Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Kann
I plucked another handful of berries and held out my open hand to Britta. “Still hungry?”
She eagerly plucked several of the juicy berries that were staining my skin purple with their juice. “I might have to eat an entire bush worth of these to be full.”
I shifted on the ground, the rock beneath me hard and cold. I did not know if there was a bush’s worth of berries for us to share or if we would be staying long enough to need them. My initial hope—that we would be rescued as soon as we were discovered—did not seem to be coming to fruition. I did not want to think too much about why, but it could not be good.
What I did know was that I had to keep Britta safe and distracted. The last thing I wanted was for her to think too hard about why we remained in the simulation, especially because she knew even better than I did all the many ways the technology could fail.
“Once we are sure the hunting party has abandoned their search of this area, I can go out and look for more food.”
Britta shook her head. “It’s too risky. Besides, I don’t think we should split up.”
I grinned at her even though I could only see shadows of her face in the dim light of the cavern. “I am a Blade and served with Inferno Force. Foraging for food is not one of the riskiest things I have done.”
She finished chewing a berry and wiped at some errant juice trickling down her chin. “Maybe not.”
I detected a quiver in her voice. “But if you wish me to stay, I will.”
She exhaled and then flicked her gaze to me. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?”
I shook my head and reached for her hand, covering it with my larger one. “This has not been the easiest couple of days.”
She focused on our hands as she nibbled the corner of her bottom lip. “I guess I’m used to being able to figure things out and fix them, but I can’t fix this. It’s hard to wait and worry.”
I inhaled the cool, loamy air. So much for keeping her too distracted to think about the reality of our situation. “I understand. Blades are not good at waiting.”
She choked back a laugh as she met my eyes. “I guess you wouldn’t be.” Then her expression twisted. “I’m really sorry for getting you into this.”
I closed my hand tighter over hers. “You? I am the one who persuaded you to enter the program with me. If anyone should be apologizing, it is me.”
She shook her head. “But I was the one working on the program. If it’s malfunctioning, it’s clearly my fault.”
“I suspect whatever is happening has more to do with that power surge than any fault of yours.”
She dropped her gaze again. “I hate being stuck in here not knowing what’s going on or how they’re trying to get us out or fix the program.”
I scooted closer to Britta, shifting my hand from her hands to curl it around her shoulder. “I am certain that everyone is working hard to get us out. Zav knows more than either of us about the simulation. If anyone can fix this, it is him.”
Britta made a strangled sound in the back of her throat.
“What?” I asked.
“The whole Zav thing,” she said keeping her head bent, “was a huge mistake.”
My heart tripped in my chest. I had made my peace with her feelings toward the Taori. At least, I had tried to. But what did she think was a mistake—flirting with him or getting my help with it?
I did not trust myself to speak so I remained quiet, hoping she would fill the void. When she didn’t say anything, I steadied my voice. “What was a mistake?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking about any of it,” the words tumbled from her lips as she kept her gaze fixed on the ground. “I made a fool of myself trying to get his attention, and I wasted your time.”
“I did not think it was a waste—”
She twisted to face me. “Come on, you can tell me the truth. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
We were friends, but a part of me wished we were more than that. “Well, yes—”
“Then as my friend, you have to be honest with me. I was never going to be able to attract Zav. You saw how bad I was at flirting. I couldn’t even toss my hair without practically yanking the horns from his head.”
“You might have had a rough start…”
She raked a hand through her hair. “It’s so embarrassing to think of how I made a huge idiot of myself in front of him and you.”
I held up a finger. “You only made a small idiot of yourself in front of me, but that is probably because I do not have horns.”
She gave me a playful shove with one elbow. “Thanks a lot.”
I hated how much I loved laughing with her and even being poked by her. It was like being with a friend who made me feel all fizzy inside. But then I reminded myself that she did not feel that way about me. To her, I was just a friend.
Zav was the one who made her flustered. He was the one she had wanted to impress. He was the one she regretted embarrassing herself with. Not me. Him.
“When we get out, you can try again,” I suggested, even though it pained me. “It is not too late.”
“Oh yes, it is.” All the levity drained from her voice. “That’s what I meant when I said it was a mistake. I realize now that my crush on Zav was just that—a crush. I don’t actually want him.”
My throat constricted even as my heart leapt. “You don’t?”
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s great. He’s hot, smart, kind. I can’t think of a reason why I shouldn’t want him, but I don’t. Not anymore. I don’t know if I ever really did or if it was an infatuation because he was new.”
I understood the fascination and excitement around something new. I’d spent most of my life bouncing from one exciting new female to another.
“I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” she said. “And for barging into your quarters and blaming you for it going wrong.”
I couldn’t help grinning, even though Britta losing interest in Zav did not do a thing for me. She still thought of me as her friend. Even so, my chest swelled, and my grin widened. “You have no need to apologize. I enjoyed teaching you.”
She gave a soft laugh. “Even if I was a horrible student.”
“I doubt you have ever been a bad student a day in your life. Zav was just the wrong person, which is why it didn’t work.”
Britta tipped her face to me. “The wrong person? Does that mean you think I’d be good with the right person?”
I lost the ability to speak as she held my gaze. What had she asked me? Was I supposed to be talking now?
Grekking hell. I did not know what was happening, so I did what instinct told me to do and crushed my lips to hers.
The instant our mouths met, I sank into her, moaning as I let myself get lost in the kiss. She moved her lips hungrily against mine, returning my moan with an urgent one of her own. My entire body shuddered, the ground beneath me trembling, and then she tore her lips from mine.
“Kann?”
I blinked at Britta as the ground shook again, and the entire simulation flickered, the walls of the cavern vanishing for a moment. My stomach dropped and the euphoric sensation evaporated as if I’d been doused with freezing water. If the simulation disappeared, I should have seen the holographic panels of the chamber, but I hadn’t. I had seen blackness.
Was the program fracturing? Were we in danger of flickering out of existence too?