“Where?” Faren had simply asked.
“The sell-swords have a base under Nelya Hill. An old, abandoned compound. Manufactured weapons once, but it ended years ago. Possibly still some equipment and arms left, they probably chose it for looting to begin with.”
“Any numbers?”
“Estimating two hundred, but his well has run dry. He knows he’s dead, but he’s hoping he’ll take a few of yours with him as he goes.”
There was a smile on Faren’s lips then, one that had nothing to do with humor. Despite herself, Leiya shivered, but the malice there wasn’t directed at her.
“How’s his mood?”
And there on Eleya’s lips as well. Maybe it was a Brion general thing.
“Fuming,” she said, smiling. “He’d hoped that he could hurt you badly before you got to him, but your little star lives. So he lost the protection the Elders had given him for nothing.”
“I was getting to that,” Faren said. “Any protests about me going after him?”
Eleya snorted.
“None whatsoever. It’ll be good to be rid of him.”
Then she hesitated.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Faren, I know you’re not a fool. But watch out for him. He is a fool, and when cornered, can do unpredictable things.”
“Yes,” Faren said and shut down the link.
His eyes turned to Leiya again, his gaze setting her body on fire from head to toe.
I should be afraid, she thought. This is so messed up. I’m going to battle and this is still bloody Faren, so why am I so turned on?
The general’s gaze was unwavering, looking her over.
“I can tell, you know,” he said.
Leiya shivered. Of course she knew. Damnable Brions and their perception skills.
“That’s really unfair,” she protested. “I know you can’t shut your senses off, but it really is unfair that you can read me, but I can’t tell what you feel.”
The general crossed the floor of the shuttle to her, bringing her into his arms again. She dearly hoped there was a withdrawal method, because otherwise she was going to get nothing done once Primen was dealt with. She was just going to live in Faren’s arms, pressed against his chest, looking into his stormy eyes, feeling… Ohhh.
“I assure you I feel the same,” Faren said.
The look in his eyes told Leiya exactly how much he was enjoying the effect he was having on her.
I’ll get you back for that, she promised herself. You can be all-powerful, and dramatic, and strong, and hot here, but I can do this too. Just wait until we’re somewhere I can undress.
The thought of being able to bend the famous general to her will was so delicious that Leiya’s mouth watered. Not that she didn’t have a few uncomfortable truths to face in the meantime. Like the fact her body reacted to Faren, as it should. The only problem was that it reacted much more strongly when he lifted her into his lap, effectively trapping her there.
It wasn’t merely him and his amazing eyes that made Leiya hot and bothered, it was the power that cloaked him like an aura. Thinking of lying underneath him, those strong arms holding her down for him, being used for his pleasure…
That is a kink that needs to be buried very deeply under songs of flowers, and sunlight, and such.
Yes. Definitely.
Leiya was never going to let it be known that the girl who liked to bury her face into soft grass now longed to press her lips against Faren’s amazing, firm chest.
He was watching her again with that amused smirk. Leiya growled, knowing she was probably giving away most of her desires without saying a word.
“Unfair,” she repeated.
“Perhaps,” the general allowed. “But you’re my gesha. Whatever you desire I will give you. If you want to hide your wishes from me, go on, I’ll try to figure them out myself.”
He bent closer to her then, a twinkle of mischief playing in his eyes – something which Leiya wouldn’t have believed if she hadn’t witnessed it with her own two eyes.
“However,” he said, and his voice dropped low, sending shivers run up her skin. “Remember what I said about making you bite through your sheets?”
Leiya’s head nodded. The rest of her was busy trying to stay sane.
“I will,” the general promised.
“Ooooh,” said Leiya’s lips.
The shuttle landed with a gut-wrenching kick, but Leiya barely felt it. Faren just moved so naturally with the aircraft and in his arms, she practically swung along.#p#分页标题#e#
Stupid mouth. Like that bastard needs any more flattery when he can read everything from my body already. He is so going to pay for this.
Not that she minded the promise about the biting. No, she’d take that, definitely. Her body seemed very intent on taking everything and anything Faren chose to give her. That wasn’t the point. Leiya wanted her own victories.
By the gods, she thought, following Faren out of the shuttle with guards falling in easy formation around her immediately. I’m really becoming a Brion. Victories.
She remembered her father talking about Nelya Hill when she was a little girl. It had been a fully functional military complex then, but after a more advanced one opened up nearby, it was shut down. Plans to properly clean up the place had apparently kept on moving into the future year by year. The Brions were a very militaristic species after all and something else always seemed to take priority. After a while it sort of seemed forgotten.
Leiya thought better of saying something like “This is what I was talking about”. She made a mental note to take up this topic later with High Senator Eleya. Did they really have military compounds just sitting around without proper guard? No doubt Eleya was drawing her own conclusions though. She wasn’t known to be one to sweep problems under the rug. Leiya assumed that anyone would be busy with the aftermath of the Rhea dispute.
In short, the place looked exactly like she’d thought. There were signs of hasty leave taking everywhere, if that could be said about leaving mechs standing ready at the training and testing arenas. Leiya felt kind of guilty about being able to take it all in, safe in the shadows of Faren’s warriors forming two protective lines on either side of her. They were on the lookout for enemy contact, not her. She felt bad in a way, but Faren’s reassuring figure marching at the head of his men was a comfort she couldn’t give up.
Too much had gone wrong in her life in the last week for her to take chances. It was just that what was most important for her had changed in that time period.
Of course it would have been safer if she’d gone to the battle ship. She’d have been so out of Senator Primen’s range that it would have been as if she was on the other end of the galaxy. The senators had had their wings clipped, but it applied even more so to Primen. (In a way, Leiya actually understood what had driven the man to such desperation.
From what she could tell, Diego and Faren had really left him no other choice.) By the gods, her gerion could have sent her to Diego Grothan, if he’d really thought she was in danger. But it seemed Faren considered the matter of dealing with Primen a mere formality. After all, what fight could the senator put up against him?
Of course she was provoking trouble by being there. She was as good as helpless in battle; she would draw the attention of Faren’s men to her because they had to keep her safe. She would also distract Faren. And she’d give Primen’s men something to aim at and the treacherous bastard another chance to get her.
She knew all that. It was a risk she was prepared to take, because putting her life in danger seemed the lesser of evils when compared to not knowing whether Faren was safe.
It sounded stupid, Leiya knew that. There was no one in Primen’s command who could be close to being a match for her gerion. But there were still traps, and explosions, and guns, and whatever else the armies used that she didn’t know or didn’t want to know about.
She’d already lived through the longest minute in her life. The possibility of never seeing Faren again had seemed worse than death. Leiya had no desire to feel that again. She’d stay with him.
The enemy opened fire before Leiya even realized something was happening. There had to have been some giveaway for the warriors though, because suddenly there was a wall of shields around her. Leiya yelped, but it felt like being in a cave. She found herself in the middle of a rough square. All the warriors had their backs to her and their mighty shields were propped up to form a protective cocoon around them.
She felt their mood change in a way that was physically palpable. The Brions detested having to use the shields, which sprung forward from their wrists. The energy shields wouldn’t hold up forever, but they didn’t need to. Already another unit moved to take down the shooters and teach them what a real fight was.
Leiya tried to peek over the warriors’ heads to see Faren, but the general wasn’t in sight anymore. Not surprising, Brion generals were always at the front of any battle. It would have been unthinkable for Faren to cower somewhere behind his shield while his men fought.
The square broke up over her head, and Leiya looked around. No more bullets seemed to be coming her way and wearing protective armor over her dress made her feel better. Further away, she heard screams. After a minute, Faren and his personal guard – a joke if there ever was any on the Unbroken – returned to them. Leiya’s heart skipped a beat seeing how the general took a quiet breath upon seeing her unharmed. Her eyes searched for any wounds on him, but Leiya knew that she was insulting him by doing so.#p#分页标题#e#