Free Warrior's Valor by Gun Brooke Page B

Emeron’s attitude. She wasn’t the only one who thought the SC Council could do no wrong. “Emeron, that’s a very naïve and shortsighted statement. Are you really that gullible?” She withdrew from Emeron and scowled. “And here you have the audacity to act as if I’m a misguided child.”
    Closing the small bag with angry gestures, Emeron tossed it into a corner and backed away from her. “You’re calling me naïve?” She sounded baffled and furious. “You go from planet to planet and cause trouble with your gang of do-gooders. You tie up an entire unit and keep us from doing our job.”
    â€œAs in ‘real work,’ catching bad guys and being decorated with flashy medals,” she hissed. She shivered, but refused to avert her eyes to try and find her sweater.
    â€œIf you didn’t have people like my team and me to catch ‘bad guys,’ you’d be in deep trouble and so would a lot of other people,” Emeron said slowly. She glowered at Dwyn. “Don’t you dare dismiss what I do for a living.”
    â€œWhy not? You dismissed me and the work I do before you even met me. Just listen to yourself.”
    Emeron stared at Dwyn, her eyes hard and her gold-speckled black irises burning like hot coals, with an amber glow simmering just beneath the surface. She looked ready to slice Dwyn into thin shreds, but then she faltered and refocused her dark eyes. “You’re shivering.”
    She blinked. The change of mood was dizzying. “It’s cold.” Unable to stop trembling, she rubbed her arms.
    â€œHold still,” Emeron said, feeling her forehead. “You look pale.” She let go of Dwyn and reached for the medical scanner, then ran it along the back of her head and down her spine. “You have something on your lungs. Weird. Looks like damaged tissue. How the hell did that happen?”
    â€œThe smoke from the bots I blasted was pretty thick.”
    â€œYou inhaled it?” Emeron stopped scanning. “And didn’t tell me?”
    â€œWhen should I have done that? We’ve been busy all day.” She pivoted where she sat and nudged the scanner in Emeron’s hand away from her. “Surely you noticed that I haven’t sat down until now?”
    â€œHave you eaten?”
    â€œYeah. One ration bar.”
    â€œDon’t bite my head off.” Emeron pulled a small chromed canister out of the med-kit bag. “Here.” She tapped a setting into it. “Inhale.”
    Dwyn raised her eyebrows, but inhaled the medication. It stung a bit, and she coughed, long deep coughs that shook her body. “Happy?” she managed after finally catching her breath.
    â€œFor now. You have to inhale more tomorrow. We don’t know what substances the burning components consisted of. My scanner isn’t that sophisticated.”
    Dwyn’s chest constricted at the thought of permanent lung damage. “But it doesn’t even hurt to breathe,” she said slowly.
    â€œThat’s a good sign. I’m sure you’ll be fine, but we better take precautions, just in case.”
    â€œAll right. Just in case.” She turned to crawl into her bedroll but felt a strong hand on her arm. She looked questioningly at Emeron.
    â€œTell me if you’re feeling worse.” It wasn’t a request.
    â€œI’m sure it—”
    â€œPromise me.”
    Dwyn suddenly lost her breath, and it had nothing to do with her lung damage. Emeron was hovering over her, half a head taller than her as they sat there. “I promise,” she said, willing her voice to sound steady.

Chapter Eight

    Emeron watched Dwyn climb into the bedroll. She was still pale, but a quick scan had proved the medication effective. Not a person to suffer from false pride, Emeron was truly grateful that Dwyn had saved her life during their encounter with the bots. Still, she experienced a strange feeling