{Cinder}

Para ended the last of Bones’ resilience with a turn and a grind of her hips. With a loud groan from him and a soft cry from her, he finished.

The Valkyrie snickered with wicked satisfaction as she separated them. “I’m getting better with your tells, soldier. Soon, I’ll play you like a familiar instrument.”

“I look forward to the journey.” Bones let his head fall back on the palette and smiled lazily at the mango scent filling the chamber. He enjoyed watching her dress afterward, like she worried about them getting caught fucking.

The first buckle under her breasts and the following three harness straps around her midriff and shoulders. All leather. All toting blades. The little denim shorts just looked cute on her toned ass.

Oh, what’s that? He was ready to go again?

Para chuckled. “Down boy. I think our King tires of our games.” She fluffed her short blue hair and stretched.

Bones smiled while returning his tactical pants to their upright and zipped position. Happy. Happier than ever he could remember in his life. Good friends—almost a family at this point. A mission; a purpose. And regular sex with the smallest of the legendary Valkyrie.

No, he wasn’t in love with Para. Nor she with him. But these guard shifts got awfully lonely and boring. He appreciated her familiar Icarean company. Sex with no commitment because they already shared an important connection as Icari. They served Elden’s prerogative.

Para sat in the rough red soil and set her elbows on her knees. With her face in her hands, the Valkyrie stared across the lake at their King. Her black eyes mirrored the water. Standard operating procedure.

Bones left her alone and headed for the kitchen. A sandwich sounded good—

“What do you think a Tritan nicknamed ‘the Chef’ must be like?”

“Clearly he’ll be tall, dark, and handsome. It’ll make sharing in our duties even more interesting.” Bones smirked to himself as Para giggled into the dirt. He piled on the roast beef and some extra mayo. “Maybe he’s a fantastic cook?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s a skilled killer.”

He turned with the plate in hand and headed over to her perch. With her back to him, she watched Rayne as if taking the duty literally. So when he produced a plate with her favorite sandwich and chips, Para gave a small cry of pleasure.

Worth it.

Bones laid out on the dirt beside her, empty-handed. “I love to stargaze on Earth.” He imagined the little diamond chips on the black rock ceiling. The breeze from the vent fed them more ashen air. No stars up there.

“Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Rayne?”

He arched a brow at her and nudged her playfully with his boot. “No.”

Para pushed her hair behind her ears and cleared her throat. “We piloted the colossal crawler—Chris calls it the Mobilizer 5000—across the continent. We walked it right up to Iona-29’s roundabout. A girl stood there. Unflinching. Strong. Mighty, really. Especially given her height deficit.

“She glowed with a proper shine. Karter told me that Xelan had a hand in raising her. So I instantly trusted her as our leader. But as I climbed out of that beast and took a look at her, I thought, ‘This young thing? This is our General?’”

Bones nodded along. He thought the same thing. How was that little girl supposed to kill Nox?

“Then I looked in her eyes.” Para shook her head to emphasize her comprehension. “I’d die for her. For her brother. Then it extended to Chris. And the Progeny. And you. And Pablo and Lynn—An entire family. I’d die to protect the Shadow…”

Para’s voice softened until the words stopped. Her eyes shaded with foreboding.

Bones sat up and placed a comforting hand on her back. “What is it?”

She swallowed hard and tried to speak twice before getting the words out. “I’ve felt this way only one other time in my life. I begged Umbra not to accept the campaign against the Ancients on Thailea. He threatened to cut out Karter’s tongue and cauterize it with gold if I shared my concerns with anyone.”

He cursed and spat. Fucking bastard King.

Para shook her head as if that weren’t enough. “I appreciate your support, but you’re missing the key point. A part of us didn’t survive that battle, and I fear many of us won’t survive the upcoming one either.”

“You believe the situation is more dire?” He looked off at the Martyr Complex.

“For some. Maybe for me. Our part will become more clear, but make no mistake, I’ll die to save this family.” Para turned her gaze to him. The black of her eyes shone like a star with determination. Hard as a diamond.

“She won’t let it come to that.” He nodded over at the island in the lake.

The Complex glowed with a white light, emitting warmth across the water. Bones and Para bathed in it. In the surety of it. The same warmth and surety he saw the first time he looked into Rayne’s eyes.

No more deaths allowed in this family.

Bones leaned into Para and whispered, “Maybe we should find some place more private to fuck.”