Chapter Thirty
Kenyon
Something was off about Yun but I couldn’t place it. Her vitals were elevated, but not dangerously so. I’d say it appeared more like a bad night of sleep, like anxiety and discomfort had caused her adrenaline to spike.
Of course, if she had to sleep elsewhere, that could explain it…
Or maybe I was so desperate for a sign that we mattered to her that I allowed myself to think that her separation from us would cause her stress like this.
I didn’t like the idea of her bothered by anything, but if she was going to be bothered, it’d be nice to think it was due to her at least liking and missing us.
She hadn’t said a word about the headache she had, about the way she yawned. She’d said the sleep test had gone fine, that they hadn’t told her anything.
That didn’t shock me, though. I could monitor her well enough to know nothing serious was happening with her body. I understood their desire to test themselves, but that didn’t mean I expected anything to come of it—except perhaps that they would prescribe her medication.
I could heal others, but the government didn’t see me as well trained enough to let me prescribe anything, which left Yun at the mercy of the civilian doctors.
Even as she rubbed her eyes like that would wipe away the headache, she said nothing, didn’t ask me for help, didn’t admit she struggled.
It was one of the both admirable and frustrating things about the woman.
We walked the perimeter of the base, along with Carter. She hadn’t needed to come, but she’d seemed unwilling to be alone, asking to join.
I hadn’t really needed to come, either, but boredom got people to do some crazy things.
Shear and Ingram worked together on the opposite side of the base, since it was our squad’s day to do the grunt work.
It was nothing but a joke of security, theater and busy work.
Even if something attacked the base right now, there were enough high-rank espers that they wouldn’t get more than a few feet past the boundaries before not even healers could save ’em.
Though the walk was rather nice. Maybe Yun really needed the time and exercise? The space and freedom of the open desert to make her feel less trapped?
We’d spent weeks in dungeons, had spent time holed up in the worst sort of places, so it didn’t bother me. Yun was different, though.
“I was thinking manicotti for dinner,” I declared, like we were already mid-conversation.
“Do you ever think about anything except food?” Carter answered, not missing a beat to draw Yun into conversation. No doubt he’d picked up on her strange mood as well.
“We haven’t eaten a vegetable in weeks,” Yun countered. “I’m going to start gaining weight, you know?”
“So? Pretty sure I don’t give a damn,” Carter answered easily.
“You might when I die of a giant heart attack.” Even as she spoke as though put out, a tired playfulness had crept into the words.
“Don’t worry, I can handle those,” I reminded her. “In fact, if I need to, I’ll just make keeping your heart beating my full-time job.”
“What if I get hurt?” Carter asked.
“You’re on your own, then.”
“This is how you treat me after all our years together?” Carter put his arm to his head as though he might faint from the shock of it all.
And our shenanigans helped, because Yun laughed. It wasn’t a full laugh, not a belly laugh that comes from deep down, but it was something, and I’d happily take it.
Carter and I kept going with our antics as we walked, taking our time, stretching our legs, picking strange topics just to throw Yun off.
“So there’s this website, and it sells esper dildos,” Carter said.
“Why do you know that?” Yun asked.
“Ingram keeps sending me links and pictures. He says it’s to laugh at, but I don’t know…feels like he wants me to buy him one for Christmas or something.”
“You don’t buy dildos for Christmas presents,” I argued. “That’s more of a New Year’s gift.”
“Dildos are for New Years?” Carter asked.
“New Year, new dick,” Yun muttered almost absently until Carter and I paused.
It was then Yun seemed to notice what she’d said because she slapped her hand over her mouth.
Still shy? The fact she could be after all we’d done, I found downright charming.
We could have tortured her a bit more, but I wanted her to keep chiming in, so I moved the conversation along. “What are they like?”
“Dildos? They feel good from what I’ve heard, but I wouldn’t personally know.”
“No, the esper ones. Like, are they designed after specific espers? Because there’s this car I was looking at, and if it’s that easy to make some money…”
“No, they aren’t specific, at least they don’t say that. It’s more like…tentacle-shaped ones, or ones with inflatable knots, or shadows. Stuff like that.”
I shuddered at the thought of any of those things going anywhere near my precious ass.
As a healer, I understood better than most just how much the body could enjoy sensation, that there was no real taboo when it came to that, but that didn’t mean I was too keen to try it myself, especially with things so out there.
“Shadow?” Yun asked despite a flush on her cheeks.
“Yeah—like Ingram.”
“He uses shadows, but that’s not sexy.”
Carter chuckled. “Well, he can use them in a more fun way if he wants. He can make them take shape, give them substance, and if so? Well, I think you get the idea.”
The look on Yun’s face said she certainly did, and she didn’t find it nearly as objectionable as I had.
I groaned as my own cock hardened, not at the thought of getting fucked by Ingram’s shadows, but at the idea of watching Yun thoroughly enjoy that sort of thing.
Carter snorted and gestured toward my crotch. “We’re doing a great job on patrol. Anyone who sees that tent will think twice about attacking here.”
“Like you’re any different,” I muttered.
“Yeah, but I wear pants that hide it better.” He took a few more steps, since the bastard enjoyed getting the last word.
I nearly responded anyway when a familiar wave of energy rushed through us like a wave, so strong it caused both Carter and me to stumble.
The Pitt.
The feeling was impossible to forget. Each dungeon had a slightly different frequency, and that one was tattooed on our psyches.
Except, it didn’t feel right, not normal. When it opened for good, assuming we were anywhere near, we would be knocked off our feet.
That’s when I turned and saw it, not even a mile away, a shimmering, flickering tear between realms, like an unstable dungeon but with far too much power.
The reality hit me—the answer, even the cause.
A small tear had occurred as the veil thinned, as The Pitt readied to open.
These wouldn’t normally happen, even as the space between our realm and theirs narrowed.
The reason it had now? When Yun had touched the heart ten years ago, it must have weakened it, made it so it was less stable than it had been.
Now that The Pitt was almost open, the integrity of the barrier had thinned too much.
None of that mattered when dark creatures spilled out, too many for me to count at this distance, looking like grounds of black coffee against the tan dirt of the desert, all rushing right at us.
And it was such a nice walk before…