Page 25 of Aryn

“Oh?” I counter. I distract myself with a sip, wincing as it burns down my throat. Sprocket convinced Nyx and Reyes to give her a portion of their latest corn crop for moonshine, and now we have gallons of the stuff. It doesn’t taste great, but fuck, it gets the job done.

“It’s some sort of twisted vengeance quest, and you’re going to get hurt.”

“Vengeance?” I demand. “Here I am, selflessly charging into a world that apparently wants to freeze me to death, and you want to argue about why I’m doing it?”

“Selfless might be a bit of a stretch,” Sakane says with a wink, though I don’t miss the worry behind it.

“I’m not even the one benefitting from this mission,” I point out, then gesture at Xeni laying across Bash’s lap. “You and your pretty princess are going to be the ones with everlasting life together, not me. You think you’d be a little more grateful that I offered to fix this hellhole instead of letting it burn down around me.”

Sakane sits up taller, brows flicking together. “Thing is, you’ve never really wanted to fix anything before. You’re more of a blow-it-up-and-move-on kind of guy.”

Bash gestures at the scars running up the right side of my body. “You’ve spent your life trying to get back at the ones that hurt you. That won’t fly this time. You can’t go over there ready to wage war.”

“I’m not,” I stress. “Don’t make me out to be some mindless killer.”

“All I’m saying is you’ve always been the first to sign up for a mission that ends in taking a few of them out.”

Ego hiccups and nods. “You get that wild look in your eyes when you kill them.” She makes a slicing motion with her hand, stretching her eyes wide as she does it.

I open my mouth to argue, but Bash rushes to speak over me. “Before you say it, I’m not defending them, and I’m not trying to insult you. We all know who you are, Cato. You’re the most loyal person I’ve ever met. The missions you accept are against bad people doing bad things. I know that, okay? You have valid reasons to hate their kind.”

“Where’s the but?” I ask with a scowl.

“But… the monsters in Elyra aren’t your enemies.”

“You think I don’t realize that?” I snap. “They don’t have anything to do with what happened to me. I know that.”

“Do you?” he challenges.

Ego leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Oh, come on, Bash. Give him at least a little credit.”

“Thank you!” I say, throwing my hands up.

“Annihilation of monsterkind is only his secondary goal,” she continues.

My eyes roll up into my head at the goading. “So what’s the first goal, then, Ego? Please share.”

“We all know you’re a bit of an attention whore. You want the accolades.”

Some of my anger fades as I breathe a laugh. “I’m the attention whore?” I ask, gesturing at her hair. It’s faded into a much tamer blue now that she has to rely on natural dyes, but she keeps it up religiously.

“Sure are,” she agrees with a grin.

“Uh huh,” I drawl. “And… remind me, whatever happened to that stack of wanted posters you autographed ‘just in case’?”

“They’re in the closet, along with several of yours. One of these days, when you’re being crowned the ginger savior of the world, you’ll thank me when they help bankroll our lavish lifestyle.”

“Sounds fair. I’ll save the world and you’ll reap the benefits.”

“Now you’re getting it,” she says with a nod. She downs her cup in a single swallow, then glances at mine and arches a brow.

I huff and pass it over. “Glad to see you understand your contribution here.”

Bash shakes his head, raking his fingers through Xeni’s hair. “Seriously though, you need to be careful. Ronan and Lillith are warriors, but when shit hits the fan, they’re going to look out for their mates first. If anything threatens Cameron or Taryn, those two will be useless.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Ronan to abandon you altogether,” Xeni adds, voice muffled with a yawn. “Just toss Cameron over his shoulder and book it out of there.”

“Lillith would at least probably throw you over her shoulder along with Taryn,” Ego adds.