Chapter 19 - Cole
CHAPTER 19 - COLE
M elted copper dripped on my finger and burned my skin.
“Fuck!” I set the soldering iron in its brace, grabbed a rag, wiping the molten metal from my skin.
This would teach me for not concentrating. I was pretty messed up after my mom left, despite burying myself in work. I couldn’t get past that my mom wanted to stay in the Guardians to get revenge on the people who locked her up, when the warden offered her release a year ago. It felt like she prioritized justice over her relationship with me, and I went through my grief of saying goodbye to my mom in a different way.
I hadn’t met Luna for lunch in over a week. Initially, she gave me space to clear my head and have some time to process everything, and I appreciated her support. This morning, she said she’d bring lunch down to me as she didn’t want me to be alone and depressed.
I crossed to the far wall, flicking the latch on the first aid kit, opening it, and exposing bandages and a bunch of other wound care items.
“You okay?” Bruno called out, glancing up from the gadget he screwed together, his brow tight.
Injuries made him nervous from a budget perspective. The more incidents we experienced, the less funding we got, and our likelihood of getting more staff, new equipment, and a bigger space decreased.
“Just a little burn.” I didn’t give him any more, claiming a salt rinse, burn cream, and bandages from the kit and moving back to my desk.
He wasn’t supposed to know about my secret little project since it wasn’t on the roster of tech to develop. He turned a blind eye to a lot of my extra developments because they were regularly adopted into standard Guild technology, and we got a cut of the production royalties when they were sold to other branches. When this particular design was done, it would revolutionize the Guild and hopefully make us filthy rich.
Bruno came over to inspect the damage, admiring the glowing blister and burned skin. “You need to lodge an incident report form.”
“It’s just a little burn.” I finished with the saline bottle, tossed it in the bin and grabbed the cream.
“Just a little burn that might get infected.” Bruno grabbed the incident register folder from its place amid the procedure documents along the wall. He dumped it on my desk. “And if it gets infected, you’ll need treatment, and the Guild might deny sick leave or hospital cover if it isn’t documented.”
Forms. Reports. Paperwork. The Guild turned into a corporate fucking nightmare.
I sighed, dabbing the cream on with a tissue, careful not to use my dirty fingers to start said deadly bacterial infection that might cause me to lose my finger. “Fine. I’ll fill it out.”
“Good.” Bruno left me alone and packed up his belongings. “I’m taking a break and getting lunch. Want any?”
“Yes, please,” I said, finishing the application and capping the cream.
“Two servings as usual?” Bruno teased as he moved to the elevator.
He knew me well. “Please.”
He disappeared into the car and ascended to the first floor.
I ran a dirty hand through my hair, scolding myself for not taking better care of my work and my damn hands. They were my tools that made me useful here, and if I fucked up again, it might impact my merit to the Guild.
I couldn’t help it. Beyond the fresh round of hurt and betrayal, my mind went over and over all the crazy shit my mom told me when we spent our Sunday together. Insane things that did and didn’t make sense. She stopped short of telling me who was behind it to protect me if anyone came asking questions. My heart ached, and my belly burned with desperation and desire to get her out of the Guardians, but she told me not to interfere. Not yet. She was on an important case and didn’t want me to jeopardize it.
In one way, I understood why she sought revenge against those who imprisoned her. The other way didn’t understand why she didn’t want to be free and with me. For now, I agreed to lay low despite every instinct in me screaming to get her the hell out of there.
I bandaged my finger and threw out the packaging and got back to work, putting the finishing touches on my latest invention, a collaborative project between my brothers. Blaze wanted it ready by Thursday, and I pushed another project back to get it done on time.
The elevator dinged, and the door scraped open. Bruno wouldn’t be back already unless he forgot something and came back to get it. The two men exiting the car were not my boss. We rarely received visitors, and when we did, they were usually from the headmaster, Gildrons suggesting new technology, or from Talon and his team. Heavy footsteps welcomed their entrance into the dungeon.
“This it?” Talon ran a palm over the design.
“Sure is.” I soldered the last of the thin copper conduits through the technology to channel magick. “What do you think?”
He circled it, examining it with a critical eye. “Looks good, brother.”
Blaze ran his fingertips along the black creation. “Is it ready to test?”
“Yep.” I patted my new pride and joy. “Who wants to be my test dummy?”
Talon picked it up. “I will.”
He got ready and came back a moment later, armed with the technology for its first official trial. If it demonstrated it executed according to my design parameters, it might be deployed out in the field.
“Go easy.” Talon rubbed his stomach. “I just ate lunch.”
Blaze and I shared a grin.
“Absolutely,” I said, in unison with his, “Sure.”
Talon splayed his arms wide, being a good sport about it. “Hit me with your best shot.”
Magick erupted in the small space, the grains in the stone wall reflecting the light. We shared a few laughs as we experimented with different tests, and my new invention held up well.
Blaze clamped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “This is brilliant, brother.”
“Thanks.” I clapped him on the back. “You get most of the credit for suggesting the idea.”
He wanted this tech for an upcoming class where he planned to use it.
Talon thumped us both on the shoulder. “Brains and execution.”
I laughed and elbowed him.
“Will it be ready in three days?” Blaze didn’t go along with the joke.
He seemed lighter and freer of the worry dragging him down, though I detected a strange vibe. Discomfort or anxiety or something by the way he didn’t say much and avoided eye contact as much as possible. I didn’t know if he was ashamed of his ice-blue eyes since Nelle and Camus stripped him of his magick, or if something else bothered him. Talon and I questioned him, and he said he was fine, so we respected his privacy. If he wanted to offload, he knew where we were.
“It needs a few minor tweaks, but it’ll be done,” I replied.
“Good.” Blaze’s palm came to my shoulder and squeezed.
The combination of designing this with me, our investigation for Talon, his return to teaching, and the biker’s treatment did wonders for Blaze’s mental state. The old Blaze returned. He didn’t look as exhausted or on alert. It was good to have our friend back.
The elevator pinged again, and I waved at him. “Get out of the device before Bruno returns. We’re not supposed to invite non-dungeoners down here to test out the tech.”
Talon rushed to take it off and set it on my bench as the doors hissed open. We huddled by the workbench, pretending to chat and erase any evidence of our little experiment.
“Oh, all my handsome knights are here!” Luna’s voice registered from behind, and we glanced up as one.
My girl balanced three boxes of lunch in her arms, and I went to her, taking them from her and setting them on the bench. My heart warmed and swelled.
“What are you all doing here?” She tilted her head to receive kisses on the mouth from each of us.
“Came to see our brother,” Talon said to cover for us all.
Luna’s mouth lifted into a delighted smile, and my heart stretched wider. She was pleased that the three of us were family again. Brothers reunited. Brothers forever. And a week ago, she expressed her happiness that we started to bond with Gable. She said she could finally relax with her team of knights, rather than being on edge and diffusing every tense situation between the four males.
Despite my initial reluctance and fears, I was glad she had three more men to take care of her and love her the way I did, each in different ways. Blaze her mentor, Talon her friend, Gable her confidant.
“We’ll get back to it and leave you to lunch.” Blaze patted me on the arm and smiled in a secretive way.
“No, stay for lunch!” Luna caught him by the bicep, tugging him to a stop. “I’ve got enough for all of us.”
“Enough for Cole,” Talon teased, tapping the two boxes.
Luna gave me a conciliatory pat on the arm. “Cole will have to top up with vending machine snacks if he gets hungry.” She dragged two bench seats over to my station. “I won’t eat all of mine and can share.”
“I already had a bite beforehand, but I’ll share with you, Princess.” Talon grabbed a third chair and brought it over for himself, situating Luna between him and Blaze, while I took my seat on the opposite side.
We settled down to tuck into our food, Blaze taking one box, me the second, and Talon picking at Luna’s, feeding them both.
“How’s your day?” Luna asked the question to all of us, but stroked Talon’s jaw, indicating for him to go first.
“It’s going well.” Talon fed her some curry and rice on a spoon. “We got reports of some Brotherhood movement, and the gargoyle scouts are investigating.”
Luna nodded as she chewed.
“Are we still on for our homework today, or are you swamped with assignments from this asshole?” He threw a pea at Blaze, and my brother chuckled.
Homework was their code for snake practice and sex if Talon could stick around longer after classes finished for the day. Luna mastered her fear with Shelby and was now able to let her coil around her shoulders, and often sat at her desk studying with the snake sliding all over her. I was so proud of my girl and reached under the table to stroke her knee.
She swallowed and answered with a sly smile. “Still on.”
Talon flung another pea Blaze’s way. “Don’t fuck her all afternoon and make her late.”
Normally this was where my stomach crunched at the idea of them together, but the feeling dulled to the point of barely bothering me anymore. She was adored by the two men closest to me, and that gave me peace of mind.
“I won’t.” Blaze ran his knuckle along her thigh where he hiked her skirt up to admire her sexy, toned, curvy legs.
Talon snorted and took another bite.
Luna’s eyes flicked to Blaze, telling him to go next.
“Business as usual for me.” He consumed a mouthful of yellow curry to shut that conversation down.
Luna’s gorgeous hazel eyes lifted to me. “And you?”
“I’m getting up to no good.” I didn’t lie to her, and I didn’t let on what the three of us were up to.
Talon chuckled and broke off a chunk of crusty bread and dipped it in curry sauce and ate it. He’d eat anything, and I was saving my roll for butter, not curry.
“What tech genius are you creating today?” Her ankles locked around mine and rubbed up and down my calves.
“A variant of a boomerang weapon I used against the serpents.” She already knew the story, so I didn’t rehash it. The Guild wanted it for other applications, and I was more than happy to develop it.
“How’s your day, sweetness?” The flex of Blaze’s arm in his Gildron tunic suggested he squeezed her leg.
“Okay so far.” She reached down to take his hand, or at least that was what I assumed. She did the same to Talon, but his right hand was busy feeding her, and her arm stretched in his direction, probably resting her hand on his thigh. “This semester doesn’t feel as intense because I’m familiar with everything.”
“That’s good, Wildfire,” I said to her.
It killed me to watch her stress, skip meals, fuel herself with so much caffeine she couldn’t sleep to get assignments done, study completed, and caught up on the previous year’s curriculum. I never wanted her to undergo such intensity ever again.
“What’s everyone’s plans for the weekend?” Her question made us all prickle. “Can we do something together?”
Yeah, not going there. Operation L-U-N-A was underway, and she had no clue.
“Repainting my office,” Blaze went first with his excuse.
“Scouting out a potential Brotherhood hideaway.” Talon maintained the ruse, deepening our princess’ frown.
My turn, and I fucking hoped my voice didn’t give me away. “Sorry, baby. I’ve got to work overtime to get this latest project complete.”
Her shoulders sagged lower with each response. “Okay, I’ll see what Gable’s up to then. Maybe the three of us can hang out at night and go to dinner or something if you have time?”
“Sure, sweetness.” Blaze leaned over and kissed her cheek, and her eyes brightened.
Talon and I shared a look. We didn’t like hiding from her, but she couldn’t find out what we planned and ruin her surprise.