Page 21 of The Brightest Night

Gabe was…Gabe. Sweet and beautiful and…fuck…I was not falling for a mech angel.

“I need some air.”

Kai looked up at me. “You’re going to go looking for Gabe, aren’t you?”

I sighed. “Yeah. I am.”

“I’ll meet you back at the house then.”

We exited the gathering together and then parted ways. I stood in the snow, hands on hips. Where would a mech angel go if he wanted to be alone?

“Nova?” Dareth walked toward me, Charise on his arm. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. You?”

“We just finished prepping your supplies. Gabriel is going over them now.”

“Oh, he is? Where are they? The supplies?”

“The mech shed.” He pointed back the way they’d come, between two houses. “That way. You can’t miss it. It’s a huge building with storage units coming off it.”

“Thank you.” I hurried past them. I had an apology to deliver.

The mech shed was huge, probably the largest building in this settlement. It was more of a stone storage building, no doors, just four huge cabin-like rooms, two of which were presently occupied by giant mechs like the one that had greeted us at the gate. Both were crouching, offline right now. Moonlight glinted off their scratched metal frames, highlighting rusty spots. These machines were old.

I passed them, searching the gloom of the vacant cabin for signs of Gabe. Well, not vacant; it was filled with machine parts, old crates, and tools. Several crawlers like the one Dareth had been riding hugged the wall, the weak light flickering somewhere in the back casting them into shadows and turning the ones farther back into bulky eerie beasts.

I hurried along to the final space, slowing at the sight of a large vehicle that reminded me of the battle cruisers used on rough terrain in Gateway. The wheels were bound by thick belts that distributed the vehicles’ weight, perfect for traveling on snow. And it could easily hold four or five people. My pulse quickened as I got closer. Would it be wrong to peek inside?

“Nova?”

Gabe rounded the side of the ride, his brow pinched. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find you.”

He sighed. “Well, you found me.”

Apologies didn’t come easily to me. Probably because I was rarely wrong, but this one was needed. Still, the words stuck in my throat, a tangle of emotions wrapped around them.

“You like our new home for the next few days?” Gabe patted the vehicle.

“That’s ours?”

“A loan. They want us to bring it back once we’re done, but yes.”

“Why would they loan us something so valuable?”

“I guess they believe in this prophecy enough to do whatever it takes to get you safely to the Primus Malefica.”

Yep, this prophecy was working out well for us. “Have you looked inside?”

He nodded. “You want to see?”

I gave him an incredulous look. “Um…yes.”

He grinned, and my stomach fluttered.

“This way…” He ducked around the cab, and I followed. There was a round door on the other side, more of a hatch than anything else. He hauled it open and ushered me up a step and into the dimly lit interior.