Alara hit the ice, her head making contact with a sickening crack. She didn’t move.
Honor sat up, letting out a shaky breath. She tucked the lastite carefully into her pocket. A present for Lala. Then Honor hurried toward her warrior. “Colm, are you okay?”
He got to his feet. The wild look was back on his face, his eyes molten gold. He was breathing fast. Too fast.
Then, behind him, she saw a few bedraggled pirates coming out of the ship, weapons up.
“Kill them,” someone shouted.
Honor’s chest constricted. She was moving, but she already knew she wasn’t going to be fast enough. And Colm was no match for lasers.
Shouts echoed around them, accompanied by the whine of laser weapons.
Colm tackled her, taking her to the ground covering her with his body. It took her a second to realize that the lasers and shouts weren’t coming from the ship.
They were coming from the cavern below.
She turned her head, and over Colm’s shoulder, she spotted familiar black-and-gray uniforms.
Her security team rushed forward, with a woman dressed in sleek, black armor in the lead.
Suddenly, two small metal balls bounced forward, past Colm and Honor, and into the group of remaining pirates. Knowing what was about to happen, Honor closed her eyes, just as the balls exploded.
Then, she heard the pirates shouting.
She opened her eyes. The pirates were covered in a sticky, pink goo. They were stuck to the ground, and each other. The more they fought the goo, the stickier it got.
“Take that, pirate suckers.” A slim body danced past them, the flash of pink hair a shocking contrast to the pale ice of the walls.
Lala crossed her arms in front of her, more balls bouncing across the ice. She looked like a damned teenage superhero.
There were deep-voiced shouts, and this time, it was barbarian warriors that rushed past Honor and Colm. Swords flashed, and the cavern shook with the roar of their battle cries.
It didn’t take long for the warriors to subdue the last of the pirates.
“Honor. Colm.” Kavon appeared beside them. “Are you all right?”
Suddenly, Colm moved. He pulled Honor into his arms, pressing her face to his chest. She felt his body vibrating.
“It’s okay, Colm. It’s Kavon.”
His eyes glittered gold, no recognition in their depths.
Her pulse tripped, and she cupped his cheek. “Hey, come back to me now.”
Colm made a short, strangled sound.
“I’m here, Colm.”
“Honor?” It was Darc’s voice.
The woman appeared with her long, slender sword clutched in her hand. Colm growled at her.
Darc tensed and lifted her sword.
Colm roared now, an enraged sound that reverberated in the space. He stepped backward, pulling Honor with him.
“Don’t.” Honor held her palm out to the others in warning.
“What’s wrong?” Kavon’s gaze was on his friend.
“He needs help.” When Colm’s arms tightened further around her, she found it hard to breathe. “His nanami are out of control.”
“What?” Shock crossed Kavon’s face.
She fought back her own emotions. “He has nanami sickness. He’s been hiding it from you. It’s been going on for a while, but he’s been fighting it. But this…he can’t control them anymore.”
Honor saw the ripple of grief cross Kavon’s face before he controlled it. “No. He’s the most controlled warrior I know.”
“Because he’s had to be,” Honor said. “He saw what it did to his father.”
Kavon’s chin dropped to his chest. “There is no cure. It will drive him insane.”
Honor went cold. She could feel the brilliant heat of Colm against her back, the pulsing life of him. She wouldn’t give up on the man she loved. “No.”
Chapter Fourteen
Colm was struggling to stay aware of what was going on.
The sounds around him were too noisy, ringing in his ears. The light was too bright, making it hard for him to see. His nanami were amped up, buzzing through his body, overloading him.
He could feel Honor’s sweet warmth against him. He focused on that. He didn’t want to let her go, and he wouldn’t let anyone take her from him. The touch of her was the only thing grounding him.
He saw a huge warrior step in front of them. A threat.
Colm scooped Honor up and heard her squeak. He backed away from the warrior. He kept moving until he felt the slick surface of the ice wall hit his back. He moved along the wall, away from all these threats to his woman.
“I’m here, Colm,” Honor said. “I’m not going anywhere. You just have to stay calm.”
He was trying to understand, trying to piece her words together in his head. But nothing was making sense. All sound was just a roar in his ears.