Ouroboros 4: End Read Free Page B

her.
    Though he faced considerable Barbarian resistance, he managed to leave them far behind as he pushed deeper and deeper into the tunnels and closer and closer to Nida.
    Though now really wasn’t the time to ponder it, these tunnels were incredible. They just kept going. Twisting and curling like the tail of a coiled snake. You would round one corner to find yet another hallway stretching out beyond you, branching off into yet more and more tunnels.
    They just seemed to stretch on forever. And though the rational part of Carson’s mind knew that was impossible, the past few weeks of his life had taught him reason couldn’t always hold out. He’d been backwards and forwards through time, battling a race hell bent on saving themselves, and an entity from another dimension hell bent on fixing its mistakes of the past.
    Still, one day, if everything calmed down, maybe he’d like to explore these tunnels. That was the primary remit of the Academy after all—it trained soldiers, yes, but primarily explorers. He loved chancing upon new planets, new cultures, new forms of life.
    But there was no time for exploration now. In a few weeks, maybe. Now, however, there was only time for action.
    He kept his scanners locked on her, until finally he rounded the same corridor she was in, and let an enormous, rattling sigh punch through his chest. He wanted to scream her name, race to her side, and fold his arms around her. He wanted to pull her closer than he’d ever pulled anyone before.
    Because she was different.
    Cadet Nida Harper was so very different. And he loved her for it.
    This crazy adventure might have given him reason to abandon logic, but it had also given him something he had never expected to find.
    A different kind of love.
    Okay, he knew it sounded sappy, but he didn’t care.
    He felt something between them that he’d never even realized was possible. Maybe it was just the heightened tension and expectation of a relationship formed under pressure, or maybe it was more.
    Something he couldn’t define. Something his mind couldn’t simplify into words. Yet something he could feel with every gram of his being.
    So when he saw her standing there, he couldn’t help himself.
    He ran right up to her and pulled her into a hug.
    She let him.
    Though her face paled with shock at his sudden appearance, it soon softened.
    He couldn’t help but let out a relieved laugh. Though he really wanted to follow up on that relief by kissing her, he wasn’t going to risk taking off his helmet. Things appeared quiet in this tunnel, but a good soldier knew that appearance offered little safety.
    So he just pulled away, pushing his fingers across her cheeks as he did.
    She looked up at him, her eyes wide with focus, but that tired tinge to her skin obvious in the dark pool under her lashes and the pale touch to her cheeks. She looked as if she’d been fighting for a week.
    ‘What happened? What did you find out?’ she asked.
    He kept pushing his armored fingers and thumb across her cheek, watching her skin dimple with the move, but unable to feel it.
    ‘Coalition,’ he said simply.
    He watched her eyes draw narrow in confusion. ‘What?’
    ‘The cavalry are coming.’
     

Chapter 3
    Cadet Nida Harper
    The cavalry were coming?
    . . . .
    The Coalition?
    Maybe he saw the disbelief flickering in her gaze because in a slow, deliberate move he pointed a finger towards the ceiling. 'They are coming.'
    For a second she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t think anything.
    Then the emotions and thoughts flooded in all at once, and she took a shuddering step back.
    . . . .
    This was it.
    If Carson was right, and the cavalry really were coming, soon this episode of their adventure would be over.
    And the next would begin.
    Though she’d spent the last few days in preparation for this moment, now she wasn’t ready.
    She had no idea what the Coalition would do. She’d trashed the Academy med bay,