Though his body was rigid, he made no moves to push her away. She trembled, knowing Nykyrian would never let anyone hurt her. She was safe with him.
Nykyrian held her against him, reveling in the feel of her arms holding him close. At the moment, it would be so easy to forget his past, forget himself and stay with her. But he couldn't. He knew that.
Her arms tightened around him and she leaned her head back. Unconsciously, he moved to kiss her, then caught himself just before he complied. Her breath fell against his lips and it took all of his self-control not to complete the one thing he wanted to do most.
"We have to get you home," he said, pulling away.
Heat stung Kiara's cheeks. Dejected, she nodded, trying to still her trembling limbs.
Why did she bother? Nykyrian wasn't interested in her in the least. If she had any dignity at all, she would forget him and just go on with her life ignoring him as easily as he ignored her.
"Fine," she said, her voice shaking from the tears she was trying hard not to shed.
Without a word, he led her down the hall, checking every few steps to make sure Pitala wasn't lurking after them. Kiara was strangely num b as she followed, her thoughts drifting over the entire party and assault.
Maybe she was just getting older. Maybe it was the fear of what had happened with Pitala, happening during the party for all the promoters to see. That must be why she didn't enjoy herself today, why Elfa's biting comments cut her more this afternoon than they had last year when her understudy had said the same thing. Kiara couldn't ever remember having a worse time in her life.
She studied Nykyrian's back as he led her out of the building. At least there was now one less assassin after her. With any luck, Nemesis would be able to bully the rest of her pursuers into leaving her alone, then she could return to her old life. Couldn't she?
Kiara swallowed the clump of tears. She was just tired. A little sleep and everything would be fine. She'd be fine.
*
Sitting in her favorite chair, Kiara watched Nykyrian clean his blaster, her mind still numb over Pitala's attack. Death had become a morbid fascination for her as she watched Nykyrian break down the parts of his weapon, carefully wiping each piece with a clean, white cloth and a pungent-smelling solution.
Since Rachol left, Nykyrian hadn't spoken, and after two hours of silence, Kiara was nearly bended.
He changed the battery pack, the sharp click raising the hair on the back of her neck.
"Why didn't you kill Pitala?" she asked, her quiet voice seeming like a shout after all the quietness.
He screwed another piece back into the blaster. "Would you rather I had?"
A chill stole up her arms. "No," she said, rubbing the chill away. "It just seems strange to me that you allowed him to get away twice."
Nykyrian sighed. "If I killed everyone who annoyed me, everyone I've ever met would be haunting me for the crime of murder."
Kiara nodded in understanding. "No doubt I'd be at the top of your kill list."
He looked up at her, but said nothing, his face unreadable.
She watched him put the blaster back together, his hands running through the procedure with practiced ease. It was a strange ballet, mesmerizing. "When you decided to quit the League, how did you do it? Did you just tell them no thanks, or what?"
He grimaced, slam ming a piece of the grip back into its position. "Why do you want to know?"
She shrugged, an image of the promoters running through her m ind and how they'd react if she told them to go roast their parts like she'd wanted to many times in the past.
"Curiosity. You still owe me four answers."
"Three," he corrected, before blowing down the barrel of his blaster.
Kiara gave him a sad smile. "Okay, three. So how did you leave?"
He set the blaster down on the table between them. He leaned back on her couch and appeared to stare straight at her. "I walked out of the assignment chambers one afternoon and never went back."
She frowned. For some reason, she hadn't imagined it would be that easy to leave the League. "Why?"
"They wanted me to kill a friend."
Shock rippled through her and she repeated her earlier question, "Why?"
He swallowed and looked away. "A false charge of treason had been leveled against him, and his government wanted him executed."
Kiara bit her lip, considering his words. "How do you know he was innocent? If a court found him guilty— "
"No court was involved," Nykyrian interrupted her. "For a large enough fee, the League will convict and execute anyone."
Her throat tightened in fear. "So the League doesn't really protect anyone."
"Only the fat politicians who run it."
Her stomach knotted at the thought. "Why doesn't someone stop them?"
Nykyrian shrugged like he found the whole matter boring. "Who knows?"
In a daze at her newfound knowledge, Kiara got out of her chair and headed to her room.
She paused at the hallway, looking back to where Nykyrian sat on her couch.
"Nykyrian?"
Kiara waited until he faced her. "When you left the League, did it feel good?"