Was he—was he protecting her?
The part of Gus that wasn’t flabbergasted might have been a touch insulted.
The arrogant oaf.What about her behavior said she was in need of help?She’d gone to a lot of trouble to orchestrate this meeting and now his overprotective Tuann nature was jeopardizing all her plans.She had Cleo and Mars right where she wanted them.Particularly given how forthcoming they were being.A little more and she might have been able to figure out if they were answering to someone or acting as free agents.
A low chuckle sounded from Cleo’s direction.“You’re right about that.”
Whispers started along the edge of Gus’s conscience.Soft at first but quickly growing in intensity.Until it felt like a billion voices were shouting at her in concert.
Deciphering the deafening cacophony took concentration.
A moment later, Gus’s eyes widened.“Oh no.”
No.No.No.No.
Enemies.Above.
Cleo and Mars weren’t the only ones who’d let their arrogance lead them into danger.Gus had assumed the duo was too prideful to allow outsiders a seat at this farce, but it appeared she was wrong.Those weren’t tourists exploring the Lord of Titan’s aerial walkways.They were Tuann.With heavily armed humans mixed in with their number.
All with their weapon sights locked on Caius.
Before Gus could shout a warning, there was a great boom from above.Gus felt the change in the atmosphere almost immediately.
A suppressor.
A Tuann weapon intended for crowd control.It would suck out any ambientkiin the immediate vicinity, reducing the amount those in its area of effect could harness.
Normally, that didn’t mean much since all Tuann had their own internal reserves that they could pull from.But Caius was already injured and his well ofkidepleted.Throw in the fact that there was littlekipresent on Titan to recharge him, and he was vulnerable.
Before Gus could do anything, Mars and Caius came together in a thunderous crash.Soon after, blood bloomed on the shoulder of Caius’s jumpsuit.
He snarled but didn’t go down, closing the distance between him and Mars in a few steps.Some fighters were graceful in the way they wielded death, sliding in and out of reach as they evaded a mortal wound for themselves.
That wasn’t Caius.
He was more like a bull, barreling into range while taking massive damage that he somehow always managed to shrug off.Primal.Terrifying.A force of wrath and fury that was difficult to counter.There was finesse, but mostly it was sheer, brutal power.
Mars held his own though.
If Caius had been at full strength and had more at his disposal than just his fists, he might not have.
While the two fought, Cleo paced toward Gus, that same unnatural smile still hanging on her lips.“I want to thank you, Pityrodia Augustensis.You’ve been most helpful.We couldn’t have lured Roake’s commander into our trap otherwise.”
Things weren’t over yet.Gus might not be able to help Caius against Mars and Cleo, but she could maybe do something about this ambush.
The question was whether she could move fast enough for it to make any difference.
Taking a deep breath to center herself, Gus gazed up into the Lord of Titan’s canopy.Now that she was aware of their presence, it was easy to sort through the noise and pinpoint the location of each person who carried ill intent toward her and Caius.
Her breathing slowed further.
The world around her lost its luster as she reached for the connection that was always there.Even when she pretended it didn’t exist.
Please, Gus whispered.
The Lord of Titan seemed to stretch.There were screams from above as the tree gave a giant heave.Its trunk and branches trembled.
Cleo paused and looked up.“What did you just do?”
