CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

KYRION

I scrambled to my feet. Beside me, Zane groaned and did the same thing.

"An earthquake?" he muttered. "No one told me there would be a bloody earthquake!"

I ignored his complaints and rushed over to the edge of the chasm Pollux had created. He was strong—much, much stronger than I'd realized—and he'd cracked open the floor like it was a child's toy and he wanted all the candy inside. So much dust clouded the chasm I couldn't even see the bottom—or all the bodies lying down there.

My gaze lifted. On the opposite side of the chasm, Vesper stopped short, waved her arms to regain her balance, and lurched back from the jagged edge. She looked at Pollux, then Zane, then me, her worry pulsing through the bond. In the distance, Esmina drew a long lunarium dagger off her belt and moved forward, going from one injured mercenary to the next and quickly, ruthlessly cutting their throats.

I backed up, trying to give myself as much of a running start as possible. I had to reach Vesper before Esmina did—

Zane grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Don't be a fool! You'll never make it!"

He was right. Even if I used my telekinesis to propel myself up and out, I doubted I could leap across a thirty-foot chasm. And if— when —I missed, I would fall to my death.

"I can't reach you!" I yelled.

"I can't reach you either!" Vesper yelled back. "But that's okay!"

Okay? It wasn't okay . Being able to see Vesper but not being able to help her—protect her—was my worst nightmare come to life.

Vesper stared at me, and our gazes locked and held. It's okay, Kyr. I trust you, and I need you to trust me right now.

I do trust you—more than anything.

A grim smile curved her lips. And I trust you more than anything. But it's also time we started trusting ourselves . It's the only way our bond is ever truly going to work. We can't save each other all the time. Sometimes we both need to save ourselves.

The air at Vesper's side flickered, and an image of my mother appeared, showing her arranging flowers just as she had been doing in the Castle Caldaren garden.

The scorpions will always be a danger, and they could always sting me , my mother's voice echoed in my ears. But you can't be afraid of the possibility.

Desdemona hadn't been talking about scorpions. Not really. No, she'd been talking about Callus Holloway. Despite how many times the siphon had taken my parents' power, my mother had still hoped the next time would be different, that she and my father would figure out a way to stop Holloway, that she and my father would finally be free . Somehow, in the garden all those years ago, she'd known I would need to hear those words and remember her lesson.

Holloway might not have captured Vesper and me, but I had still let him lock me in a prison of my own making. All I had done the past few weeks was worry, and I was tired of it. I should be celebrating my truebond with Vesper and reveling in my love for her, not living in constant dread and fear of the worst happening. Perhaps I would have been able to do that, if not for Callus bloody Holloway.

Well, no more. The siphon wasn't going to control me through fear the way he had controlled my parents.

My inner monster roared in denial, but for once, I shut out the sound. I smiled back at Vesper, although my lips twisted more into a resigned grimace. Then go save yourself and come back to me, seer. That's an order.

Her eyes brightened. You do the same, Arrow. Because I'll come over there and kill you myself if you don't survive this.

And I'll do the same to you. Tried and true, remember?

Tried and true , she repeated.

We stared at each other a heartbeat longer, so many thoughts and feelings rippling through the bond from me to Vesper and back again. Then, at the same time, we spun away from each other and faced our enemies.

T urning away from Vesper was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do, but she was right. I couldn't protect her now, and she couldn't rescue me, so we would just have to save ourselves.

Looking away from Vesper didn't lessen my fear. The emotion would always be there, waiting to sting me like a vicious scorpion, just like my mother had said. But the hope was there too, waiting to blossom into something beautiful. Now Vesper and I just had to make that hope a reality.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

On the balcony above, Asterin had gotten back on her feet and started firing at the mercenaries on that level, but my eyes were fixed on the enemy in front of me.

Pollux.

He swung his two war hammers in a furious rhythm, bashing in heads and breaking the bones of the remaining mercenaries with quick, ruthless efficiency. His lunarium weapons were also spitting out large balls of fire, burning and further terrorizing his victims.

Zane stepped up beside me, twirling his stormsword around in his hand. "How in all the bloody stars does he still have so much psion power?"

"Pollux was part of a truebonded pair," I responded, twirling my own sword around, my motions mirroring Zane's. "Until he decided he didn't want to share his power."

"Let me guess. He killed his bonded partner and took their power for his own."

I glanced at him in surprise.

Zane shrugged. "I've been reading a lot of books about truebonds. I wanted to know exactly what you and Vesper are capable of in case I couldn't reason with you and the two of you tried to kill me."

"And what are we capable of?"

For once, Zane was completely serious. "For two people who love each other as much as you and my sister do? Any bloody thing you can possibly imagine."

He was right. I loved Vesper, and I hoped that she loved me. And that emotion was stronger than anything, even the fear that would always be lurking in the cold depths of my heart.

"Now, what do you say we kill this guy?" Zane said, his voice returning to its usual sardonic drawl. "Because I have no desire to die in this bloody cave."

Zane held his sword out as though we were teammates wishing each other luck before a big game. I rolled my eyes, but I tapped my blade against his, making shards of ice spit out of my sword and flashes of fire spew out of his. Then, together, we lifted our weapons and firmed up our fighting stances.

Pollux swung his hammer again, catching another merc in the chest, lifting him up, and flinging that man into the chasm. The merc screamed, his voice growing thinner and fainter, until . . .

The merc's wail cut off, replaced by the sickening splat of his body hitting the bottom.

Pollux caught sight of Zane and me. We were the only two people still alive on the cavern floor, although Asterin was firing her blaster at the mercenaries on her level. She was also using some watchlike device on her wrist to shock the enemies who got within arm's reach.

Pollux twirled his hammers around in his hands as though they were as light as feathers instead of heavy, substantial weapons. The glow of the lunarium hammers matched the gleam of psion power in his dark eyes. "I've killed more than a few Arrows but none of your calibers."

"You're not going to be killing us either," I called out.

Pollux grinned. "We'll see about that."

He looked at me a moment, then his gaze flicked over to Zane. The three of us stood there, frozen in our own little bubble of danger.

Then, with a collective roar, Zane and I rushed toward our enemy.

I swung my stormsword at Pollux's head, but he easily ducked the blow, along with the one Zane aimed at his chest. In an instant, he spun away from us both. Not only was he strong, but he was also fast . Before I could recover, Pollux spun right back around and lashed out with his war hammer.

I barely managed to snap my sword up in time to block his blow. Even then, the force of it reverberated all the way through my arm. For a moment, I thought my fingers were going to go numb, and I was going to lose my grip on my sword, but I gritted my teeth and threw up a psionic shield in my mind, walling off the stinging sensation.

Pollux pressed his advantage, leaning down and forcing me to fall to one knee just to keep my sword between us. "I'm going to enjoy grinding your body into dust," he hissed, leaning down even more.

My muscles were already shaking from the effort of keeping him at bay, and I didn't have the breath for a reply. My arm started to buckle, and I couldn't hold him back any longer, so I ducked down and threw myself forward, rolling away from him . . .

Boom!

Pollux's hammer slammed into the ground where my body had been, and a green fireball shot off the lunarium weapon, scorching the stone.

I used the momentum of my roll to propel myself back up and onto my feet. Zane darted in to attack Pollux's blind side, but the other warrior sensed the coming blow and twisted out of the way, and Zane's stormsword only whistled through empty air.

Pollux lashed out with his hammers in retaliation, but Zane spun away from him, and I stepped up beside my old rival. Together we charged forward.

Clang!

Clang! Clang!

Clang!

Back and forth, Zane and I swung our swords at Pollux, who whipped his hammers from side to side in a quick rhythm, easily blocking our attacks. Frustration surged through me. The rogue Hammer was knocking our stormswords aside as though they were made of wood instead of lunarium. We weren't even wearing him down, even though the two of us were moving as fast as possible.

Finally, after a particularly furious exchange, Zane and I fell back. Sweat streamed down my face, his too, and we were both breathing hard.

"How are we supposed to kill this guy?" Zane wheezed. "He's not even winded!"

I didn't have the breath to respond, nor did I have an answer.

"Aw, are you boys tired already?" Pollux sneered. "I thought Arrows were supposed to be the best of the best. You two are bloody disappointments."

"Now he's just being mean," Zane wheezed again.

Pollux grinned, then drew his arm back and threw one of his hammers at us. The weapon zipped through the air, glowing a bright, vivid green. Zane and I dove in opposite directions, hitting the ground. The war hammer shot between us and plowed into the wall.

Boom!

Stone exploded, dust billowed up, and cracks zigzagged out from the hard, smacking impact. Pollux flicked his fingers, and the hammer wiggled out of the stone and zipped right back over into his hand again. Zane and I both got back onto our feet.

My eyes narrowed, and my gaze locked on Pollux's hammers. "Do you trust me?"

"Never."

I glowered at Zane.

He huffed. "Fine. I suppose I can make an exception this one time to keep from dying. What do you have in mind?"

I stabbed my stormsword at Pollux. "Separating that bastard from his hammers, and then his head from his shoulders."

Zane's eyes brightened. "Just like that maneuver Julieta and I pulled off on Magma 17 last year?"

"Just like that."

Zane's eyes dimmed, probably at the mention of Julieta, who had been his best friend until she had betrayed us by working with Rowena Kent to crash Imperium ships. But after a few seconds, he perked up. "Fine. But you're the bait."

Before I could protest, he let out a loud yell and charged forward. Pollux stepped up to meet Zane's seemingly reckless charge.

At the last moment, right before Zane would have plowed straight into Pollux's hammers, he dropped into a slide and used his telekinesis to spin himself around, zipping right past Pollux and coming up behind the other warrior.

I charged forward, but Pollux was expecting the move, and he tossed one of his hammers at me, even as he turned to block Zane's attack with his other weapon.

The first hammer zipped straight toward me, propelled by Pollux's telekinesis. This time, instead of trying to avoid the blow, I spun to the side, braced myself, and let the weapon slam into my left shoulder.

Thwack!

Pain exploded in my shoulder, zinging up into my neck and all the way down into my fingertips, and fire boiled up, singeing my jacket and burning my skin. The stinging, burning blow knocked me back, but I managed to stay on my feet, even as I swallowed a growl.

Fuck. That had hurt .

But the hammer had hit its target, having won its battle with my battered shoulder and blistered skin, and the weapon clattered to the ground.

Pollux swung his other hammer at Zane, making the Arrow twist to the side to avoid getting the sharp spike rammed into his stomach. Then the mercenary whirled around in my direction and snapped out his hand. A wave of telekinesis surged off him, and the hammer at my feet slid across the rocks in his direction.

At the last moment, right before the hammer lifted off the ground, I threw myself down and out and latched onto the hilt with my left hand.

Pollux growled and stretched out with even more of his telekinesis, but I was a lot bigger and heavier than his hammer, and he wasn't prepared for the added weight. He hesitated, giving Zane enough time to dart forward and slice his sword across Pollux's left arm.

The mercenary howled and staggered back. Zane kept right on attacking, swiping his sword across Pollux's body and inflicting deep wounds on the mercenary's right arm, right thigh, and left calf.

Pollux fully turned his attention to Zane, swinging his remaining hammer back and forth in a desperate effort to keep the Arrow from cutting him to pieces. Since he was distracted, his telekinetic grip on the other hammer broke, and the weapon finally clattered to the ground.

My arm was still burning, and my fingers were still stinging from Pollux's previous attack, but I gripped the hammer's hilt and got to my feet. I hefted the hammer in my left hand, getting a feel for its weight, shape, and balance. Then I drew my arm back as far and as high as I could.

"Hey!" I yelled. "You arrogant bastard! Catch this!"

Pollux lashed out with his weapon, making Zane stagger back, then the merc spun toward me. I snapped my hand forward and used my telekinesis to throw the war hammer at Pollux the same way he had thrown it at me.

I put as much psion power into the throw as I could, and the hammer picked up speed as it flipped end over end, whistling straight toward the merc's head . . .

Pollux cursed and jerked to the side, and the hammer flew past him—just like I wanted it to.

Smack!

Zane reached up and snagged the hammer out of midair. The hilt slapped up against his palm, and he caught the weapon as easily as a child would catch a hoverball in a schoolyard game.

For a moment, Zane stood there, holding the hammer high, and the lunarium weapon glowed an icy blue in a reflection of his psion power.

"Show-off!" I yelled.

Zane grinned and lowered the hammer to his side, twirling the weapon around in his hand with easy familiarity, almost as if it was his weapon instead of Pollux's.

Zane advanced on Pollux, his stormsword in one hand and the merc's hammer in the other, both weapons sending out flashes of fire. I also advanced on the merc, my stormsword glowing a dark blue and spitting out sharp shards of ice.

Pollux backed up so he could see us both, and for the first time, uncertainty crinkled his face. The merc growled and charged at me, swinging his remaining hammer at my head, but I spun to the side, avoiding the blow. Just as quickly, Zane moved in, swinging his own hammer in response.

Pollux saw the blow coming, but for once, he was too slow, and Zane slammed the hammer into the merc's right forearm. Pollux's bones broke with audible crack-cracks , and the remaining war hammer slipped through his fingers and clattered to the ground.

Zane stepped forward and kicked the hammer in my direction. I waggled my fingers, and the hammer flew up off the ground and settled into my left hand. The lunarium weapon started glowing a dark blue with my psion power, spitting out shards of ice just like my stormsword was still doing.

"Not so tough without your toys, are you?" I taunted.

Pollux's gaze flicked between Zane and me, then past us. In the distance, I could hear Vesper and Esmina fighting. I didn't dare turn to see what was happening, but Pollux glancing in that direction told me everything I needed to know.

"Esmina can't save you now," I snarled.

Grudging agreement flashed across his face, but Pollux snapped up his hands, wave after wave of telekinesis surging off him.

Pollux picked up rocks, blasters, cracked pieces of armor, broken tablets, and the other debris littering the cavern floor and threw it all at Zane and me. Zane lifted Pollux's hammer, letting the lunarium weapon absorb part of the barrage and knock aside some of the flying debris. I did the same thing, crossing the hammer I was holding with my stormsword and reinforcing them both with my own telekinesis, creating an invisible psionic shield in front of my body.

Pollux growled and redoubled his efforts, sending out more waves of telekinesis and debris, but I growled right back at him and stalked forward, eating up the distance between us.

"Kyr? What are you doing?" Zane yelled. "This wasn't part of the plan!"

I had a new plan now, and all that mattered was killing this enemy. I kept stalking forward, ignoring the sharp shrapnel that slipped past my psionic shield and sliced across my hands, arms, chest, and legs.

Pollux charged forward. I dug my boots into the ground, then sprang forward and launched myself at him. The instant my body crashed into the mercenary's, I lashed out with my own telekinesis and shoved him away as hard as I could. My psion power lifted Pollux off his feet and tossed him back.

Smack!

Pollux punched into the wall hard enough to make chips fly out of the stone. More jagged cracks also zipped up and outward through the wall, and I followed the cracks with my gaze the same way I always followed the ribbon of Vesper in my mind.

There. That's what I was looking for.

Pollux slumped to the ground, stunned from the vicious blow. He blinked a few times, but a second later, he was climbing back to his feet. The tough bastard wasn't going to quit unless I made him quit.

"Kill him!" Zane yelled. "Kill him now, Kyr!"

I could feel Zane rushing up behind me, but I didn't need his help. Not for this. I drew my hand back and threw Pollux's hammer. The mercenary ducked, but once again, I wasn't aiming for him.

The hammer smacked into the ceiling twenty feet above Pollux's head, plowing into the middle of all the cracks he'd created and shearing through a stalactite. The stalactite broke off the ceiling and zoomed down. Pollux dug his boots into the ground, trying to lurch out of the way—

Splat.

Too late. The long, jagged chunk of stone punched into Pollux's chest, slamming him to the ground and impaling him as cleanly and neatly as a stormsword would. The mercenary let out a strangled scream, although the sound quickly cut off.

I picked the hammer up off the ground, then walked over and stared down at Pollux. Blood had already covered his chest, creating a wide ring around the stalactite, like a dark gray arrow that had found its target in the center of a scarlet bull's-eye.

Pollux thrashed around for a few seconds, although his arms and legs quickly stilled. He lifted his head off the ground and glared up at me. "Bloody fucking Arrows . . ."

The rest of his breath escaped as a raspy sigh, and his head dropped down. He twitched a few times, then was still. His eyes remained open and focused on me in a familiar, silent accusation, even though the mercenary was dead and was seeing something far beyond the stars now.

Zane came over and nudged Pollux's body with the toe of his boot. When he was satisfied the merc was dead, Zane raised his arm and used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the sweat and dust off his face. "That bastard did not go down easy."

I had opened my mouth to agree when a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the cavern.

"Vesper," I whispered.

I dropped Pollux's hammer next to his body, then whirled around and started running.