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For the rebellion.
For everything I never thought I would have but was waiting for me here all along. I tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace. The stale taste of blood remained on my lips, and I worked to lift my hand to wipe it away.
“Let me,” Viper said, giving my arm a gentle push back down. “Dax, could you please bring me a-”
“Right here,” Dax exclaimed as he put a cloth into Viper’s waiting hand.
Ever so gently, Viper cleaned my face and neck. The warm cloth moving over my skin felt like heaven and I sighed. “I might need to die a few more times if this is the kind of treatment I get when I come back.”
The cloth that had been moving over my skin abruptly stopped and I met Vipers stern face. His lips were tipped down into a frown, the smile that had been building vanishing as fire flashed in his eyes. “You don’t get to joke about that, Oz.” His voice had an edge to it, a bitter, biting tone that hit me square in the chest, plunging deep.
“You were fucking dead! I had to hold you in my arms, limp and lifeless, stare at your face and see nothing of the female I love staring back at me. I heard your last breath, the last beat of your heart. It gutted me right down to my frame, Oz. I could exist in the world without you, but I don’t want to. Don’t ever leave me behind again, do you hear me?” His hands cupped my cheeks, his lips finding my own. The kiss was tender and sweet, a reunion of two souls seeking to reaffirm that this was real.
That we were whole again.
“I’m sorry. That was wrong of me to say. I shouldn’t have said it.” His words kick started memories of our last conversation. In my heart, I felt the bond was complete. Still, I needed him to say it. I had to hear the words.
Very carefully, I moved my hand until it touched the spot on my head where the implant rested. “Tell me it worked. Tell me that this thing in my head won’t destroy us both.”
“It worked,” he whispered. “The bond is complete.”
All the breath fled my lungs, my eyes welling with tears. We had done it. Against all odds, we had done it.
I lifted a shaky hand and cupped his cheek. “It was your codes, your programming, that called me home, V. It felt like the first time I was inside your processors, but different at the same time. There was no resistance, only acceptance. That beautiful mind of yours invited me in and guided me. Without it-withoutyouletting me in, I never would have survived.” His smile returned, lighting up his whole face.
His joy burned away the last traces of sorrow. And then I felt it. A faint brush against my mind, asking to be let in. I allowed every barrier to fall, sinking into the pleasant vibrating hum I felt dancing in my head, so unlike the intense buzz I would feel when I activated the implant. This was soothing and soft and I basked in it.
The tears I held back spilled down my cheeks. I used to feel so vulnerable when I cried. I fought every single tear like it was a battle and I was terrified to lose.
Now? I gave in. Laid down my weapons of the past-the anger, the shame, the deep well of hurt that haunted my every heartbeat. I wasn’t a fool. I knew it wasn’t gone forever.
There was still a lot of work to do.
But I was ready. There was another war that awaited not only me, but all of the cyborg rebellion. I planned to bring my A game and kick tons of Global Allegiance ass.
Once I was off this exam table, that is.
Viper
“Oz?” A familiar voice called. Spinning around, I found Axios, worry painted across his features. Rushing towards us, he reached to grab Oz’s hand, but I slapped it away and growled.
I had only just got her back. Nothing in my circuits felt like sharing.
“Stop that!” Oz chided as she reached around me to take his hand.
Worried blue eyes settled on her face. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“Never been better.” She grinned at me. “Viper and I are bonded.”
Blue eyebrows shot up and Axios’s mouth dropped. “How? When?” He twisted his frame and glared at me. He let go of her hand and poked a finger into my chest. “Hurt her and you’ll have to deal with me.”
I repressed the urge to chuckle. In a fight, I could take him with my wires tied behind my back. But looking at my female, I realized I couldn’t punch him even if I wanted to. As much as I might not like it, Axios was her friend. The first cyborg to see past her actions and been willing to give her a chance.
I wished to be the only thing my female needed, but that was selfish. Oz needed friends and family. She longed to belong. I refused to take that away from her. That meant I had to learn how to share.
“Now don’t freak out, but I kind of had to die first.” Axios’s whole frame stiffened. He totally planned to freak out. He took a swing at my face, and I ducked, causing him to let out a roar.
Oz slid off the table and put herself between us. My attention immediately focused on her. Her body had been through a major trauma. She shouldn’t be standing. And she definitely shouldn’t be putting herself in the middle.
