I am a weapon. And it’s time I started acting like one.
“First Blade,” I say, my voice cutting through the chaos. “I’m coming with you.”
Henrok pauses, turns. His garnet eyes assess me with that same measuring look from before. Behind me, I feel Polly’s spike of alarm through the bond.
Rynn, no—
Yes.I meet Henrok’s gaze without flinching.They’re coming for me. Let me face them.
“You can shoot?” Henrok asks.
“I was trained by Valorian Blademasters from the age of seven.” I check the charge on the sidearm he gave me earlier, my hands steady despite the adrenaline singing through my veins. “I am not a soldier. But I am not helpless either.”
Something like approval flickers in those ancient eyes. “You will stay in formation. You will follow orders. And if I tell you to run, you run. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Rynn—” Polly starts, moving toward me.
I turn to her, and the bond flares hot between us. I cup her face in both hands, feeling the hammer of her pulse beneath my palms. Through our connection, I pour everything I’m feeling—determination, protectiveness, love—into her.
“They are coming for me,” I say softly. “And I will not let them reach you. I will not hide behind you, behind Henrok, behind these walls. Not anymore.”
“You don’t have to prove anything—”
“I’m not proving anything.” I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in—artificial strawberries and smoke. “I’m protecting what’s mine.”
Her eyes go dark with heat, fear, pride all mixed together.You come back to me.
Always.I kiss her—hard, fast, claiming.Hold the War Room. Protect the relay. And trust that I can handle myself.
She grabs my jacket, kisses me back with bruising force.I trust you. Now go be terrifying, Lord Chaos.
I pull away before I change my mind, turn to Henrok. “I’m ready.”
His mouth curves in that terrible smile. “Then let us teach the Meridian Consortium what happens when they hunt apex predators.”
Suki crosses to Henrok, and I watch as she rises on her toes, pulling his head down to kiss him. It’s quick, fierce, and holds three years of partnership, trust, and love. “Go kill some corporate bastards. I’ll keep the home fires burning.”
He growls—a sound of pure possessive pleasure—and then he’s moving, his squad falling in behind him like an avalanche given form and purpose.
I glance back one more time. Polly stands beside Suki at the tactical console, her weapon ready, her jaw set. Through the bond, I feel her fear for me, her determination to hold the line, her absolute faith that I’ll come back.
I love you,I send.
I know. Now go.
And then I’m running, following Henrok and his warriors into the corridor. The fortress shudders as the first boarding podhits the eastern hangar. The impact is massive—the sound of it echoes through the corridors like the death cry of some massive beast.
“Contact!” someone shouts over the comm. “Eastern hangar! Multiple hostiles!”
The sound of weapons fire erupts ahead of us—close now, getting closer. Through the bond, I feel Polly watching the tactical display, tracking my movement through the fortress.
Henrok doesn’t slow. His crystalline veins blaze bright as stars, lighting our path through the obsidian corridors. “Valorian! On my six! Stay tight!”
I fall into formation, my body remembering training I thought I’d forgotten. The weight of the weapon in my hand feels right. Natural. The micro-scales beneath my skin ripple in anticipation, my enhanced senses cataloging every sound, every smell, every potential threat.
The diplomat’s mask is gone.
