More than anything, she wanted to live. She wanted some sort of life with Milo. She didn’t care where. As long as Milo was with her, she would be home. Trouble was, she didn’t think it was going to be so easy.
Maybe they should forget the nukes and just run away. Hide where no one could find them. Soon Luther Kinross would die. Dr. Yang had said his heart was failing. But Kinross wasn’t dead yet and he could presumably do a lot of damage before then.
The truth was, she hadn’t been born to be a savior to humanity. Just to one man. A megalomaniac who’d carried the seeds of destruction from Earth. A man she was tied to by bonds stronger than family. She was him. What did that even mean? She searched inside herself for some form of recognition, but she didn’t even know what he looked like.
“You’re late,” Dylan said, stepping forward and pulling her out of her introspection.
“And the pair of you look like you just got laid,” Rico added, his tone accusing. His gaze dropped to where their hands were still connected. She almost pulled away, but then tightened her grip instead and Milo squeezed in response. A smile tugged at her mouth. Rico’s eyes narrowed. “Mierda, I can’t believe I’ve traveled five hundred years, with no fucking problems, and then I finally get here just to be faced with this. And the two of you are shagging and holding hands as if the sky isn’t fucking falling.”
“What’s happened?” Milo asked.
“They blew up his shuttle,” Dylan said. “He’s a little pissed.”
“I am seriously pissed,” Rico growled. “We’re going to have to steal another. Dios, I’ll steal the fucking Trakis Four if that’s what’s needed to get off this fucking shithole.”
The vampire didn’t sound happy. His eyes glowed crimson. Was that normal? She glanced up at Milo, but he didn’t seem to be concerned. “We stick to the plan,” he said. “We get the nukes. Take them back to the ship. Destiny can disarm them while we go take one of the other shuttles—”
“We’ve been through this—they work on biometrics,” Dylan said. “We can’t fly them.”
“Then we’ll take the crew if we have to.” He glanced down into her face and smiled. “We’re getting through this and going home.”
“Mierda,” Rico muttered. “He’s in love. Brilliant timing. And do you remember how it turned out last time? I had to pick up the fucking pieces.”
“Yeah, and you did that really well.” Milo dropped her hand, stepped forward, and poked the vampire in the chest. “You sold me into fucking slavery for ten years.”
Rico grinned and the tension seemed to ooze away. “You’re still alive, aren’t you? Though not for much longer at a guess.” He exhaled loudly. “Okay. While I’m tempted to just leave now, I don’t like the idea of some dickhead with nukes and a grudge against us. So let’s go see what we can do about that.”
Dylan led the way. Milo and Destiny followed with Rico bringing up the rear. The tunnels were quiet, and they met no one.
“No guards,” Dylan said.
“Likely the explosion on the Trakis Four worked in our favor,” Milo said. “They’ve sent everyone they had to investigate and deal with a few thousand Chosen Ones we woke up.”
“Let’s get this done before they come back then.” Rico brushed past them and approached the door. He pushed, but it was locked, and he swore.
Milo stepped up, placed his hand on the lock, and whispered a word. He opened the door, then raised an eyebrow at Rico. He was so clever, her warlock. As he stepped into the room, Dylan came to stand beside her.
“So did you find out who you are and what this mysterious role you have to play is?”
Mind your own business. The words hovered on her lips because she wasn’t sure she wanted to share. In fact, she knew she didn’t. She felt a little…she wasn’t sure, embarrassed maybe. Because she had been so naive. Though in her own defense she could understand why she had been the way she was. She’d had no one to believe but Dr. Yang.
“I’m a clone of Luther Kinross,” she said.
Rico turned around at her words. She squirmed a little under the scrutiny. Then she took a deep breath and said the rest as fast as she could. Get it over with.
“Kinross has a weak heart. He needs a new one. Hence, I came into existence. It seems I’m nothing but