MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
I whispered, the violet light in my eyes casting long, dancing shadows against the relay’s concrete base.
"Seal the perimeter," Nevan rasped, his eyes scanning the treeline with a habit of violence that his body could no longer fully support. "The recon team... they’re five minutes out. I can smell the ozone of their suits."
I helped him sit against the base of the main transmitter tower. He looked up at me, his face gaunt, his grey eyes searching mine for a trace of the woman he had found in Florence. I didn't see a restorer anymore. I saw a goddess of the network, a woman who was becoming the very thing she used to fear.