Chapter 18 #2
The acknowledgement of our bond is quick enough that it barely influences their thoughts.
She comments on the blizzard and damage in Strike’s sector. Kilo doesn’t mention Riann’s visit to the escape pod, and I don’t either.
But Trench and Jessica—of course it’s them—bring everyone’s attention back to us.
“It was a bitch,” Jessica says, “But we did get a filloum gene sample.”
“And?” Shock asks, but he already knows.
“They’re on the same branch of your planet’s evolutionary tree, but they’re not actually filloum.” Not that you thought that.
“And I was able to get a partial excerpt of that corrupted article,” Andrea says. “It’s weird. It looks like a nature piece mixed with a fundraising bid. I can’t be sure because I’ve only got pieces of it.”
Risk sits forward, glaring at the floor. “Who wrote it?”
Andrea looks at Kimba, who throws the article up on a projection in the middle of us.
“Kisa.” Risk looks at me and when he doesn’t say anything else, a dozen thoughts demand to join “the loop.”
“Kisa was the name of our new zurgle’s first Sisan,” I tell them.
Kimba huffs a disbelieving sound. “According to the CSS registries, she died ninety-seven years ago…”
“Ha!” Kilo snaps and points at me. “I told you he was old.”
“No.” Kimba shakes her head. “Sorry. She was declared dead ninety-seven years ago…”
She goes silent, everyone looking to her. “Almost everything about her has been classified.”
“Why?” Jess and Andrea ask it at the same time.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Kimba makes notes and I look at Risk. He shakes his head.
“It feels like every time we get an answer it gives us ten more questions instead of clarifying anything.” Laurel sighs and leans more heavily on Richter.
I watch them for a moment too long and Core notices. Kilo does too.
The piteous thoughts start all over again.
My knee starts to bounce and I can’t stop it.
Chrys looks up at me, her hand squeezing my leg, but her thoughts are so soft, they don’t stand a chance against the others.
In the void left by Kimba’s momentary research, the brotherhood and their bondmates’ thoughts have gotten so loud.
I know my three mates can feel the ugly unease coiling around me.
I can’t think of something to say that makes any sense.
I can’t be an asshole with her concern in my thoughts… with their love resting over me in the bond.
Screw it.
Someone else is talking, but I don’t hear it until it stops as Chrys crawls up to straddle my lap.
Someone says something about waiting until we’re home. But she doesn’t even kiss me. She just presses her forehead to mine and thinks about… how much they love me. Over and over again, all of her precious focus held in a stranglehold for me.
SHOCK
Chrys huffs a little breath and then… she turns in her seat and throws her leg over Arc’s lap, straddling him and grabbing his head with both hands before pressing her forehead to his.
I wonder what she’s mind bombing him with this time.
Murmurs echo through the room and I glance at Jessica and Trench, but they look just as confused as everyone else.
“What is…?” Kilo asks.
Arc doesn’t answer. He stands, taking her with him and walks straight out the door into the garage.
“It’s time for us to go,” I say, looking at Drift and Kimba. “Anything else?”
“Not right this second, no.” She looks at the door again. “Everything okay?”
When I answer her, I look at Jessica. “Just the price of being an asshole.”
Risk follows me out and we stop beside them when the door to the outpost closes. Arc still holds her tight to him as he leans on the car, but they aren’t as intense.
“Sorry about that,” he says, and he means it.
“Don’t be. You needed to go and you went. We get it.”
Risk agrees, pulling them off the bubble roof and opening the car. “They’ll get over it.”
A flash of Arc’s hands around my throat makes me exhale sharply, but he doesn’t notice.
Something happens next time that eclipses this exit.
“We,” I say, switching to what I know will distract them from anything else, “have a few more days to pretend we don’t have any responsibilities. I think we can find a productive way to pass them.”
Chrys hums in agreement. “But we eat and feed Kissu first! I don’t want to have to take a break in the middle.”
As if when we get home, Kissu would let us go to bed without his supper anyway.
The ride passes quickly, anticipating ratcheting up in the bond. We’re lucky we don’t crash. Kissu wouldn’t forgive us.
Arc gives him a plate of raw meat, grass, and ilva eggs. “I will ask, but I don’t like the idea.”
He looks up at us, shaking his head. “Kissu would like to request live lizards for food. He misses hunting and is disappointed we don’t have any… vermin to take care of.”
“He wants us to let wild animals loose when there’s no door on our bedroom?” Chrys’ face scrunches and she hops up to sit on the counter. “I don’t know about that.”
I don’t either.
Arc glances from me to Risk and then says, “That’s four ‘probably not’s.”
“You’re going to have to give us a better pitch to win us over,” Chrys tells him.
He sneezes and turns back to his dinner.
Risk produces ours like he had it waiting.
“He did.” Arc leans close, raking his teeth across my neck and making me shiver. “He’s highly motivated.”
“Aren’t we all?”
Humor hits me like a weighted blanket.
Between the four of us, our emotions balance simply because each accounts for a quarter of the pull in our bond, but when all of us feel the same thing at the same time…
We manage to eat slowly enough that we won’t feel sick, but our plates stay on the table as Risk picks Chrys up. I look at Arc.
“Don’t even think about it.” He glares.
I do think about it, but I grab his hand and drag him along after them instead.