“No,” he said. “I won’t be ruled by anger. It is a tool, yes, but I’m more than a pyre. My anger’s gotten me this far, but I need to outgrow it. I need more weapons in my arsenal.”
The Nightmare Lady hissed, lowering into a crouch as she retreated before him.
“I will listen to them.” His words were like hammer blows. “I’ll let them make their arguments. I’ll let them reveal their intentions. And then I will choose my course of action, their interests be damned.”
The Nightmare Lady was backing toward the wall, her movements increasingly more frantic. Scorio felt his will between them like a great wall, a crushing, oppressive vise.
“Don’t think I’ve lost my anger. Don’t think I’ve lost my rage. It’s there, always there, begging to be released. But it will only get us so far. I will summon it when I need it, but until then, I’ll keep it leashed and muzzled. But when the time comes?”
The Nightmare Lady shimmered down and became Naomi. She pressed back against the smooth wall, and he stepped in close so that only inches separated them. Her eyes were wide, her face open with shock.
“When the time comes I’ll show them just how angry I can be, and then woe to whomever gets in my fucking way.”
For a moment they remained thus, his will stifling and vast, and then he released the power and Naomi sagged, hand going to her throat, expression wild, eyes locked on his own.
Scorio’s shoulders rose and fell. His burning Heart pumped ever more power into his frame, power that begged to be given vent. But he mastered it. Forced it to wait on his pleasure, and held Naomi’s gaze, his darkvision painting her face in perfect shades of gray.
Naomi’s breathing was ragged, but it slowed, and suddenly Scorio became aware of how little space separated them. Mere inches. They were so close that he could smell her sweat, could feel her breath on his face.
She reached out, cupped the nape of his neck, and pulled him into a savage kiss.
Shocked, Scorio just stood there, his Heart instantly guttering as he lost all control over his mana. For a moment they remained thus, lips locked, and then she shoved him away with a gasp.
Her expression was one of horrified panic. They stared at each other, wide-eyed, and then she burst past him and ran from the caldera.
“Naomi!” His voice rang out after her, but she didn’t slow. A second later, she was gone.
Scorio stared after her, thoughts spinning, heart pounding, her taste still upon his lips.
Should he give chase? No, no no no. She’d try to cut his throat. But…
Scorio dropped into a crouch and cupped his hands over his mouth and nose. What should he do?
He bit his lower lip. Closed his eyes and recalled her expression just before she’d kissed him.
Feral. Alive. Hungry. Predatory.
He blew out a deep breath. “Damn,” he whispered, elated and nervous, aroused and concerned. “Damn.”
Chapter 15
Naomi didn’t return to their cluster.
After spending several hours working on his Dread Blaze mana control, Scorio forced himself to sleep, and when he awoke he rushed to check the other rooms, but all were empty.
Frowning, he poured himself a drink from the iron tank. The connected spires formed a network so vast that he’d never find her if she wished to remain hidden. It was like Bastion’s ruins all over again.
He returned to Druanna’s exercises. Reduced his Heart’s burn to a flicker, then ramped it up to a full burn. It felt as if it were becoming easier, but when he tried to do anything more than just sit there, his control slipped and his mana burn oscillated wildly.
But he kept at it. He needed more power. He needed to ascend to Dread Blaze. The discomfort and frustration were no excuse to avoid the exercises, so he forced himself to focus and keep at it, till one hour bled into the next.
Dread Blaze. Would reaching that august rank change their situation in a meaningful way? He didn’t know, but power was its own reward.
After a while he set forth in search of food. He found the refectory despite some missed turns, and avoiding the glances of those already dining there, served himself a bowl of steaming mush and sat by himself, back to the wall.
He was halfway through his second bowl when Lianshi entered the dining hall by herself. She didn’t see him at first, but drifted to the serving pans where she picked over the offerings till her bowl was full.
Scorio watched her. She paused several times to just stare off into the middle distance, blinking slowly. After a moment she gave a shake of her head, took up her bowl, turned, and saw him.
Scorio smiled almost apologetically and raised his hand.
“Hey.” She came over and stopped behind a chair. “Scorio.”
“Lianshi. I won’t be offended if you want to grab your own table.”
“I… no. I mean, if I can join you?” Scorio gestured to the chair and she sat. “Where’s Naomi?”
“No idea. Where’s Leonis?”
She lowered her gaze to her food. “In our cluster.”
“Never knew him to turn down an opportunity for food.”
“Right?” She chuckled huskily, then paused. “Right, of course. I guess he hasn’t changed.”
Scorio spooned some mush into his mouth and sat quietly, chewing. Watching. Lianshi moved her food around, inhaled deeply, then stared off to the side.
“Everything alright?” he asked at last.
“Fine.” She glanced at him, glanced away. “It’s nothing.”
Scorio ate another spoonful of chewy mush.
Lianshi sighed loudly and frowned at him. “How well did you know me?”
“Pretty well. We went through a lot together. Shared a lot with each other.”
“Did I… did I tell you about my trials?”
Intuition kicked in, and he hazarded a guess. “Is Juniper at the Fury Spires?”
Lianshi flushed even as her eyes widened. “Oh. Yes, I guess I did.” She bit her lower lip, hesitating, then gave a sharp shake of her head. “She is. She just arrived a few days ago, part of Plassus’ group that’s come for the big meeting.”
Scorio nodded slowly, said nothing.
“What?” Lianshi put her spoon down, then hesitated again. “It’s so strange, your knowing about this. I’ve only ever told Leonis. It’s…”
“It’s your past. Maybe. Or not. If you don’t want it to be.”
“Juniper… she’s changed a lot, I think, since you knew her. Since Leonis and I died. She left for the Iron Weald and signed up with House Hydra to take part in the war effort. She’s seen a lot of fighting. Made new friends, lost people…” Lianshi lost her train of thought and just sat there for a spell, chewing the corner of her lip.
“But now she’s back,” said Scorio gently.
“Yeah.” Lianshi blinked. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t need to hear any of this.”
“Need’s got nothing to do with it.” Scorio tried for a broken smile. “You might not be the Lianshi I once knew, but you’re pretty damned close. If you need someone to vent to, I’m all ears.”
“It’s just that… Leonis and I…” She deflated. “I love him, but more and more it’s been feeling…”
Another guess. “Like you should be best friends?”
She winced. “Is it that obvious?”
“To be honest, it was a real headspin to see you both together when we met back in Bastion. When I knew you both…”
“Yes?”
“You were more like brother and sister. Constantly teasing each other. His, ah, grandiose nature would make you throw cushions at him. He teased you endlessly about studying so much.”
“I still throw cushions at him.” She propped her chin on the base of her palm and stared down at her mush again. “And he still teases me. When we were reborn… it felt like it was the two of us against all of hell. The anomalous way we appeared in the Gauntlet together instead of the usual quartet. People treated us strangely. I guess everybody knew, but it took forever for someone to tell us. We grew close, and…” She slowly shook her head.