Her eyes turned hard, like chips of glass. Her jaw was set at a stubborn angle, and her face had lost all of its wonderful softness. “You killed seven of my people,” she said. “Why?” She was as direct as ever. No embellishment, no excuses, and no tiptoeing around the issue.
No fear.
He loved that about her.
“Ah.” He’d known this was going to be a sticking point.
Arin stood with her hand still resting on the rocket launcher. She was alert and as straight as an arrow, her long neck extended, her shoulders set in a rigid line, her chin thrust forward. She didn’t just expect an answer; shedemandedone.
Rykal breathed in and caught a trace of something impossible. It was the scent of vast oceans and atmospheric storms. It was the warmth of a planet blessed by the light of a benevolent sun.
It was Earth.
It washer.
As if in a trance, he took a step forward and leaned close to her. “I’m really not as bad as you think,” he murmured, searching her face for any sign of a reaction.
She gave him nothing. She was as hard and constant as the frozen ice plains of his home planet. They were the lands he half-remembered and longed for without really understanding why.
Don’t look at me like that, he wanted to say.I’m not your enemy.
“I didn’t kill them all,” he sighed, his voice filled with a strange yearning. “Just one of them. The rest are locked up in a cargo container in the hold.”
“They attacked you?”
“Yeah.”
“They shouldn’t have,” she said, disapproval creeping into her voice.
“Yeah,” he agreed. He nodded towards the rocket launcher. “The guy I killed shot one of those at me.”
“An EI rocket? And you survived that?” Her expression was an odd mixture of disbelief, horror, and fascination.
“As I said, it hurt.” He winced, remembering the sensation of his skin as it peeled, charred by the heat of the blast.
Arin shook her head ruefully. “You’re something else.”
“Something else indeed. Freak, aberration, abomination,” Rykal shrugged. “I’ve been called all of those things and worse.Certain habits are hard-wired into me. If you go after me, chances are you’ll be dead before either of us realizes what’s happened. That’s what happened to your man. I acted on instinct. There was no time to think about it.”
“You showed restraint when it came to the others.” Her expression softened, and some of the tension left her shoulders. “You could easily have killed them.”
She was right. It would have been like swattingvakkandikflies. Bothersome, but not difficult.
“Wasn’t worth the effort,” Rykal lied. It had actually been hardernotto kill them. “They were lightweights. Easy to read and poorly organized. It would have been a waste of my energy.”
“Huh.” Arin shook her head. “And here I thought we were competent when it came to close-quarters combat.”
“Against normal opponents, you probably are. It’s just that I’m a First Division warrior, and you’re human.” Rykal angled his gaze, studying her. This close, he could appreciate the little things, like the fine texture of her pale skin, and the steady pulse beating in her elegant neck.
Her hair had always amazed him. It was pale and golden, like fine Veronian silk. He wanted to bury his nose in it and run his fingers through it.
“I attended the Senate Committee, as you requested.” Abruptly, she changed the subject.
“And you came back.” Rykal smiled. In a Universe full of cutthroats, turncoats, and bastards who would sell their souls to Kaiin himself for a handful of credits, she was a rarity.
“What did you expect me to do, run away and hide on Earth? Those are my people, and I’m here to make sure you stick to your word.”
“I understand honor,” Rykal said softly. Why did he feel he had to prove himself to her? “If your leaders hurry up and figure out that we’re crucial to eliminating the Xargek, we will let the hostages go unharmed, and life will move on. But untilthen, we play the game. Are we close to an agreement yet, Sergeant Arin?”
