Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,196

It was sweet and playful, and since coming to Ethros, I hadn't seen that side of him. I welcomed his devoted smile and attraction with open arms.

"Too full, hmm?" he asked with a smile before leaning in and licking a crumb from my lip. I leaned forward to deepen the kiss but he pulled away playfully.

"Too full, remember?" he asked, which made me pout, causing both of us to laugh again. "You ready now?" The mood quickly dissolved into our responsibilities.

"No, but we probably should go." I stood from the bed and started to go back downstairs, when he blocked my path.

"I'm still a bit hungry," he murmured before placing a delicate kiss on my lips. It was a simple gesture, but it packed a punch straight to my heart. How would I ever go on without him? Without any of them?

"Did Cavil give up on finding Josiah’s fake scientists?" I asked while leaning forward in my seat. Cyler and Kemper kept giving each other death stares across the room as they spoke. Kemper was starting to feel the pressure from everyone about the fetter situation. I knew that his issues with perfectionism were hitting full force these days.

"No. I've heard whispers that his household Walkers are preparing for..." Kemper drifted off, and I leaned further.

"For what?"

"A public execution," Huxley answered, earning a stern stare from Cyler.

I let the implications of that information sink in. Cavil was a man of intention. There would be repercussions for Maverick's disobedience. He put an even larger target on his back when he linked himself to Jules and me.

"Who do you think he's going to execute?" I asked in a shaky voice while standing and pacing over to Jacob who was standing by himself in the corner. He was twitching with anticipation, and I wanted to calm him. I noticed over the past few days that the longer we stayed in the lab, the more anxious he became. He acted like a caged animal when not let outside.

"Ash, there is a very good possibility that he's going to kill Josiah," Cyler said in a calm voice, but his frown didn't match the level of sincerity he pushed through his tone.

"Jo?" I let out a shocked gasp, which made Hux sigh loudly before taking a long drink of whiskey from his glass. He was drinking a lot lately, but whiskey with breakfast was new.

"If Cavil is coming back, it’s because he knows that Jo sent him wrong information. You should prepare for that outcome," Cyler explained. I grabbed Jacob’s hand to anchor myself, but instead, his nervous energy seemed to flow through me, creating a more frazzled tangle of emotions. I felt his concerns, his anticipation.

Perhaps it was why I blurted out without a care of the consequences, "I have to see him!" It seemed like such a natural reaction, one bred by a lifetime of worrying for Josiah, but the implications of it were evident on the six faces around me.

"Absolutely not," Huxley said first. His expression was unreadable but his body language told me all I needed to know. Stiff. Closed off.

I hurt him.

"It's not like that..." I began while searching for the words.

"Then what is it like, explain it to us, sweetie," Jacob insisted with rushed words.

I squeezed Jacob's hand before walking over to Huxley. "Hux. I. Do. Not. Love. Josiah." I enunciated each word, forcing the truth of them through my lips and onto his cold heart.

"Ash, it’s okay if you do, you know. We never all sat down and had this conversation. Things moved fast." Patrick's voice was smooth and comforting. I knew he was just saying what he thought I wanted to hear. He was always putting someone else's happiness before his own. My chronic people pleaser.

"Is that what you all think? That I still love him?" I wanted to gauge everyone's perception so I could fix it and move on.

It was Cyler who disagreed. "I don't think you love him, but I do think we need to feel a sense of solidarity. We all need to get on the same page. I told you we should have discussed this at our last meeting—"

"Damn, Cy, if you bring up meeting minutes, so help me..." Maverick interrupted with a small chuckle before continuing. "But...I agree. I think we all need to know the expectations. There is a lot of uncertainty ahead of us, and it would be nice to know that at least this one thing is solid."

Huxley's rigid form