“Are you hurt?” Kyon asks, stroking my cheek and patting it softly.
“No.”
Gathering me up in his arms, Kyon takes me to the chair by the fireplace that is completely restored from having been burned. He sets me down on it. “Oscil, light a fire,” he commands.
A cheerful fire roars to life and snaps in the grate. I watch it for a long time while Kyon moves around the hut, hauling out dead bodies and ordering robots to undertake the massive cleanup. At some point I stop shaking. Resting my head against the arm of the chair, I close my eyes, but I keep my scissors close.
CHAPTER 7
THE MARK IS MADE
Soft raindrops patter on the deck and thatched roof outside. The hurricane shutters are open in the bedroom. There’s unfettered access to the teak bridge as well as the deck that leads to the beach. Becoming more awake, I try to move but I’m tucked beneath Kyon’s arm. We’re entwined on the soft bed, beneath the lovely, sheer mosquito netting.
My back is molded to Kyon’s front. The scent of spent shell casings clings to his large hand, which rests on my hip. Looking at him over my shoulder, I see Kyon’s nose close to my cheek. He’s asleep. I turn my face back to rest against the pillow, watching the rain, wondering if I should move. I might wake him if I do, and I don’t think that’s something I want to deal with right now. I notice the scissors lying on the mattress near my hand. I grasp them, holding them tight once more.
“You won’t need those,” Kyon murmurs. His mouth is by my ear. His deep voice causes me to tense. I fear him—his ultraviolence—it scares me. My heart drums in my ears because he’s crazy, maybe even a little crazy for me. His ruthlessness is attracted to my savagery.
“How do you know I won’t need them?” I clutch the scissors tighter, afraid that he’ll try to take them from me, and right now, I need them.
His fingertips slowly trace a path from my shoulder down my arm toward the scissors in my hand. “We killed everyone that the Brotherhood sent last night—some I tortured first, but in they end, they all perished.”
“You tortured some?” I shiver as his fingers change directions and move back up my arm to sweep my hair off of my shoulder and neck.
“I broke them for you, Kricket,” he whispers like it’s a secret. A fire ignites beneath my skin, and I’m too warm all of a sudden.
“Won’t the Brotherhood send more of them?” I ask, as he snuggles me closer. It’s disturbing how well I fit in his arms.
“Right now, they’re more than likely calling a meeting of the High Council. Some Brothers will take their time to get there—most of them can’t be bothered to attend to business before the sun’s zenith, and not all of them will come. Once the ones who do show up finally assemble in the forum, there will be dissenting opinions regarding what action to take against me, and by default, you.
“It will be divisive. Some will want to mount another attack against us, even though this one failed and they already used their best-trained soldiers. They know that I have an advanced missile defense system here. They know that because I designed their missile defense system. They’ll scramble to get their technicians on the task of creating a new system that will lock me out. But that will take a significant amount of time and they won’t find all the hidden doors I have woven into the one they now use. When they come to this conclusion, they will see that assassination cannot be achieved while we’re here on the island.”
“So we’re safe here?” I exhale. My fingers loosen on the scissors.
“For now. In a few rotations, they’ll send a delegate to speak to me. He’ll be someone who I count as a friend. He’ll try to convince me to speak to the High Council and come to a resolution.”
“A diplomatic solution?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Do you believe there can be such a solution?”
“No.”
“Why not?
“I don’t want one.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to know why you’re wearing my shirt.”
“Huh?”
“My shirt. Why are you wearing it?” He runs his hand down my side, grasping the hem of the sky-blue shirt in question as he inches it up to my hip.
I squeak, “Kyon! Don’t!” and put my hand over his and attempt to stop him from