Chapter 92: For Luck

  “You can't fight him,” Chloe said.

  Rudy glanced over his shoulder. Chloe was close enough, she had to feel the pull of his power on hers – especially with her hand outstretched. It would be so easy to reach out, take her in his arms and tell her it would be all right.

  Just like it would have been so easy to be with her in the cramped elevator-construct that took her, her mom and Marcel Avalon to see her dad.

  But he hadn't done that, and he wouldn't hold her now.

  He hated to admit it, but Chloe might still need her powers – and her erinyes.

  Instead, he kept walking. “You said I couldn't beat Stephan, either.”

  “This is different,” Chloe said. “My dad and Admiral Avalon agree. Even if you take his powers out of the equation, Errard Zelph is just too dangerous, Rudy.”

  “So what do your dad and Admiral Avalon suggest?”

  Chloe took a moment to answer. He knew she had to gather herself before she could say what he knew she would. “You, me and Mom – and Mili, she'd need to come, too – run away. We get on the Errant Magpie and we find somewhere safe.”

  “Sounds like he's protecting you,” Rudy said.

  “He...” She heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah.”

  Rudy stopped and turned. “I'm not.”

  Chloe cocked her head. “How can you possibly say that?”

  “You know how many seconds it took me to win the first round?” Rudy asked. He knew she did. She'd probably been counting them on her suit's chronometer, expecting a drawn-out and dangerous battle.

  “Seventeen,” Chloe said quietly. “Winning your first fight took you seventeen seconds.”

  Rudy nodded. “You know what the shortest match in Etemenos Cup history was?”

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  “Seventeen seconds?”

  “Yeah.” Rudy crossed his arms over his chest. “I've already set one record, Clo. I'm not going to run away now.”

  “You actually care about this stupid tournament? After everything that's happened?”

  “This 'stupid tournament,'” Rudy said, “was the most important thing in my life for probably ten years. It's not anymore, Clo – but after you, it's sure as hell still second. I can win this. I can beat Zelph. I can beat Marcel. And I can make the Senate let your dad go, whether he thinks so or not.”

  “If you're wrong...”

  “Then we find out now, in an environment where there's at least a slim chance an Animus Hunter won't just rip my throat out for getting in his way,” Rudy said. Principle, he wanted to touch her! He knew he could make her understand if he could lift her gaze to his. He knew he could make her believe if he looked into her eyes as he kissed her.

  He knew she couldn't allow it, and he agreed.

  Dammit.

  “He'll kill you if he wins, Rudy,” Chloe said.

  “And he'll kill us both if we run away now and he comes after us with ten or twenty or thirty of his buddies,” Rudy said. “If we run away from this, forget about saving your dad – think about us. You, me, your mom, Mili? We'd spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders because we'd know, know that if one of those beetle-armored bastards came after us, we'd have to keep on running.”

  Chloe lowered her eyes.

  “Is that how you want to live, Chloe?” Rudy asked. He hesitated, but not for long. About time the spacer outlook worked in his favor for once. “Is that how you want to – to raise a family?”

  “If we ran away,” Chloe said, “we couldn't have a family. Not you and I.”

  Rudy nodded. “You'd still need your powers.”

  “Yeah.” Chloe swallowed, hard. She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at her outstretched fingers.

  “Rudy...” She met his eyes. “You really think you can win?”

  “I've reviewed what little footage I could get of Zelph's fights,” Rudy said. “And yeah, I do. I'm as good a fighter as he is. I can surprise him when he tries to use his powers. And mine are stronger now. The field is big enough, if he hits me dead-center with something, it won't work and I'll get stronger to boot.”

  Chloe pressed her palms together. Licked her lips. “I trust you, Rudy. If you say you'll win, and you'll be careful, I believe you.”

  “I will,” he said.

  Suddenly, she darted forward and, before he realized what was happening, planted a swift, soft kiss on his cheek. She was already dancing out of reach before reflex action closed his arms around where she would have been.

  Principle! He reached up and brushed his fingers over his cheek. He grinned like an idiot. “What was that for?”

  “For luck,” Chloe whispered, eyes twinkling. “And for a little wider radius on that power of yours.”