Page 205 of Star Bringer
She rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning when she says, “I swear, some days you’re nothing but a walking cliché.”
“And here I thought I was a lot of things.” To prove it to her, I yank her against me and drop a kiss down on her perfect pink lips. I mean for it to just be a quick peck, but when she opens to me, I can’t resist going for it.
“Seriously?” Beckett says, sounding bored. “Do I have to remind you that the Butcher of Narreth hates it when people are late?”
“You said that was an exaggeration,” I answer when I finally let Kali go. Damn, I like the way she tastes. I like even more the way she feels against my body, but that’s for later. When the conquering heroes return.
“Maybe I was exaggerating when I said it was an exaggeration,” Beckett says as she shrugs into one of the ponchos we made from extra blankets on board the ship.
“Are youtryingto mess with their heads?” Gage asks as he and Kali walk us to the outer door.
“Better me than my mother,” she answers as she presses the button to lower theStarlight’s ramp.
Fuck. This day just keeps getting better and better.
I head down the ramp. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Stay safe!” Kali calls after us.
It’s the first time anyone’s ever said that to me, and it feels good. I can’t help grinning as I set foot on Glacea—something I never thought would happen. But knowing Kali’s waiting for me back on the ship is kind of nice, even if we still have some shit left to work out.
“A lot of shit,” Max comments.
I snort. “Why do you have to rain on my parade?”
“Oh, it’s a parade now, is it?”
“Better than the shitshow we’re used to.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”He claps me on the back as our boots hit the ice and snow that perpetually line the streets of this frozen shithole.
It’s early morning, so it’s especially cold, the weak sun illuminating the ice and snow around us but doing nothing to actually warm us up. I pull my jacket more tightly around me as we set off through the town, Beckett in the lead, since she knows where we’re going.
I’ve tried to get the location out of her, just so I could scout it a little from theStarlightand make sure it’s safe. But once a rebel, always a rebel, and there’s no way she was giving the exact coordinates of their stronghold to me.
Which makes sense, I guess. But I still hate going into this thing not knowing. Beckett may trust her mother, but that doesn’t mean I do. There are a lot of stories out there about Marlina Orsgood, and none of them are good.
But time is running out, and right now, this is the best option we’ve got. Fuck, even if we do get the rebels to help, there’s no guarantee we’ll actually succeed at this. We could all die in the attack, though I am working on a plan that should at least keep Kali and Rain safe. If it all looks like it’s going to shit, they’ll take theStarlightand evacuate as fast as they can. Gage as well, probably. He’s a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a fighter. The guy is basically a walking head injury, for fuck’s sake.
Obviously, I haven’t actually broached this with any of them yet—something tells me Kali will be particularly ornery about it. Doesn’t mean I’ll care, but I think I’ll leave the conversation until I absolutely have to.
Beckett slips a little on the ice in front of us, and I speed up so I can grab her arm and keep her from falling on her ass. She of course repays the favor by snarling at me and shrugging me off. But not before I get a good look at her face.
She’s pale, and despite the cold, there’s a sheen of sweat on her forehead. I make a mental note to stock up on the painkillers she’s been popping like candy lately, but the truth is, I don’t think they’ll fix whatever this is.
“You’re sure this is the right thing to do?” I ask for maybe the hundredth time in the last few days. But Milla’s life depends on us not fucking up, so we have to get it right.
Beckett blinks at me like my words are taking a second to register. When they finally do, she says, “No. Actually, I think we should all get back on theStarlightand go visit Kali’s mother instead. See if she’ll help us.”
I do hate sarcasm. In anyone else.
Max chuckles, and I send him a fuck-off look, which only makes him laugh harder.
I don’t know what he’s got to be so happy about. Except for the fact that Beckett has given us a real chance.
I’ve always suspected saving Milla is a suicide mission, but now, I think we may actually have a possibility of succeeding. But only if we can convince the rebels to help us.
We’re walking through the town now, and though it’s still closed up—it’s early yet—the place actually seems quite prosperous, especially compared to the other side of the planet, where everything is shit.
