Virtue of War by L. O. Addison

Author:L. O. Addison [Addison, L. O.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elder Tree Press
Published: 2019-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

25

Lio

Lio woke to a sharp knock at his door. He opened his eyes and glanced around, searching for Marin. She was already standing from her bed on the opposite side of the room, moving toward the door. Lio rubbed a hand across his face, trying to brush away his exhaustion, and sat up.

“Stay here,” Marin said, moving toward the adjoining room and the main entrance to their quarters. Her hand drifted down to touch the pistol at her waist. “I’ll get the door.”

Lio obeyed, sitting on the edge of his bed and reaching for his shirt on the nightstand. A sudden spike of warmth brushed against his chest. He jumped in surprise and looked down at the Fragment hanging from his necklace.

Nothing about it appeared different—it looked like it always did, just a gleaming rectangle of metal attached to a slim silver chain. But then he saw a pulse of light run through its pale blue veins, and another surge of warmth heated his skin.

He stared down at it in shock. That shouldn’t happen, not unless he’d purposely activated the Fragment, or unless he was standing close to a Virtue. He reached up to touch the pendant, and the metal was hot against his skin, almost to the point of being painful.

Something was near. Something connected to the Fragment.

He felt a tugging in his gut, urging him to move closer to the door and whatever the Fragment was sensing out there. Lio planted his feet firmly on the floor, trying to ground himself and shake off the bizarre, otherworldly feeling.

The sensation in his gut seemed to fade, but Lio trembled slightly as he picked up his shirt and shrugged it on. He knew there were strange consequences for using the Fragment—he’d been warned of that his entire life. But no one seemed to know exactly what those consequences were, and it made his skin prickle with unease.

He heard the door slide open in the other room, and then Beck's deep voice said, "Sorry to wake you, Marin, but we need to talk with the ambassador."

Lio stood from the bed and took a deep breath, trying to ease the panic seeping into his mind. He padded into the adjoining room, finding Beck, Kaylin, and Matteo all standing in the doorway.

“Good morning,” Lio said, nodding a greeting.

Marin took a step closer to him, her hand still resting on her pistol. “Evening,” she corrected, her voice low with exhaustion. “We’re still hours away from morning.” She gestured at the three humans. “The Ambassador needs his sleep. You’re welcome to speak with him for a minute, but no longer.”

Lio held up a hand, silencing his bodyguard. These three were about to sacrifice their lives. The least he could do was sacrifice his sleep and talk with them.

“Thank you, Marin, but if they have something urgent to speak about, they’re welcome to take as long as they’d like,” Lio said.

Kaylin stepped in front of him, her arms crossed and her lips pursed in a frown. Once again, Lio found himself surprised that he had to stare down to meet her eyes.

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