Her nerves from earlier came crawling back into her mind. She wasn’t curvy like Imara. What if he didn’t like the sight of her? What if he could tell she’d never done this before, and then he never wanted anything to do with her again?
Christian’s palm wandered up her side, and the moment his thumb brushed against her nipple, every muscle in her body tensed.
His hand moved to her shoulder in a second, and he lifted his lips off her skin. “You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m...not used to this.” Labeling herself the V-word sounded so stupid in her head.
What woman wants to admit they had never moved past a silly kiss because they were so screwed up in the head? Or that she was twenty years old and had never gone this far before?
Gemma took her hand off Christian’s arm to pull her uniform back over her shoulder, covering her bare breast. He put more room between them but kept a hand on her waist. With the other, he zipped up her jumpsuit. She couldn’t look him in the eye.
“It’s okay. We’ll move at your pace,” he said, his voice soft.
Gemma’s throat tightened.Have I ruined everything already?
“Hey.” He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “It’s all right. Seriously.”
Christian’s gaze was steady and comforting, and the small, understanding smile on his face made Gemma’s eyes burn all the more. Why did he have to be so bloody kind all the time?
He stepped back and slipped his hand into hers. “How about we finish watching the sun set, and we talk about whatever you like.”
Gemma smiled. “That sounds like a good plan.”
The nervousness in the simulation room the next morning was stifling. Neither Gemma nor any of her teammates had had much of an appetite during breakfast, and now, standing next to their sleep chambers, the air was electrified with anxiety.
The last trial had been much more difficult emotionally, mentally, and physically, and today’s trial was their final test. Given Rami’s reputation amongst the Dissent, this round would be brutal. Already, the sweat beaded on the back of Gemma’s neck.
“Your final test is ready,” their android instructor announced. “Please enter your chambers.”
Gemma took a deep breath and climbed inside. Her hands shook as she pressed the button that forced the prods of the machine into her deltoids. Closing her eyes, she focused on the rhythm of her heartbeat and tried to calm its banging inside her chest.
“Welcome back,” their guide said.
Gemma opened her eyes. Their optic wore a beautiful smile as always, though that didn’t make Gemma any less nervous.
“Congratulations on making it to your final test!” it continued. “You have proved yourselves to be amongst the best of this year’s contestants,and if you are successful in completing this very difficult round, we will be proud to welcome you to the Oranos Space Station.”
Gemma swallowed. She’d actually made it to the end. She was so close to completing her goal, to avenging her sister. All she had left to accomplish was making it through this last round and poisoning Rami’s drink, and then she could start her life over with Christian as her partner and Imara and Hawk as her friends.
The woman gave them final words of advice. “One of you will be carrying a map once you’re inside your simulated environment. This map is essential to the completion of your test. The rest is up to you to discover. Do note that, this time, onlyoneof you needs to complete the test for your whole team to pass.
“Good luck. It’s been a pleasure serving as your guide.”
Gemma held her breath as her world glowed, momentarily blinding her.
As the blaze began to dim, a cold breeze brushed past Gemma’s face, reeking of sulfur and feces. Perileos had never smelled pleasant, but the odor here surpassed the foulness of Perileos’ stench by one hundred percent. Covering her mouth and nose, she groaned into the palm of a sturdy, black glove.
She glanced down at herself. The uniform she now wore was the same as the armed guards she’d seen everywhere since she stepped foot in Zion. On her hip was a small gun, and there was a belt around her opposite thigh, holding a dagger.That will come in handy.
A thick strap accentuated the small cleavage between her breasts. Was something slung to her back?
Gemma reached behind her and felt the cool metal of what was, unmistakably, a rifle. Her mouth dried.Of course it is.
“Where in the blazes are we?” Imara blurted, reminding Gemma that she was not alone.
She finally took in her surroundings.
The five of them stood on a desolate street, its dilapidated buildings nothing more than hollow shells of what must’ve once been glorious. The windows were shattered, and the walls were littered with bullet holes and scorch marks. Some leaned precariously on the verge of collapse, while others lay as heaps of rubble, barely recognizable as nothing more than mounds of dirt, stone, and rusted metal. Strange symbols adorned the buildings, ones Gemma had never seen before.
