Azazel and the Krystalii remained silent, unimpressed by her lame attempt at humor.
Spoilsports, Toni thought.Oh well. No accounting for tastes.With a toss of her head, she let out an indignant huff before following Azazel down a corridor.All right,she thought,as far as she was concerned, Operation Twinkle Demolition had officially begun.She stayed close behind the handsome hero, and her heart hammered in rhythm with the soft thrum of the ship’s systems.
JR14 clung to Azazel’s shoulder, his spindly legs flexing every few seconds.
Ahead of them, the rebels—Vaeloryx, Kaelith, and Saphirae—moved with disciplined precision. Their crystalline forms reflected under the eerie inner glow of the ship.
Toni studied them.
Vaeloryx led the others, his angular features set in a determined grimace.
Kaelith, ever the vigilant commander, scanned their surroundings, his sharp-eyed gaze darting from shadow to shadow.
Saphirae walked beside him, gripping a compact device wired with luminous crystal veins and a layered tech so advanced, Toni wouldn’t be surprised if it thought for itself.
Toni might not understand how the thing worked, but she trusted the engineer’s quiet certainty more than succumbing to her own fears.
All of this was odd, though.If the Krystalii rebels had all this tech before meeting us, why didn’t they use it?She found it hard to believe that only Azazel had the unusual psychic mojo to pull that part of this off. Her lips tightened.First chance she got, she’d talk to Azazel about her concerns in private.
“Almost there,” Azazel murmured. “How are you holding up?” His voice was low but steady.
Some kind of soothing presence brushed against her, reassuring and grounding. It was strange. Ever since that dream, she swore she somehow had a connection with him. “I’m trying not to think how all this could go sideways,” Toni whispered back, her voice tight. She tightened her grip on the dampening rig she’d moved from her lower back to her side. “You?”
“Focused.” Azazel’s lips twitched as if he was trying to smother a grin. “But if I had a choice, I’d rather be back on that beach with you.”
Toni stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth gaping like a codfish’s. “I…” She stared at Azazel. “You… we…”Great. She suffered from a bad case of word vomit.
“Come along,hebat.” Azazel put a light grip on her elbow and propelled her forward. “I’ll feed you some more grapes on that beach later. Right now, we’ve got to be somewhere else.”
Unable to sort through his outrageous statement, she followed along, sputtering as she let him lead her around like a lost puppy looking for his momma. That wasn’t a dream created by my lust-fueled mind?Holy shit!She glanced at Azazel’s handsome profile.He… they…
“Antonia,” Azazel whispered. “Let’s concentrate on getting this done, okay?”
Oh sure, get the dangerous thing done first. How am I supposed to do that after he’d dropped that stupid bombshell? Men.
A warning flickered in her peripheral vision and diverted her attention. The suit gave her a warning zap that made Toni’s pulse spike.
“Movement up ahead.” Azazel announced, confirming what she already knew. “Two Elites coming this way.”
“I see them,” Vaeloryx’s smooth voice cut in, crisp and authoritative. “Kaelith, handle it.”
With a wide grin, Kaelith nodded once and rushed ahead of them. His bulky crystalline arms morphed into sleek blades.
Before Toni figured out what he was doing, Kaelith’s lithe figure dissolved into a blur, moving faster than she could follow with her eyes.
The guards never stood a chance.
By the time she heard the thud of shattering crystal, Kaelith was back, his blades reforming into hands as if nothing had happened.
“Clear,” he said around his huge smile, satisfaction lacing his voice.
Azazel gave a sharp nod. “Thank you. Let’s move.”
The group pressed on, the air growing heavier as they neared the core.
Something buzzed and pushed against Toni’s mind, a reminder of Baelon’s oppressive psychic presence that saturated the ship. The suit warmed up. It must be helping to dampen whatever was attacking her, but some of the oppressive sensations continued to seep in. It made her think of how the air felt when a storm threatened to break.
When they reached the Energy Crux chamber, Toni’s breath caught.
