He didn’t look at me immediately, his eyes fixed on the storm-torn horizon. “Do not worry about me, mate.”
I swallowed, a stab of fear twisting in my gut. “Is it getting worse?” My next words felt hollow even as I said them. I knew there wasn’t a damn thing I could do. “I want to help.”
Finally, Vance turned to face me, his expression softening as he took a step closer. “Rowan, if anything happens… if I lose control of this situation… don’t blame Marz.” His voice trailed off, but the meaning was clear. He didn’t want me angry at Marz if he was forced to kill his own second. Kill Vance.
“You’re mine, Vance. They can’t have you.” I reached out and placed my hand on his arm, a simple touch meant to claim him, remind him of his vow to me. The connection thatsurged between us went beyond mere comfort. It was a spark of something deeper. Stronger. “Last time you faced them alone. You’re not alone anymore.”
His hand covered mine, squeezing gently. “I love you,” he whispered, and for a moment, the storm faded. Marz had said the words. I’d said them to my mates, more than once. But Vance always held back. Always. Even when his cock was deep inside me and I was screaming his name.
“Now you tell me.”
His grin was almost feral. I smiled back. Damn him for being so fucking gorgeous.
The sudden screech of the scanners snapped us back to the present. Strange readings danced across the screen, and a chill rippled through me. “The machine,” I breathed, staring at the data. “It’s like it knows were coming. We’re close.”
Vance winced, his head tilting slightly as if listening to something only he could hear. “The machine is… calling me,” he murmured, his voice distant. “The Hive… they know. They’re coming.”
The ground shifted beneath us again, a deep rumble, as if the planet was awakening to our presence. I ran to the drilling console and began recalibrating the drill’s trajectory, using every bit of geological knowledge I had to guide it through the unstable crust. My fingers danced over the controls, fine-tuning the angle as we pushed deeper into the planet’s heart.
Marz’s roar of pain cut through the chaos. My head snapped up to see him drop to one knee, blood staining his side.
What happened? Where did the attack come from?
Marz’s voice came over everyone’s comm. “We’re under attack. They’re above us!” Shouts erupted but my gaze remained glued to Marz, to the bloodstain spreading on the side of his uniform.
He fired his ion rifle into the sky and looked over at me. “How much longer, Rowan? We don’t have much time.”
I forced myself to look away from him, to focus on the drilling. If I didn’t, everything would be wasted. “We’re close!” I yelled into the comm. “Two or three minutes!”
A blast from an unseen Hive’s weapon struck the ground near me. I stumbled but caught myself, eyes locked on the readings. We were nearly through to where the Hive machine was buried. Another vibration ran through the ground, this one different—a steady thrum that seemed to pulse with a life of its own.
“Rowan, get away from there!” Vance’s voice came through the comm, strained and distant. “The machine is awake.”
Oh shit.
I took three steps back as the ground beneath the drill heaved upward like when a giant worm from thatDUNEmovie was about to burst from the soil and devour everything in sight.
The warrior who’d been working next to me lifted his head and yelled. “Soldiers! Dozens of them!”
The attack came just as the drill pierced through the final layer of rock. The ground trembled. The sky itself seemed to split open as Hive forces emerged from the storm to float down on top of us like falling snow. They drifted toward the ground, their bodies flickering in and out of view, deadly shadows in the raging wind.
16
Vance
The chaosof the storm cloaked the Hive, made their movements erratic, their forms difficult to target. None of the ion rifles were hitting their targets.
“Ambush!” I ran toward Rowan as Marz charged forward, his rifle blazing with streaks of light. The ground heaved, tossed the drill into the air. It crashed down with a loud boom and settled back into place, automatically adjusting to resume digging.
The Hive’s attack was relentless, their forms twisting and shifting in the rain as they closed in all around us.
Panic twisted in my chest as I saw Marz standing rigid on a rise along our safety perimeter. Even wounded, he refused to fall back. The image seared into my memory, nearly identical to countless battles on dozens of worlds where Marz’s will alone had won battles, kept us alive. He surged forward as one of the Hive Soldiers came within striking distance. He swung the blade he kept at his side like it was an extension of his own body, driving the Hive Soldiers back in a desperate fury. I could hear Marz shouting orders, his voice hoarse with strain as his teamsengaged the enemy, but I didn’t have time to listen. I had one goal. One fucking job. Keep Rowan alive.
“Vance!” Rowan’s cry cut through everything like a blade through paper. “We’re in.”
I was at her side in seconds. The drilling console beeped, indicating that we’d reached the machine’s core. She stopped the drill and activated the stabilization protocols, locking the drill in place. Small pockets of fighting surrounded us on every side, but so far, our security teams had managed to keep the fighting away from Rowan. Away from our equipment.
Marz was still fighting, his movements growing slower as blood poured from his side. I saw him glance toward Rowan, the same terror in his eyes that I’d felt in my own heart moments ago. We would not stop, would never stop, fighting for her.
