He was whole again. The smooth silver skin of his face was intact. He had lips again. His elegant nose was perfectly formed. Long, beautiful lashes framed his eyes.
Arin was reminded of an angel, except this one dealt swift, bloody death.
Black nanites writhed under his skin like swarms of minuscule ants, occasionally coming to the surface to repair some unseen wound before disappearing again. Those impossible nano-particles had rebuilt Rykal from the inside out, remaking him in his own image.
He took her hands into his, his touch impossibly gentle. “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling Arin up into a sitting position. She swiveled, swinging her legs over the side of the bench so that she was facing him.
“What for?” She brought her hand up to caress the side of his face, not quite believing he was real. He was naked before her, but he wasn’t at all bothered by it.
“For not being able to get you out of here sooner. They should never have been allowed to touch you.” His eyes burned with the heat of a thousand suns as he took her hands into his.
“It could have been a lot worse.” Arin shuddered at the memory of that asshole straddling her. Another image flashedthrough her mind; she’d been younger then, an idealistic, fresh-faced officer, and the man who’d tried to rape her had been in a position of unassailable authority.
She hadn’t allowed him to go there. Her fists were strong, and she’d used them. But there had been a price to her defiance, and her promising career as an officer had been cut short.
They’d dispatched her to the shittiest backwater of the galaxy, a mining station full of misfits and criminals called Fortuna Tau. It was a dumping ground for soldiers who’d fallen out of favor or stepped on the wrong toes, and she hadn’t been expected to last a month.
But she’d survived and flourished. Her promotion to sergeant had taken everyone by surprise.
She was strong. She’d always been a survivor. So why couldn’t she stop fucking trembling?
Rykal’s tenderness was tugging at her heart. “Never again,” he whispered fiercely, twining his fingers between hers.
Arin stroked his cheek. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she said. “You have no idea. I don’t know how your body does what it does, but you’re incredible.”
He’d healed so quickly. Kordolian technology was so far advanced that it could have been magic for all she knew.
“Hm.” Rykal’s ears twitched as he inclined his head, his amber gaze turning hard as it flicked towards the door. “We’re about to have company.” He placed his hands on her waist and helped her slide off the table. The floor was cold underneath Arin’s bare feet. “You are in no way dressed or equipped to handle a fight.”
“This thingissomewhat skimpy.” The white medical gown reached to about mid-thigh. Her fingers itched for a trigger. If only she had a bolt gun, she’d feel a whole lot better.
The guards she’d seen stalking around the bridge had guns. Now that she was considered fully expendable, they wouldn’t hesitate to shoot her.
“I am very sorry, myashika, but I’m going to have to ask you to go into that back room, the one where I was held. They’re going to come through here first, and I can’t have you getting caught in the crossfire. I get the feeling they will shoot to kill.”
“Stop apologizing, Rykal,” Arin said. “I’m a soldier too, remember? From a tactical perspective, it makes perfect sense.” She didn’t want to do anything that would undermine him. She didn’t want to end up a hostage, and she didn’t want to be a liability. He was right. Without weapons or armor, she was in no condition to fight.
Rykal nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m apologizing because of the mess I made. Please try not to look at the mess on the floor, but do stay below the window line.”
Sharp black half-inch claws had appeared at the ends of Rykal’s fingertips. Arin’s eyes widened. Pretty-boy was full of surprises.
She stared at him in shock for a split second, then the doors slid open and she ran, ducking behind a patch of wall as Rykal prepared to fight.
Try not to look at the mess on the floor.
She couldn’t help it.
She was surrounded by bodies. Blood was everywhere. The dead guy slumped closest to her was by far the worst; there was a gaping hole in his chest. It looked like he’d had his freakingheartripped out.
Arin stiffened, the shock of recognition shooting through her like a jolt of electricity. She knew the guy. He was the one who’d been on top of her, who’d touched her as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat.
Had Rykal known?
She shuddered as she crouched down and made her way across the floor, trying not to be seen as she searched for a clean place to hide. Arin forced herself to get back into themindset of a soldier as she glanced around, searching for a weapon.
In the next room, the sounds of violence were rising to a bloody crescendo. Shots from bolt-guns punctuated the air, and one hit the glass window above her, cracking it. Of course, it didn’t shatter like old-fashioned glass, because it was made of an ultra-strong polymer, but the powerful hit of concentrated electricity was enough to create a network of fine cracks across its clear surface.
Shouts and curses rang out in between grunts and screams. Rykal didn’t make a single noise, but occasionally, there was a crunch, a thud, or a squelch, and then the sound of bodies hitting the floor.
