Page 51 of The Interdimensional Lord's Earthly Delight
And found herself staring at the tokens they’d brought into their little hideaway. Plenty of people had believed in love…
She raced to the goodies. Could she make a molotov cocktail out of the bottle of ghost-mead and…uh, something from the energy source in the solar lanterns? Was that even possible? Damn it, why had she read so much about philosophyand not enough about anarchy?
She tossed through the offerings—alien cheese and crackers, vacuum-sealed pastries from who knew how long ago, probably as yummy as Twinkies but not super useful unless she could gain enough weight immediately to pry open the door with brute strength, a small unlabeled box…
Bobbling it in her hand, she wondered what it could be. A tiny bomb? That would be good.
She popped the lid.
And stared down at a beautiful ring. The fiery yellow gemstone in the middle was cut into a diamond shape, throwing sparks across her hand even in the low light. Scarlet striations threaded through the stone like veins of blood.
Useless. Why had he even brought this back here from all the gifts on the dais?
Tynan was going to sacrifice himself and she’d never have the chanceto tell him that she loved him. Growling in frustration, she shoved the ring on her finger as she spun around to survey the room again. If only the jungle had grown this far, a tree branch would’ve been more helpful than all these riches… Her gaze fell on the inflatable mattress where they’d spent the night. Why hadn’t she said anything when they’d been wrapped in each other’s arms?
She narrowedher eyes.
Racing to the mattress, she whispered nonsense to whatever gods might hear her. She poked at the controller on the side of the sleeping pad, and it sucked itself back into a shape almost as small as the ring box. If this worked…
She dropped to her knees beside the gap in the doorway. Wedging the deflated mattress into the narrow opening, she triggered the device.
The mattress squealedas it jammed up against the stuck door and almost popped out of the opening. Gritting her teeth, she shoved herself against the inflating pad and the doorway, holding it in place and pushing so hard something crackled warningly in her shoulders. Whatever. She ignored the pain, groaning with effort. But her inadvertent noises were lost in a louder clang from the great hall.
Oh God, was she toolate? Were the mercenaries breaking through? Was Tynan facing them alone?
Was she brazening her way out of here only to be caught for no reason?
A part of her—a big part, she was humiliated to discover—wanted to stop struggling, just pull that limp mattress over her head and stay hidden, as he’d commanded her. After all, hiding had kept her from being thrown into a black hole. But…
Fuuuuckthat. She wasn’t going to hide again, and she didn’t even care if love didn’t always win the day. It mattered that she believed, just like all the anonymous yearning souls who had brought their offerings to the throne of a long-gone god.
More than believe, she’d fight for it.
This time, she threw everything she had at the stubborn barricade.
With the extra oomph of the rapidly expanding cushion,she shoved the door wider, not quite all the way, but enough to slither through.
The throne room was just beyond the wall, with Tynan and the invading mercenaries.
Terror sleeted through her, and for a moment, she sagged against the portal she’d just forced open. Was she really going to do this? What made her think she would be even as useful to Tynan as an inflatable mattress?
She turned andran back into the room.
She grabbed the open bottle of ghost-mead and the closed one that weighed heavily in her hand. Maybe a quick nip off the open bottle…?
Whirling, she sprinted out the door as if it might slam shut. And she still wasn’t sure which side she should be on.
Except she knew, she had to be at Tynan’s side.
The thudding she’d heard was louder, and as she skidded into the greathall, she sneezed at the hail of debris falling from the ceiling. Apparently one hole in the roof wasn’t enough for the invaders—or maybe they suspected Tynan was gunning for them—and they were going to bash in the whole thing.
And the front doors too, for good measure. The huge double panels vibrated with blows from outside, the heavy geared bar bowing from the pressure.
When she appeared withher sneezy self, Tynan whirled, the blaster raised.
She held out her hands. “Don’t shoot me!” The booze bottles felt ridiculously heavy.
He scowled fiercely. “I knew I should’ve stunned you.”