, he said, “Good morning, Pink.”

A staggering change. Had I not seen him seconds before, I would have had no idea he was anything but eager. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’m not looking forward to going back. Something I’ve never said before,” he added with a wry smile. “I despise Theirland. But I despise the dangers to come more.”

Not the full truth, I’d bet, but at least he hadn’t attempted to deny a problem. I didn’t like his reluctance to share, but I did understand it. Until I gave him my trust, he couldn’t give me his.

Before I thought better of it, I strode over and hugged him from behind. An offer of comfort. A gesture of thanks for all the times he’d comforted me. A show of affection I couldn’t contain. “I promise to be as careful as possible. Does that help?”

“It does.” He spun, wrapping his arms around me too. “What’s this for?” he asked, resting his chin atop my head.

“I don’t know, so don’t ruin it with questions.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Snorting, I snuggled closer. We stayed like that a long while before I eased away. “We should go.”

“We still have minutes, and I refuse to relinquish a single second alone with you.” He passed me a glass brimming with his signature drink. “Once again, you didn’t rest,” he stated, his disappointment clear.

“I could’ve gotten an abundance of beauty z’s,” I stated with mock affront.

But yes, I’d tossed and turned, but it was for an entirely different reason than usual.

Thanks to our kiss, I still ached. I’d be smart to maintain my distance from him today.

And yet, I didn’t stop myself from leaning into him as I drained my breakfast. Mmm, that was good. The best yet.

“I thought we discussed the fact that your face hides nothing, Pink.”

“Bad face,” I pouted.

“Beautiful face,” he corrected, kissing my brow.

Shivers cascaded over me in warm waves, freeing Mr. Victors’s prediction from its mental prison. Future wife of Cyrus Dolion.

Nope, not going there today. “Are you planning to overwork me as hard as yesterday?”

“Probably harder.” He took my glass, finished off what remained, and herded me through the suite. “There’s something we need to discuss first.”

“Agreed. Soal. Astan. The war of gods. Pritis. I’m ready when you are.”

He tsked. “You think you’ve won my trust so easily?”

“Maybe I could win it if you finally shared your secrets, giving me a chance to prove myself trustworthy.” We exited into the hallway.

He snorted. “That’s an excellent manipulation tactic. So good I could’ve taught it to you myself.”

“Thank you.” I curtsied, earning the world’s most endearing, rusty chuckle.

We approached the elevator, and the doors opened automatically. In the stall, he bumped my shoulder with his own. “What I intended to tell you is this. We’re not leaving anything behind here.” Peering down at me, he arched a brow. “Do you understand?”

I thought I did, and relief washed through me. He’d managed to retrieve the transmitter undetected. “Thank you.”

“For you, anything.”

Things inside me bloomed with his praise. A sudden curiosity directed me to a different track, topic-wise. “Dr. Korey doesn’t seem like your type. Or even like someone you once admired.”

“Pondering my love life, I see. Perhaps even a wee bit jealous.” As I sputtered out a denial, he let a lock of my hair pass between his fingers. “Back then, I didn’t even know my type.”

“Let me rephrase. Dr. Korey doesn’t seem like anyone’s type. She’s too ...” What was a good word to describe her and not get written up for insubordination? “Haughty.”

“She is. But she took care of me when I was injured. Or I thought she did.” He rubbed his brand. “It was a confusing time. Thankfully, I wised up to her desire for power. The more she’s given, the more she craves.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Whatever she’d done must have been bad, considering the way he treated her. “I’m guessing the relationship occurred after your first fight with John Victors.”

“Correct.” He made a distracted sound in the back of his throat. “I was trapped in the darkness without my gear, and a horde of feeders surrounded me. Victors showed up and helped me fight them. When we killed the last, we turned on each other.”

I tensed at the thought of Cyrus in so much danger. How close he’d come to dying.

He said no more, and I didn’t press. The elevator stopped, the doors opening. We strode into a private hall.

“This is where we part, Pink.” Giving my chin a gentle chuck, he said, “Join your teammates, and I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” I didn’t know why, but I felt lighter on my feet than I had in years. No, not true. I did know why. The kiss. His embrace. He’d helped me drain a thousand pounds of boiling frustration. I smiled as I gave his chin a chuck. “Stop being cute. It’s beneath you.”

He barked out a laugh. I pivoted on my heel and sashayed through a door, satisfaction accompanying me inside the transport room. How I enjoyed making him happy.

Clusters of soldiers formed a line in front of the three rifts.

I claimed the spot at the end of the far right, behind Juniper.

We didn’t speak as Cyrus marched in and a guard hightailed it to his side.

They went through a rift first, one after the other, and the rest of us made our way forward.

When my turn arrived, I approached without hesitation.

Pain hit the second I stepped inside the gloom, just as it always hit, but I noticed it less this go-round. Then I was standing in light, Cyrus directly in front of me.

“You good?” he asked, expectant.

“Yes. You?”

“I am, thank you.” He flashed a warm smile before stalking off and calling, “Get to decontamination. We have a busy day ahead.”

As a team, we headed for the decon stalls.

Alone, I stripped and stood under the water spray, anticipation suddenly warring with foreboding.

By the end of the day, I would be standing in front of the Rock, hopefully speaking with Soal.

If he wanted to recruit me so bad, he could take a few minutes to answer my questions.

I dressed in clean fatigues, blown away by the softer-than-usual material. Good gracious. It was like being engulfed by clouds. Hopefully, Mykal and the others received the same upgrade. Amazed and thankful, knowing Cyrus was responsible, I exited the stall.

Cyrus waited for me at the end of the hall, no one else around. No doubt he’d ensured the other stall doors remained locked from the outside.

His expression turned hot and languid as I closed the distance. “We’ll keep our normal schedules,” he said, leading me through a secluded corridor. “I’ll get you keyed into my quarters after drills.”

“Keying in can’t be done remotely?” The longer we remained at the base, the less time I’d have at the Rock before night arrived and curfew activated.

“At such a high level, both remote and in person are required. Once that’s taken care of, we’ll deal with the aidem injection.”

I gave a violent shake of my head, lengths of hair slapping my cheeks.

“I meant what I said. No shot.” I wouldn’t surrender the ability to decipher glower-speak.

Nor would I risk being poisoned, as Shiloh and others might have been.

“Please don’t try to force the issue.” I’d leave the fort. Somehow.

He slipped his fingers through mine and traced his thumb over my knuckles. “Explain why you are so adamant about this.”

Nope. No, thank you. I wouldn’t be revealing details found in the Lemon Ade file.

“Do you trust me, Pink, even the slightest bit?”

I did. Maybe a little more than slightly. It was the only reason I’d agreed to any of this. “You, but no one else,” I admitted.

“Good. Because I meant what I said when I told you I would never do anything to harm you. So let me administer the shot. I’ll take care of the details, keeping everyone happy.” He didn’t say it out loud, but his tone suggested there was a way to fool the system.

This was a risk. A big one. It would mean his loyalty belonged to me, not Cured . That he was courting me, for lack of a better word, for the very reason he’d provided. That he wanted us to be together. A concept almost too good to be true.

I’d asked him to put me to the test. Now, I would do the same to him.

“All right,” I said and nodded. “Yes. I’ll get an injection as long as you’re the one who administers it.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you at your evaluation.” He gave me a little squeeze before releasing me. We turned a corner, and he picked up his pace, striding off.

I watched him until the last possible second, then hurried to my cell. No sign of Mykal, unfortunately, but my soil looked well hydrated. Still no sprout, dang it. With a sigh, I headed to class.

For the first time, I floated through the exercises, eager to get to my evaluation. When the bell rang, I sprinted out the door.

Dr. Korey waited for me in the hall. She stepped into my path, ensuring I couldn’t bypass her. “Follow me,” she commanded.

Not this again! “Is something wrong?”

“I’ll be overseeing your aidem injection.”