Chapter 4 #2
Just as I’ve retrieved my tool kit and am ready to begin, I notice that Caius has pulled a thick water flask from his pack. But when he unscrews the cap, I am hit with the bitter notes of the sweetest drink in The Below.
“Coffee.” I nearly moan the word as I eye his flask.
A cocky grin quirks his lips, and he takes a long sip. His eyes fall closed to savor the flavor and watching him right now feels like torture. He lowers the flask, his eyes locked on mine as he screws the cap back on.
“Hey, Captain.” This time, I say the title with as much respect as I can muster for Caius. “You wouldn’t mind sharing some of that coffee now, would you?” I give him a sincere smile, or as close as I can manage; it is still Caius Amarala after all. My cheek twitches with the effort.
Caius cants his head to the side and smiles back at me before pulling a second flask from his bag and tossing it over.
I’m surprised I managed to catch the thing, given that I’m in shock. Was Caius actually capable of kindness? My smile stretches wider as I unscrew the cap and take a gulp, praying for notes of toffee and cocoa, craving its promise of caffeine—
I spit a mouthful out in a spray of mist as I realize what he actually handed over. “Water?” I give him a glare that could burn flesh from bone, and the bastard has the audacity to laugh!
“Yes, Master Tinkerer. Water. Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll bring you coffee tomorrow.”
“Eww!”
“What? You don’t like water?” The grin on his face is far from innocent.
“You know what you said,” I bite back.
He cocks a dark brow. “Master Tinkerer?”
I roll my eyes. “About that, if we are going to be stuck together for a rotation, then you can just call me Liv.” Only my mother and Dom still call me Ollie.
I don’t need any reminders of my shared past with Caius.
Still, it feels strange, extending this invitation.
But it’s more for my own sanity than anything else.
I can’t stand the thought of responding to that title for a full shift, let alone a full rotation.
The grin falls from his face. “No, I don’t think I will.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Please, if you continue to call me Master Tinkerer, I may snap and bludgeon you to death with this wrench.” I heft a tool the size of my arm out of my bag and brandish it at him.
He smiles and wraps his long fingers around the handle, grasping it just above my hand as he leans close. “I would like to see you try, Oliviana.”
My shoulders, which had crept up to my ears, relax, and he gives me a look before releasing the wrench and leaning against the wall where I’ve laid out my tools. I guess that means we’re done talking, and it’s time to get to work…with no coffee.
I lie on my back, half inside the hub housing, the cold from the stone seeping into my bones and stiffening my already aching ribs.
I force out a breath and focus on the stonework.
The glow from my lamp is dim, making it hard to discern the intricate junctions between sections.
The sky stones of my necklace warm pleasantly at my throat.
Heat builds in my hands, begging to be used.
My stomach twists into knots. Caius doesn’t break the rules.
If he knew I had the same magic as my father, he wouldn’t hesitate to send me to meet the same fate.
And yet…I crank my head trying to get a glimpse of my sentry, which means if I can’t see him, he can’t see me either.
Placing my palms against the stone, I let the heat leach out of my skin, sinking into the aqua structure, tender pea shoots searching, questing, reporting back what they find until I am certain the only issue here is a loose gasket placed by a lazy tinkerer during maintenance.
I reach out to where my tools are neatly arranged against the wall, all within reach except…
“Hey, can you grab that for me?” I scoot out just enough to see Caius and point at a pair of pliers beside my bag.
He is standing with his hands propped over the hilt of his sword, his shoulders square and feet planted, his gaze sweeping the cavern as if he is on guard.
“Hey!” I snap my fingers repeatedly to get his attention.
“You summoned?” he deadpans.
“You know, if you help me, we can finish this faster.”
The expression on his face gives me hope that he is weighing his options and will come to the only logical conclusion. Helping me means he will be rid of me sooner.
“No, I don’t think I will.” He begins his visual inspection of the surrounding cavern once again.
Heat builds in my cheeks as I shimmy out from the central housing, the twisting motion sending a wave of pain through my ribs. I clench my teeth to hide the grimace and snatch my pliers and another iron lamp filled with glow moss.
“The fastest way to be rid of me is if you would just help,” I mutter as I slide back under the housing, giving Caius one last glare. And then his guard falls, just a crack…is he worried? I’m too mad to care. Let him worry out there while I check every damn centimeter of my father’s work, alone.