Weapons Master Galactic Gladia - Anna Hackett Page 0,21

in the sand.”

Magnus inclined his head.

Somehow, the Edull had excavated huge voids in the desert, and used advanced tech to levitate their buildings and structures over them. It was how the aliens had kept the desert city hidden for a very long time. Maxon would kill to be able to study the tech.

“They use some sort of magnetic fields to do this,” Bellamy said. “If we disrupt the magnetic technology—” she smiled “—the arena will crash down into its hole. Suffering irreparable damage.”

Magnus was silent a moment. “You’ve seen the tech?”

She winced. “No. As far as I know, they keep the mag-tech well hidden and don’t let any slaves near it.”

“It’s a good idea, Bellamy.” Magnus crossed his arms. “We still need more intel. We need to know where this tech is and how to destroy it, but it’s an excellent start.”

She dragged in a deep breath, and Maxon felt a faint tickle along his intuitive senses. He stiffened.

“I need to be a part of this, Magnus.” She stared Maxon straight in the eyes. “I need to help bring the Edull down.”

Maxon’s gut clenched. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

“I need this.” Her gaze narrowed. “I told you before, you can’t boss me around and tell me what to do. I had an asshole do that to me once. He tried to control me.”

Maxon wanted to tear whoever the man was to shreds. “I don’t want to control you. I want to keep you safe.”

“Then help me make myself safe, Maxon. The Edull took so much—” her voice cracked “—so damn much from me. I want to get it back.”

Maxon gripped the back of a chair, emotions twisting inside him. The overwhelming urge to ensure Bellamy wasn’t in danger was hard to wrestle with. “We just got you safe and you want to go back into danger.”

She scrubbed a hand over her hair. “I don’t want to be in danger, but I’ll take some risks to burn the Edull’s arena all down. To take back my strength and power.” She paused. “Help me.”

Drak. The chair back cracked under the pressure of his fingers. The thing was, he understood. After his family’s betrayal, he’d felt like nothing. Everything he’d trusted and known had been obliterated. He’d had to build a new life, a new him, from scratch.

She took a step toward him, her face composed, but her eyes were pleading. “Maxon?”

“I don’t want to control you. I can be…heavy-handed.”

Her lips twitched and Magnus made a sound.

Maxon released a breath. “Fine, I like things my way.”

Bellamy’s lips twitched again. “I might have noticed.”

“I really just want to keep you safe.”

Her face softened. “I know.”

“I’ll…” Drak, this was harder than he thought. “I will help you get your revenge on the Edull.” And he’d be at her side every step of the way. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

She moved straight to him and pressed her face against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her.

Magnus was watching them with a steady gaze. The imperator didn’t give off many emotional tells, but Maxon thought Magnus was pleased.

“Get some sleep,” Magnus said. “Tomorrow, I’ll set up a meeting with our allies to start formulating a plan for getting into the Bari Batu arena and finding the mag-tech.”

“Thank you, Magnus,” Bellamy said. “For everything.”

The imperator gave her a faint smile. “You’re House of Rone now, Bellamy. The thanks are not necessary.”

“Well, you’re still getting them.”

His smile widened a little. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Maxon ushered Bellamy into the hall. Inside, his gut was still churning, and he felt the need to get to his workshop and hammer the drak out of something.

“Time for bed.” He steered her down the corridor.

“Your bed?” She looked up at him.

But he noted the dark circles under her eyes. She’d not been sleeping well and the attack tonight at the arena had been draining.

“No. I’ll see you to your room.”

She sighed. “You’re mad at me.”

“I’m not.” He paused in front of her door. “I do understand what’s driving you, even if I don’t like it.” He touched her short hair, then ran his thumb across her cheekbone. “It’s been an intense day, and you need some rest.”

She sighed again.

“And if you were in my bed, you wouldn’t be getting any sleep, all night.”

Her breathing hitched. “Ace, that just makes me want to walk into this bedroom alone even less than before.”

He lowered his head, and touched a quick, light kiss to her lips. “Sleep well, Bellamy. No