Shattered (Sequel to Shadowfax)

Until We Meet Again

           

Rika scratched a nail against the wall of her prison, tracing one of many tally marks etched into the wall by some long-forgotten inmate. It seemed a little overkill. The Wakandans probably left it as a scare tactic for new prisoners. Rika allowed her nail to slip off the wall, loosing a breathy sigh as she anticipated the arrival of her dinner tray.

              Rika had made a game out of baiting her guards, trying to get a rise out of the stoic warriors. She had yet to see the barest twitch of an eyebrow, even when she had lunged through the meal slot with a carefully concealed butter knife—quickly confiscated, of course.

              Her head lifted slowly as uneven, light footsteps approached from the hallway. Unusual, as she almost never heard the guards until they were in the room with her. She watched the door with mounting curiosity, gasping softly as the gaunt form of the technopath greeted her with a cool expression. Close behind him was the super-soldier, who leaned against the wall and fixed a penetrating glare on her.

              The technopath—limping slightly, Rika noticed—was holding a meal package. Never breaking eye contact, he opened the small panel in the door and dropped it through. Rika choked slightly, shaken and furious. The corners of Nutsy's mouth curled upwards with smug satisfaction.

              "Bon appetite, bitch."

...

              Jax laughed again as the memory of Rika's jaw-drop on the monitor screen flitted across his vision. Beside him, Sphinx tilted her head and twisted to lean over her boyfriend, bracing an arm on either side of his head.

              "What?"

              Jax looked up into her face, reaching up to brush strands of chestnut from her eyes. She grabbed his hand, interlacing her warm brown fingers with his chilly ones. Jax was struck, suddenly as the sunlight caught her hair and he was caught in the brilliance of her smile.

              "What?" she repeated, if not a bit nervously.

              Jax gave himself a mental shake. "Nothing. I just noticed you have something left in your teeth from breakfast."

              Sphinx pulled back sharply, covering her mouth. "What? Where?"

              Jax started laughing, and she smacked his arm reproachfully. "Jax Tarrow, you are the absolute worst."

              "Ye love me," he replied with a sly grin. Bringing his arm up, he swiftly pulled her onto his chest and into a kiss. Jax sighed against her lips as her scent enveloped him—coco and cinnamon. After a minute, Sphinx pulled back and he whined a soft protest before noticing her clouded expression.

              He rolled over, propping himself up on his elbow. "Hey, you okay?"

              She nodded. "Yeah, it's just—what if she goes with him?"

              It took Jax a moment to deduce the 'she' and 'him' to whom Sphinx was referring. Then the little lightbulb in his head went off and he sat up before pulling his girlfriend into his arms.

              "Honestly?" he breathed. "I don't know. I mean, Jade's an adult, and she should be able to make her own choices. But at the same time, I really don't want her waltzing off with the guy that bloody broke New York. I almost snapped his neck when they went to the opposite side of the jungle together, let alone the other side of the damn universe.

              "But then I see the way she smiles when she thinks we're not looking, and I realize how happy Loki makes her and there's this part of me that just wants her to keep smiling. And I know she'll think she's betraying us by going—we're all the family she's got. Still, I think it's about time she gets to exhale, and do something for herself for once."