But before I could make any more lame excuses, footsteps shifted inside the bedroom. I shot Bo another panicked look, and he didn’t hesitate, darting behind the toilet and yanking theflush with exaggerated force. But he didn’t stop there as he also threw open the shower door and started yanking at the fixtures. The sound of pounding water soon filled the space and managed to, hopefully, provide the excuse as to why I wasn’t responding to whoever was at the door.
Then we waited as we heard footsteps move across the bedroom floor. There was a slight pause before it was clear they were retreating. The faint click of the outer door closing carried through the walls, and only then did I let myself breathe properly.
Bo exhaled too, though his outline flickered faintly as the steam thickened again.
“See?” he muttered.
“An invisible cage.”I leaned back against the counter, tension still thrumming beneath my skin.
“Fine, I get it, okay?” I snapped before then asking,
“Just how long do you expect me to stay here then?”
He released a sigh, as if now comforted by the fact that I believed him.
“Not long, because I found it.”
My head snapped up at this.
“The relic?”
He nodded, but when his jaw tightened, I frowned and asked,
“What is it?”
Once again, he rubbed his head in frustration and admitted,
“There is a slight problem.”
“Which is?” I asked, bracing myself for the complication.
“He has it. It’s here. I just need to work out how to get to it without losing my head in the process.”
My stomach dropped, and my whole body tensed.
“Come again?” I asked, shaking my head a little as if that would help when, in reality, nothing would.
“Oblivion has the relic.” I closed my eyes and let my head fall back. The weight of it all settled at once as the truth finally caught up with me, and I understood just how much more complicated this had become.
“Fuck…fuck, Bo.”
He tossed up his hands in defense, telling me,
“I know, I know… It’s not ideal.”
“Ideal?! It’s fucked, that’s what it is, as there is no way we can possibly…”
He cut me off quickly and said,
“I have a plan, okay? Just be at the ready to act fast when I need you to. So just don’t get comfortable here,” he warned, softer now but no less serious.
“Whatever this feels like, it’s still a prison. Just a prettier one… don’t forget that, Girly.Hell’s judge cannot be trusted.”
I swallowed hard at that and nodded, hating that he was right.
I couldn’t trust him, no matter how much I secretly wanted to.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he assured me, and I nodded weakly, something Bo took for another reason.
