working and stopped at the carnage. “What did I miss?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Serenity stalled as long as she could at the end of her workday, but Meg waited for her at the door. Marte and Brin right beside her, determined to see them safely to their rooms now that shift was over. She had explained what happened and they had looked equal parts aghast and afraid. But still determined that from now on the ladies would not be alone in the medbay. Though what they thought their presence would have changed she had no idea. Handsly was a trained soldier and he had been killed and discarded like trash. Not something she ever wanted to see again.
She walked out surrounded by her med team and found it was Riff and Barak manning the hall. They stepped from the wall as soon as she appeared. Serenity turned to the others. “I’m fine from here.” She hugged Meg and looked at Marte. “See that Meg gets where she needs to go?”
He nodded, looking from her to the phoenix guard before he reluctantly turned to head out. The others followed them. Meg giving her a ‘be careful’ look on the way. She waited until they were out of sight and then turned to head to the door next to medbay. She pressed her palm to the com, but the doors didn’t open. She didn’t look back but spoke looking at the closed door. “Can you open this door for me please?”
She heard a throat clear behind her and she knew the answer even before Riff spoke in his gruff voice, his tone the softest she had ever heard from him. “Lord Ryn wants you brought to him in his ready room.”
She sucked in a breath, still looking at the closed door. “And if I don’t want to see him?”
There was a short silence, before Riff spoke again, just as soft, but firm. “We have our orders.”
Barak caught her arm and gently pulled her away from her old room.
She refused to look at either of them as she was guided along. She knew without trying that arguing or asking for them to take her anywhere else would be useless. A few people saw them in the halls and watched them go by, but she barely noted them.
She didn’t raise her eyes from her walking feet until they stepped through a familiar doorway and the men left her standing just inside the room. She knew before she looked up that Mal Ryn was already there. His power blanketed her with familiar heat before his eyes caught hers. The ice from earlier was still in place, but the rage behind it was barely held in check.
She raised her chin. “I told you, I want my old room back.”
He stood from the chair and approached her with lethal grace. He looked a thought away from violence, but his hand when he cupped her chin to raise her face to his was gentle. His eyes inspected her for signs of her attack but there was nothing to find. She had healed the bruises along with everything else. Too bad the memory couldn’t be discarded as easily.
“You blame me for what happened?” His voice was low and rough, and she got the feeling he was accepting that blame without input from her. He was almost apologetic the way he was looking and touching her.
“Did you even see the body of one of your soldiers that you walked over?”
“What?” he looked briefly confused, as if this was not the conversation he had been expecting.
“Handsly. Corporal Handsly, who you assigned my protection and then when he was killed for doing his job, none of you even seemed to notice.” She pushed away his hand when he seemed frozen before her. “Yes, the councilor attacked me, but he killed Handsly. And none of you even addressed that. Did you even notice the body of your man as you stepped over him?”
He stepped back and seemed to come to attention. But what he did not do was answer the question. “Soldiers die in the line of duty…” he began but she shouted, interrupting him.
“No!” She pushed at him, but he didn’t budge. “Corporal Handsly, say his name, he didn’t die in battle, he was murdered, by your councilor!”
If anything he seemed to go even more rigid, for a brief moment she saw confusion and strangely a flash of pain in his eyes before it wiped away. “Soldiers die in the line of duty.” He began