“Then curiosity.”
“Stupid reason.” Syn rolled his eyes. “Besides you know what they say.”
“Curiosity is the foundation of science?”
Syn let out a pain-filled noise. “Damn your Tris origins. Y’all take all the fun out of everything.”
Hadrian clicked his tongue. “That’s what they say.” He met Jayne’s gaze. “Ready?”
“Yeah, sure. Time to blow some shit up, kill a few enemies and get this party started.”
Syn let out a disgusted sigh. “Fine. But I can’t let you two go it alone.”
Hadrian scowled. “Why?”
He gave them a droll stare. “Because I like my testicles. Not that I get to use them much, but still . . . the thought of Eve or Nero removing them from my body makes me cringe. Especially the manner in which they’d detach them. I have enough shit in my life. I don’t need that, too.”
Hadrian tucked his pad into his backpack. “Suit yourself, but my fighter only seats two and you’re not pretty enough to sit in my lap.” He grinned at Jayne. “You, I would let, though.”
Those unexpected words stunned her past the ability to think of a witty comeback. “I’m not sitting in anyone’s lap.”
“Yeah!” Syn playfully slapped Hadrian’s arm. “Have some home-training.”
“How? That would imply that I once had a home.”
Jayne paused at Hadrian’s words. Though they were said as a jest, she understood the pain of surviving in a place and not having a home. Just a roof where you despised every fucking inch of it.
It was absolute misery. That isolation and longing. The bitterness.
That burning ache to be safe and protected. To have one person who wouldn’t sacrifice you to save their own ass.
Even though she knew her sister and Jinx would kill to protect her, it didn’t fill the void that was there from never having known safety as a child.
To know that any moment her entire life could be blown apart by the selfishness of someone else.
Even her own father.
Damn you, you sonofabitch . . .
She still wanted to find her father’s remains and just beat the shit out of him. She could only imagine how much repressed fury Hadrian hid. Hers simmered constantly in her soul like a shield volcano just waiting to burst forth and burn everything in its path.
Sense be damned.
It was what made her such a powerful warrior. That ability to tap the raw, unspent fury and unleash it against whoever was dumb enough to be in her path when it broke.
There was nothing like it.
And here they were . . .
About to depart on another journey into the unknown.
Syn glanced past them. “Sadly, I can’t join you two personally. Can’t take time off from the hospital. But . . .” He grinned at something over her head. “I summoned a backup.”
Jayne turned to look behind her.
Her jaw went slack as she saw a huge Andarion male heading for them. She would say he was as wide as he was tall, but the beast was at least as tall as Hadrian, or taller. If he were that wide, he wouldn’t be able to come through a normal doorway. Though to be honest, he did have to bend over to make it.
Damn.
