“Most people are.”
“Does that make me dumb?” I asked, faking an offended tone.
“It makes you special,” she teased, squeezing my hand and taking the lead, because I was definitely floundering all of a sudden. So many hallways. Barely any light. Plus, my legs were sore, so I kept trying to avoid stairs. Which was stupid, because we needed to goup.
Eventually, the pain in my chest began to lighten, and my body seemed to naturally turn in the direction of the Abcurses, intent on delivering me straight to them. They would have loved that. I needed to make sure they never found out. I had planned on reaching the room and planting myself outside, sticking my ear to a wall or notching the door open just enough to hear things clearly. I had hoped that both the godsandthe Abcurses would decide to utilise their apparently private moment to spill all of their secrets, and that those secrets wouldn’t be harmful to me in any way, shape, or form.
Willa Knight’s involvement in all of this is just a random accident.Yeah, that’s what they were going to say. Wait, no.Who is Willa Knight?That was better. They wouldn’t even know my name.That dweller we made you fight? You’re crazy. That sign was supposed to say Willis Ninny. Silly Abcurses.
I was so happy about what I was expecting to hear, that I barely even noticed the door in front of me opening. I stopped when I caught sight of Aros, who exited the room followed by Yael, Siret, Coen, and then Rome. They all lined up, facing me, and Rome shut the door firmly behind him, not admitting any more people into the hallway.
“Oh hey.” I scuffed my shoe against the carpet. “Fancy seeing you guys here. You all done with the secret meeting?”
“We heard you,” Yael announced, flicking his eyes to Emmy for a moment, before returning them to me. Oh, right. They heard my thoughts.Ohshit.Why didn’t I think of that?
“You’re still doing it,” Aros added, walking over to me, grabbing me by the hips and swinging me over his shoulder. “Bye, dweller.”
He strode past Emmy, and the guys started to follow. I pulled my head up, giving Emmy a hopeless look. She waved me away, obviously aware that I couldn’t physically separate myself from them, even if I had wanted to, but there was still a kind of despair written all over her face as she watched me being carried away. I thought about what I would have done in her position, and cringed a little bit. I would have been kicking some sol ass. Attempting. I would have beenattemptingto kick some sol ass. Maybe she was thinking that this was out of her hands now, thatIwas out of her hands now. That she couldn’t protect me anymore. Maybe in time, she would be thanking the Abcurses. Probably around the same time as the Abcurses started begging her to take me back under her wing. I was a pain-in-the-ass to look after, and Emmy had big things ahead of her. She had a glamourous dweller career, and an honourable future.
I didn’t have any of that.
I had … well … shit. I was probably going to be a Jeffrey, but I didn’t want to dwell on that. Not right now. Not when Aros’s hand was splayed over the back of my thigh, because if there was anyone who had the power to distract you from unpleasant thoughts, it was the golden, seduction-gifted sol.
“I can walk,” I told him, tapping on his back.
He pulled me back, but his arm tightened across my back before my feet could hit the ground. “Sure you can,” he muttered, his golden eyes falling over my face. “You okay?”
“Sure I am.” I grinned. “I got to fight Pain-Master-One, and I’m pretty sure I almost won. I totally almost won.”
“Not even close.” He laughed. “But I’d give you a participation award, minus a few points for the ball-shot. That was a little unfair, don’t you think?”
“Nah.” I looped my arms around Aros’s neck, cuddling closer and notching my chin against his shoulder.
I really wanted to wrap my legs around him again, but I supposed I had learnt at least half of a lesson last time. I didn’t think they realised how awkward it was for me to justhanglike that, with my legs dangling. The others were still walking behind Aros, so I was able to cast my eyes over them now. None of them looked hurt. Or happy. Or angry. Or any emotion really.
“Why did they call you up to the god-box?” I finally asked, my eyes coming to a rest on Coen. I figured he owed me more than the others, on account of making me pass out and everything.
“They didn’t,” Coen grunted. “We called ourselves up.”
“Oh. What for?”
“To find out why the hell they made me fight a dweller.”
“And?”
“Do all dwellers ask this many questions?” Rome muttered.
“And?” I pressed.
“And it was Rau,” Yael answered, sounding bored. “Trying to mess with Coen. Nothing serious. Nothing to worry about.”
“Except that every sol at the academy is going to hate you now,” Siret added.
“Why?” I groaned. It wasn’t actually a question. More like a lament. Why did this shit have to happen to me?
“You can stop asking questions now,” Rome grumbled. “My head hurts and I feel like breaking something.”
“A little questioning never hurt anybody,” I protested half-heartedly. I didn’t actually want to fight with Rome, but there was a stubborn switch inside my mind that seemed to be stuck in theonposition.
