She pushed past him. Ronan held up his good hand and smiled, benevolent and very far away.
“They will not kill me,” he said. “Wait. Food will be brought to you. Eat to maintain your strength, and do not worry.”
“That you can’t prevent, my friend.” She took his face between her hands. “Keep yourself safe. Whatever you have to do—stay alive and come back.” She leaned forward and kissed him, ignoring Sihvaaro and all the alarms going off in her head. “Come back to me.”
* * *
Chapter 24
« ^ »
Cynara was pacing back and forth just inside the door when Ronan returned. His wounds burned in spite of every discipline he had employed during the interrogation; his eyes were blurry from lack of sleep, and his broken fingers throbbed with each beat of his heart.
Yet when he saw Cynara, he forgot everything but the brightness of her eyes.
“Ronan!” She ran toward him and stopped, afraid to touch him lest he shatter. “You look ready to collapse. Lie down.”
He let her support him to the nearest bed and half fell onto the pad. She sat beside him, settling his weight against her shoulder.
“Thank God you’re safe. It’s been hours since you left—do you realize it’s already dark?” Anxiously she smoothed his hair and peered into his eyes. “Did Lenko threaten you? Did they listen to our suspicions about the Kinsmen?”
‘They listened.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Lenko did not wish to, but Samit and the Arvi’Va pressured him to do so. I explained that the Kinsmen had altered the assignment for which I was originally intended—not simply to gather information about new human technology, but to kill the First of the Concordat by dishonorable stealth.”
“They believed you.”
“They did not deny the possibility.” He flexed the undamaged fingers of his right hand. “I also told them that I would not deal with Kinsmen, but must report to the War-Leader and his advisors directly. Arva’Kir agreed to consider this.”
“And if the Kinsmen demand your surrender?”
“They can demand very little on Kalevi soil.” He opened his eyes and looked upon her face, the lines of tension between her brows and about her mouth that spoke of hidden fear—not for herself, but for him. “You are still in my charge, and I have been given the freedom of the settlement.”
“Scylla’s teeth—”
“Listen to me, Cynara. I promised them that I had information that would benefit Kalevi and all shaauri-ja—not only of possible Kinsman treachery, but of the human technology that permits Concordat ships to evade shaauri patrols.”
“We’ve discussed this before. You can’t know anything that will help them—only that the Pegasus exists.”
Once more he was sure that she truly believed her mind contained nothing of worth he could trade to the shaauri for her life. Yet there was a new unease in her surface thoughts, a fear that his knowledge could indeed harm the Concordat.
“What did you offer them?” she demanded.
He sank back on the bed and stretched his legs. “Only a promise, in exchange for your safety.”
“No, Ronan,” she groaned. “Not for me.”
“As an enemy human, you are not afforded even the minimal protection of one adopted by Kalevi. If they believe you have information I do not, they will give you to the Kinsmen to obtain the contents of your mind. The Kinsmen would destroy you without hesitation, no matter what shields you possess. Only by claiming I fully share your knowledge was I able to prevent this.”
She scrambled off the bed and paced wildly across the room. “And when they find out you know nothing of real value?”
He closed his mind so that she would not feel the doubt and self-contempt eating at his gut. “We will face that as it comes. It is enough to know that we have the freedom to move as we will, and much may still be done.” He held out his hands, and she took them. “I do have allies—friends—who will help us. I will show you—”
“Not now. You need sleep.”
He could not deny it. He permitted himself the luxury of accepting Cynara’s generous little acts of solace, obeying her command to lie down and let his body heal.