“You saw how he was when we met about Masumi’s bond. He seemed cool when we told him, but he’s been an asshole since.”
“Mace has always been an asshole,” Sabre said, a note of affection toning down the exasperation in his voice. Everyone loved Mace, but only in small doses. Blade and Scotty were the only two who saw the real Mace, the guy who would give his life for those he loved. Who was loyal to a fault. Who hated being alone. “But yeah, I can see the problem.”
Blade leaned against a metal bookcase, and it groaned as it absorbedhis dead, exhausted weight. “I don’t know what to do.”
Sabre considered Blade’s predicament as he swiveled back and forth on the stool. He was the spitting image of his dad, his lab coat lending him that same air of authority. Talking to Sabre was like talking to Eidolon…but without as much of the intimidation factor.
Which wasn’t to say that he didn’t have an intimidation factor. The guy was a quarter Soulshredder demon on his mom’s side, and when it came out to play, it was time to run. Fortunately, he kept the beast fed with cage matches and pit fights at skeezy, demon-run establishments. Blade had patched him up afterward more than a few times.
“How would you feel if the situation was reversed?” Sabre asked.
The idea that Mace could have been the one with Scotty in the cave instead of Blade felt like a hot coal in his belly.
“I’d like to think I’d understand.”
“Bullshit.” Naturally, Sabre called him on it. He was so like his old man. “You guys have been best friends for as long as I can remember. You’ve managed to keep your hands off Scotty all this time…I mean, yousworeoaths, and you’re telling me you’d be totally chill if Mace banged Scotty?”
Blade didn’t answer. How could he, when he wasn’t sure?
Sabre tried another tack. “How doyoufeel about Scotty?”
I love her. “My feelings are irrelevant,” he said gruffly. “I can’t be with her. It would destroy our friendship.”
“Sounds like that might already be happening.”
A sour taste filled Blade’s mouth. He didn’t want to lose his friends. His team. Scotty.
“It’s not,” he insisted. “We can fix it.”
“How?”
Fuck Sabre and his hard questions. Deflated, Blade leaned more heavily against the bookcase. “I don’t know.”
“Is that why Ky sent you to Ares?”
Fuck Kynan too. “He thinks teamwork will get us back on track.”
Sabre shrugged. “Doesn’t sound like a terrible idea.”
“Really?” Aaaand, fuck Sabre again. “Fourteen hours a day in Ares’s battle arena doesn’t sound like a terrible idea?”
A few seconds ticked by, and then Sabre nodded. “You’re right. I take it back. I actually can’t think of much worse.” Something next to Sabre beeped, and he ended it by pushing a button on the nearby computer. “Does Kynan know about you and Scotty?”
“No. He just knows something is going on between us that made usfuck up an assignment.”
Sabre looked skeptical. “I wouldn’t count on that. He doesn’t miss much.” He wiped some broken glass onto the floor with the rest of the mess. “And you’d better pray that Ares doesn’t find out.”
Blade scowled. “Why would I worry about him? He’s always taught us that we have to do whatever it takes to survive.”
“Yeah, well, he won’t consider doing hisdaughterpart of that.”
Ares was a master tactician who understood survival. He’d probably be proud that his daughter had saved a life. “You really think he’d rather I die in misery?”
“Than defile his little girl? Uh, yeah. Duh.”
Shit. What if Sabre was right? Ares wasn’t stupid, and he’d eventually figure out why their team was malfunctioning. They needed to get this fixed before that happened.
“So, that’s all you’ve got? Don’t let Ares find out?”
