“Tomorrow.” He started back to the machine. “I’m looking forward to it.” It held less sarcasm than she expected.
“And bring your machine,” Sunniva added, remembering her dragon’s request. Rafe lifted a hand in acknowledgment and clambered back in. After a moment the thrusters started to whine.
Sunniva forced the opal back into the mount, letting the matrix reconnect.
Wake.
The blue faded. Marcus’ breathing deepened. After a few moments he shook his head slightly, then opened his eyes.
His face was like stone, drained of all life and emotion. “My lady.”
“Are you all right?”
Marcus didn’t answer. He twisted round to stare at the point in the trail where Sunniva had knocked Rafe down, now empty, and she saw the shock of it in his eyes. His hand felt for the blaster.
“You didn’t hit him. He’s left. He says he can’t wait to hear your explanation,” Sunniva said softly. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t think how else to stop you.”
Marcus shut his eyes. “I thought I’d killed him.” His face was still controlled, but Sunniva could see water glistening at the corners of his eyes. She wished Rafe could have stayed. She only hoped Marcus believed her.
“I asked him to meet us here tomorrow.” The sun was much lower in the sky now. They wouldn’t get back to the aerie before it got dark. “Can you stand?”
He could, and got back onto the crawler, although with a jerky stiffness rather than his usual smooth grace. Sunniva set their return route and found her clothes, the chill of the approaching night biting into the exposed skin of her arm. The mesh on the other arm had almost finished its repair, the new skin still fragile to the touch.
She’d insisted Marcus join her in the warmer if cramped cabin, and eat while she told him more of what had happened. When she mentioned a possible plan for dealing with the homicidal behavior imposed by his modifier he put down his cup.
“You can take it out?”
“If I could I would.” Sunniva ran a finger along the edge of her bracelet. “I think I can switch control of some of the limits to another matrix that I can direct. But anyone getting hold of the opal could override that.”
He nodded, his eyes on the opal. “I understand.”
“It should stop any emotional transference,” Sunniva added, squinting out into the darkness. The ban on human use of electrical power in this area made the nights far darker than Sunniva was used to, and the moon wasn’t up yet. The mountains were dark absences against the sky.
Marcus cleared his throat. “My lady. You are under a misapprehension.”
“I am?” She turned, and her shoulder brushed his in the limited space. The need to lean into his warmth cut through her, a bone-deep ache. She pulled back a fraction.
Marcus was watching her, his eyes a little sad. “I’m quite capable of telling where my emotions come from.” His voice was low and warm.
The implication jolted through her. “You are.” She couldn’t look away. It didn’t make any difference, she told herself; it still wasn’t fair. The space between them felt charged with potential. She swallowed.
Silly, her dragon thought, with distinct superiority.
Her bracelet chimed with the pitch that meant a communication from the aerie. Sunniva shook herself, feeling as if she’d emerged from a long dive underwater, and answered.
Giels told her he’d ordered troops in the area to provide her with an escort home given that she was obviously incapable of finding her own way back with any reliability, and to see him the moment she got in. Sunniva opened her mouth to argue.
“And bring your bodyguard. I want to make sure you haven’t broken him.”
It took the wind out of her. “All right,” she said, unwilling to risk angering him further. Giels cut the connection.
The crawler would take at least another two hours. Sunniva twisted her fingers together and stared unhappily at her bracelet. Marcus sat next to her, miles away.
Even if they hadn’t been interrupted, now that she knew the attraction was mutual, what could she offer him? Being close to her put him in more danger, and she would be leaving the planet in only a few more days. Going to the guild, if they’d still have her.
The thought of it no longer filled her with excitement.
The lizardforms arrived a half hour later and ran home with them, two in front and two behind the crawler, their faceted eyes gleaming in the darkness. They stayed with them, silently attentive, until the security fields fizzled across the crawler in response to Sunniva’s identification, and then they loped back into the night.