Weapons Master Galactic Gladia - Anna Hackett Page 0,11

longer, with more weight added.

Lifting his tool, he got back to work, wondering why the blessed solitude didn’t feel quite as good as usual.

Chapter Five

Bellamy chased little Asha as the girl crawled across the floor. Asha plopped on her butt and giggled.

“Who’s so clever and beautiful?” Bellamy said.

Asha giggled harder.

Bellamy smiled. This precious little girl was loved and protected. Ever had been through the worst of circumstances—abducted, dragged across the galaxy, enslaved, then finding herself pregnant—and here she was now, with this little angel.

And everybody knew that Asha’s cyborg daddy would rain hellfire down on anyone who hurt her.

Bellamy’s dad had split when she was too young to remember. Her mom had been an alcoholic, with a penchant for bad boyfriends and heavier drugs when it suited her. Bellamy had learned to take care of herself pretty young. Then one day, her mom had dumped her on Gram’s doorstep—an estranged grandmother she’d never met before—and Bellamy had barely seen her mom again.

Thank God for Gram. The old woman hadn’t complained once. She’d loved Bellamy in her own, no-nonsense style, bullied her to go to school, scolded her for her wild ways, and did her best to feed and clothe them both.

A fond smile for the old woman crossed Bellamy’s face. Gram had died when Bellamy was nineteen.

“You’re good with kids.”

She glanced up at Ever. “I have no experience, but yours is so cute.”

“I think so. And her daddy thinks she’s the most beautiful, clever child to ever be born.” Ever smiled and handed Asha a toy.

Bellamy had spent the entire day learning every nook and cranny of the House of Rone—the training arena, Medical, the kitchens, the maintenance workshops.

She’d avoided one particular workshop. She blew out a breath. For some crazy reason that made no sense, being around Maxon made her feel good. Even when he was being grumpy.

He wasn’t solicitous to her, didn’t treat her like glass.

Ever and the other women were so awesome, but every cautious, friendly smile made Bellamy remember exactly what she was trying to heal from.

Still, she knew better than to entrust her well-being and feelings to a man. She’d done that once, and it had been a disastrous mistake of epic proportions.

No, she’d keep poking at the grumpy lion who interested her, but it was all just for fun. She had no plans for a cozy, heart-in-her-eyes existence like Ever, Quinn, and all the others.

“I think I’ll head to my room,” she said. “Go to bed early.”

Ever touched her shoulder. “Sleep’s good. Bellamy…”

She looked up into Ever’s light-green eyes.

“We’ve all been where you are right now. I know you see all of us happy and you think you’ll never get there, but trust me, you will.”

Bellamy hunched her shoulders. Shit, she’d thought she’d been hiding her discomfort. “Thanks, Ever. I just need to give it some time, right?”

“Right.”

Pausing, Bellamy shoved her hands in her pockets. “Has Magnus talked about plans for destroying the battle arena?”

“He’s still gathering intel and planning,” Ever said. “If you want to be a part of it, just tell him. Our overprotective cyborgs make a lot of noise about keeping us safe, but they’ve always let us help them when we’ve needed to.”

Bellamy liked the idea of that. No, she needed it. She needed to be a part of taking the Edull down.

The metal-scavenging aliens would pay—for every life stolen, every beating, every family broken apart, every person destroyed.

She waved goodbye and headed to her room. Once she got there, she drew a bath and had a long soak. She’d never been a bath person before, but being denied the opportunity for so long meant she didn’t mind indulging.

When she climbed into the soft bed, she was surprised that she was actually relaxed and sleepy.

Being thrust awake by a vicious nightmare a few hours later was not so welcome.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Bellamy scrambled out of the bed, her chest heavy, her heart racing.

“Fuck.” She rubbed her face.

She’d dreamed she was locked in a racing battle bot. She’d been screaming, something had been on fire and the smoke was choking her. The screams of the other dying slaves had rung in her ears.

“Get a grip, Bellamy. It was just a lousy nightmare.”

Rising, she went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. It didn’t help.

Her heart was still pumping like she was running for her life, her mouth as dry as dust.

Needing to move, she wrenched open the door to her room. She had no conscious thoughts, just walked