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“Focus on the cyborgs only. Loka is not a threat.”

“Protect Princess and Loka.”

Loka looked at her. “He calls you Princess?”

Heather blushed. “It’s his pet name for me.”

“A pet name you programmed into him?”

She shrugged before standing. “Are you ready?”

Loka looked around the room. “You need to hide.”

“There’s no point. They’ll find me in here. I have an idea. If I can get around the back of the cyborgs, I can disable them. They have an emergency override button at the base of the spine. It’s tucked away, difficult to get to. If they focus on you, I can sneak around the back and disable them.”

“It’s too risky. If they realize you are attacking them, they could kill you.”

“It could be our only chance to get past them.” Heather sucked in a deep breath. “I promise no hero moves. I’m not designed to fight. I’m designed to love.”

Loka’s brows rose. “Is that right?”

She ducked her head. “I mean, I’m here to find love for others. I’ll make an exception in this case. I can play warrior princess for a couple of minutes if it gets us out of here, a warrior princess who doesn’t do anything dumb and get herself killed.”

“I will ensure their attention is not fixed on you.” Loka’s thumb gently grazed Heather’s cheek. He made sure to turn the claw away from her skin. “If you get the opportunity to leave, then take it.”

“I’m not leaving you or Ernie behind. We go together.”

“We can look after ourselves.”

“You’ll be able to do it better with me by your side.”

A fist slammed against the bedroom door.

Heather willed her knees to stop shaking. “Are you ready?”

Loka nodded, ducking his head so his horns were pointed at the door.

With every slam of the cyborg’s fist, Heather took another step back. She didn’t want to look like a coward, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d seen cyborgs in action. They were ruthless once programmed with orders. Nothing prevented them from fulfiling their duties.

The door opened an inch. Heather saw fingers prying back the metal. The door creaked and groaned, but slowly, it was pulled back, the lock broken.

Ernie scuttled forward, lined up his stun gun, and began to blast.

The cyborg ripping the door away recoiled. The smell of hot metal filled the room.

“Good boy,” Heather encouraged. “Keep going. Keep blasting them.”

She heard Loka snorting quietly. His hands were curled and knees bent as he waited to pounce. It was a scarily hot sight. No one had ever protected her like this before. She remembered one boyfriend who’d run away when he got into a bar fight, leaving Heather behind to calm things down. A sliver of pleasure ran through her veins, mingling with the terror.

She just had to remember she was a warrior princess, a fast moving, nimble-fingered warrior princess. It was no bother to disable three cyborgs.

With a grating groan of metal, two cyborgs yanked the door away.

Ernie continued to fire.

Loka charged a cyborg, his horns impaling its torso and jamming it against the wall.

Heather backed away again, feeling powerless as she watched her boys fight.