But she wasn’t deceiving herself. Her gaze was clear and direct and unafraid. It was
not only from every outside danger, but from her own stubborn, fierce will.
He didn’t insult her by asking her again if she was sure. He took her offered hand and raised it to his lips. A moment later he remembered where they were, and so did Alexia.
Her cheeks flushed. She ducked her head and sat down.
Damon took up his position behind her again. Theron looked him in the eye, his brows arched and a slight smile touching the corners of his lips.
“I will not ask if
Damon nodded. Sergius made a sound that eloquently combined impatience with mild disgust. “May we continue?” he said acidly.
Ignoring him, Theron turned to Alexia. “Since you wish to help, I think you and Damon should accompany our human citizens to the caves. You both have the skills necessary to defend them, and I know Emma trusts you, Alexia.”
“No,” Alexia said. “You can’t keep me safe by sending me to hide. And I may still be able to speak to someone from the strike force before this gets bad.”
“It will be no less dangerous guiding the others and protecting them,” Theron said, “especially since we have no idea where the Aegis forces or their enemies may appear.
Perhaps Hera—” he glanced at the short-haired Opir woman “—will accompany you, and Alexia can return when the others are safe.”
Damon thought of Sergius’s sudden change of plans from wanting to remain at the colony to accompanying the humans to the caves. And he’d been the one to suggest the caves in the first place. Damon trusted him even less than before. He had to be watched.
“We’ll go,” he said.
Alexia shot him a troubled look, but she must have known as much as he did that the old Bloodmaster was deliberately trying to get him and Alexia out of the way. He must truly believe the colony would fall to one force or another, and for some reason he wanted to be sure Damon and Alexia survived.
The hard fact was, no matter where Damon went, any violence aimed at Alexia—and likely any other innocent from the colony— could provoke one of his spells. His shadow-self could be a potent weapon turned against an enemy, but there was always the risk that it would endanger friends, as well.
That was why he would see that Alexia and the humans were safe, make sure that Sergius was no threat to them, and then go looking for the strike force himself. Maybe he could stop or delay them as no one else could.
“I agree,” Alexia murmured, reaching behind her for Damon’s hand. He took it, enfolding her fingers in his. Immediately Theron turned to Sergius.
“I have an even more difficult job for you,” he said. “I want you to go into the mountains and look for movement from Erebus. If you discover any sign of Opir troops in this area, return to report immediately.”
“You can send someone else for that, Theron,” Sergius protested. “Since you refuse to leave, I should stay here to protect you.”
Damon watched Sergius out of the corner of his eye. Yet another about-face on the Opir’s part. There was something very wrong here.
“I would not ask this of you if it were not necessary, my friend,” Theron said.
The flicker of a scowl crossed Sergius’s face and then quickly disappeared. “As you wish, Theron.”
“Then it only remains to discuss what we who remain in Eleutheria will do to prepare.”
Theron cleared his throat. “Agent Fox, Sergius, Damon and Hera, when you leave, go by the postern gate. My thanks to you all.”
Hera and Sergius stood, covering their heads and faces with the cowl and goggles of their light daysuits. Alexia rose as well, and all four of them headed for the door. Sergius and Damon reached it at the same time. Sergius shouldered past Damon without a glance and strode across the commons.
Damon considered telling Alexia—or Theron—of his unease about Sergius, but sharing his vague suspicions might result in Sergius becoming aware that such suspicions existed. Damon wanted the Opir off his guard, confident that his scheme—if, indeed, he had one—would succeed.
And Alexia would only be in worse danger if she got in Sergius’s way.
One very tense and busy hour later, Damon’s pack, along with his weapons and those of Alexia’s he had been able to fit in it, lay beside Alexia’s cot in the dormitory. Damon still had his uniform, but he chose to continue to wear the simple clothing he and Alexia had been given earlier. Both of them had laid out and carefully inspected their combat knives, pistols and rifles. Alexia pushed the strange communicator into her belt; she had told Damon that even though she couldn’t find a way to send an outgoing message, there was still the chance Aegis or the strike force might try to contact Michael again, unaware of his fate.
When she and Damon had completed their preparations and had nothing more to do but wait until twilight, a charged silence fell between them. Damon studied her face, memorizing its familiar, beloved lines: the fringe of red hair across her forehead, her tilted cat’s eyes, her full lips curved in a brave smile.
“Well,” she said. “It seems we’re to have another adventure together.”
All Damon wanted then was to take her into his arms and kiss her, absorb her into himself and never let her go. He saw the same yearning in her eyes. But he had to make her understand what had to be done, and nothing else could get in the way.
“When we go,” he said, “I’ll bring up the rear. It would be better for me to stay away from the others so that I can move freely in response to any attack.”
Alexia didn’t misunderstand his meaning. “If you think I’m going to leave you alone, think again.”
“It is necessary, Alexia,” he said. He put his hands on her arms. “If you are attacked, I might lose any ability to control my actions.”
“That’s why I’m not running away from you.” She laced her fingers behind his neck and brought his head down to hers. “We never had a chance to talk about what to do about your spells. We think we know what causes them, but there must be a way to control them. I have a theory—”
“This is not the time for theories, Alexia,” he said, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “If I become a beast, I would rather turn it against my enemies.”
“Listen to me, Damon. If certain kinds of strong emotion make this happen to you, maybe others can save you.” She swallowed, her eyes flickering away. “Like love.”
The words came haltingly, and Damon knew how difficult it had been for her to speak them aloud. He knew she didn’t expect him to reciprocate. He couldn’t, though he understood the miracle they represented.
He had once told her that love was a word Darketans had no use for. She had acknowledged that there was a Zone of difference between caring and love.
Both statements were true. But he no longer knew where to draw the line.
“I think I can help you,” Alexia continued through his silence. “I think that by staying with you when it happens, I can find a way to help you use it instead of letting it use you.”
Damon shook his head. “Alexia—” She pressed her finger against his lips. He knew defeat when he met it. He grabbed her wrist and kissed her, pulling her body hard against his. She melted into him as if she, too, were trying to merge with him so completely that they could never be parted again.
But they both knew this was a moment out of time, whatever Alexia had implied about a future together. The one thing she refused to give up was hope, and he would never deny her that comfort.
Closing his eyes, Damon smelled the scents of approaching twilight. “They will be waiting for us,” he said, letting her go.
She wiped her tears away with the heel of her palm and nodded.
Together they found their way to the eastern wall, butted up against the hills.
Sharpened spikes rose from the tops of the battlements to discourage potential enemies from approaching
