Chapter 45 - Kiera
KIERA
A hand clamped down on my mouth before I could draw a breath to scream. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.
My captor dragged me back into the shadows kicking, screaming, and gnashing my teeth with all the force I could muster. My eyes darted around the long tunnel — why the fuck had I ventured so far down this stupid tunnel? — and I knew there wasn’t a chance anyone would hear me.
Their body was warm against my back and solid despite the flurry of kicks I’d lodged against their shins. I searched for anything I could use to defend myself, but I came up blank.
This is it. This dark, dingy tunnel is going to be the last thing I see before I die.
I’d known that coming here was a bad idea. I should have run far from the mansion the first chance I got. And now, I was going to pay the price for my curiosity.
But then a vibration rumbled through my chest. A familiar laugh.
…Spencer?
The second her grip over my mouth loosened, I wheeled around to shove her. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”
She let herself thud back against the wall with a shit-eating grin, hands held up in the air. “Sorry, Bunny. You’re just so cute when you’re spooked.”
I slammed the heel of my palm against her shoulder. “Don’t ‘Bunny’ me. That was seriously fucked up. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I know, I know. I didn’t mean to get you that bad.
” She reached forward, slipping her fingers into my jacket pockets to pull me closer.
“I saw you slip off from the group and came to see if you were okay. And then I saw you slink down the hall, and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to get you alone. Forgive a stupid lesbian?”
She tilted her head down and gave a playful pout that told me she didn’t feel sorry at all. In fact, there was not a doubt in my mind that she would do the same thing over and over again if it ended like this: with me pressed close, hearing out her plea.
“Fine. But only because you admitted you’re stupid.” I huffed, giving her another shove.
“My generous goddess. How can I ever repay you?” She broke out into a megawatt grin that had me questioning how I’d ever been mad at her in the first place.
God, that smile is seriously dangerous. Making a mental note to have all future arguments via phone call.
Shaking my head, I flicked my gaze back to the end of the tunnel. “Get me the fuck out of here, for starters. It’s creepy as fuck down here, and I’ve had enough scares for one night.”
“No kidding. Just be glad the scare came from me. It’s not smart to wander around on your own.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What exactly does that mean?”
Spencer’s voice dropped an octave as she leaned to whisper in my ear. “It means that I’m not the worst monster waiting around in the dark for you.”
A chill ran down my spine at the insinuation. Maybe I hadn’t been wrong to be suspicious of what I’d seen here, but did that mean I was ready to handle whatever I walked into blindly?
Dropping her hand to intertwine with mine, Spencer broke my smirk with a boyish grin. “Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.”
Before I could say another word, she led me across the tunnel to the gold-washed door I’d been eyeing. Holding open the rusted metal door with one hand, she guided me through with the other to a narrow hallway with a short set of cement steps at the end of it.
We just fit side by side, but if Spencer wasn’t going to say anything about the squeeze, I wouldn’t either. “Where are we going?”
“To the best view in Valemont. Consider it my apology for scaring the shit out of you.”
“You’re not getting off that easy.”
“Wait until you see it to decide.” She smirked, taking the stairs in a single leap before reaching back to lift me up them. Setting me down in front of a final metal door at the top of the stairs, she drummed her free hand dramatically against the doorframe. “Are you ready?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her goofy antics. “Oh, I was born ready.”
Satisfied, she swung the door open to what might be the best view I’d seen anywhere: a dazzling view of the night stars, so sweeping that from my low vantage, it swallowed the landscape entirely.
A cool night breeze swept the hall as I stepped up the last stair, and it almost felt like I was stepping straight into the sky.
Past the doorway, cement and metal gave way to a grassy, windswept hill.
A few trees were scattered around the clearing, but the hilly terrain wasn’t conducive to the dense canopy I’d seen in other places around Valemont.
In the distance, I could hear the faintest drone of The Hollow’s music, but it was easily drowned out by the cool night wind.
“Well?” Spencer wiggled an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
I couldn’t hide the grin from my face. “It’s a start.”
“A start?” She grabbed my shoulders from behind with a playful shake. “You drive a hard bargain, Bunny. Lucky thing I like a challenge. Come.” She gestured for me to hop on her back.
“It’s okay, I can walk.” I laughed.
But she just patted her shoulders again. “I was being serious about the shoes. We’re not getting those things muddy. Come on.”
Shaking my head, I took a running start before hopping up on her back, letting her do the hard work of adjusting her grip under my thighs. “You sure this is okay?”
But she simply nodded, plodding on through the tall grass. “I’ve got you.”
Riding on her back was nearly as exhilarating as riding on her bike. She took off across the clearing at a sprint, making my heart drop to my stomach.
“Spencer!” I clung tight to her shoulders, though her iron grip under my thighs left me with no questions about whether she’d drop me.
“Almost there!” She picked up speed, spinning and whirling as we went.
By the time we reached the small rocky outcropping she’d had in mind, my heart was racing. “Are you kidding me?” I laughed, “This is like, fifty feet from where we started. Half of that was just spins. You did not need to carry me.”
“I know.” She smirked, kneeling until my feet met the ground. “I just like to.”
“That’s goofy.” I blushed as I released my grip on her.
“I’ll be goofy for you anytime. I’d do anything to see you smile.” As she stood up straight, her dark eyes glimmered, a near match for the starry sky behind her. Despite the chill in the air, I could feel my cheeks heating under her gaze until, mercifully, she turned her eyes forward.
“Okay, watch your step. It’s a steep drop past the edge, and I don’t want you to find out the hard way.” She led the way toward the edge of a large stone that jutted out over a valley. I kept my eyes down on the rock’s jagged texture, nervous that if I misplaced a single step, I’d fall.
Spencer wasn’t joking about the view. Even the rock was pretty.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen something quite like it: its sparkley, speckled surface looked like it had been carved in tiny rivulets by some divine force.
At some spots, it kind of looked like a miniature mountain range, and in others, it was almost the shape of gnarled tree roots.
Pretty to look at, fucking difficult to traverse.
While I was inching along, Spencer picked over the rock as deftly as a mountain goat. “It’s so cool, right? Apparently, it got left here by a glacier like a billion years ago. That’s why all the lines point out this way.”
“That’s cool.” I muttered, glad that if I died trying to look at some rock Spencer liked, at least it was a cool rock.
Clearly, Spencer could sense my nerves. She picked her way back over to me before offering me a hand. Her arm was sturdy as I braced myself against her.
Once we reached the edge, she helped me take a seat a few feet from the ledge. I leaned forward to get a look down, and my stomach dropped. “Fuck, we’re high up.”
“Told ya.” My heart leapt into my chest as Spencer plopped down at the very edge of the outcropping, dangling her feet over the edge. “Spencer, you have to be more careful than that.”
“It’s okay, I’ve been out here a million times.” As she kicked her feet back and forth, that devilish grin curved her lips again. “Didn’t take you for such a scaredy cat.”
“I’m not a scaredy cat!” I huffed. Determined to prove it to her, I scooted an inch forward, and then another and another until I was sitting beside her, legs firmly crossed beneath me. “See?”
Spencer laughed. “What I see is that you’re shaking like a leaf.”
“I’m just cold.” I lied, gripping Leo’s jacket tighter around my neck to steady my hands.
“Uh-huh. Because I’m sure Leo’s jacket is real fucking flimsy. Let me warm you up.” Draping an arm around my shoulders, she pulled me tighter against her side.
And to my surprise, I leaned into the touch. I couldn’t help but be grateful to have something grounding to hold onto as we dangled over certain death.
“Better?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Mhm.” I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” She smiled, letting her gaze drift back to the valley in front of us.
As terrified as I was, it really was quite beautiful.
The starry night sky stretched out to kiss the mountains at the horizon, their jagged edges meeting like a puzzle-perfect embrace.
The stars above shined bright, mirroring the warm glow from the houses in the valley.
Hundreds of feet separated us from the trees and fields and the tiny little houses down below.
Entire lives were playing out at our feet, unaware of the cosmic giants watching them from atop our rocky perch.
Spencer swung her feet out in front of us and held them there, overshadowing town proper. “Pretty incredible, right?”
“Stunning.” I laughed, “They’re like a bunch of little doll houses. Makes me feel like a giant.”
I closed my eyes for a moment as Spencer hummed her agreement, letting the feeling of her voice rumble through my own chest. When I opened my eyes again, her gaze was far away, trained on the stars. “Coming up here always makes me feel really small.”
“Yeah?” I tilted my gaze up to the sky, letting the back of my head rest against her shoulder.
“Yeah. Like, if that’s how small Valemont looks from up here, imagine how small we must look from space.” She adjusted her shoulder, letting muscle cushion my skull.
“I never really thought about it that way…” My chest tightened as I dared another peek at her through the corner of my eye. The moonlight glowed against her skin, highlighting her high cheekbones and the swell of her lips.
If everything was as small as she said, then why were my feelings so big?
I couldn’t stop obsessing over every little thing, constantly scared I would do something wrong.
But in the grand scheme of the universe, who would notice if I turned my head and let myself look at her the way I wanted to? Let myself…
Sensing my spiraling thoughts, Spencer turned to meet my gaze. “You okay, Kier?”
Our faces were just an inch away, but it wasn’t close enough. Those dark, starry eyes drew me in like an endless night sky. I could spend an eternity searching them and still not reach the ends of the universe they contained.
Spencer’s brow furrowed with concern as my gaze flicked down to her lips. “We don’t have to…”
“I know.” I breathed, “I’d like to.”
Before she could pull back again, I lifted a hand to her jaw and closed the gap between us. The second our lips met, it was like something cracked open deep in my chest. Her lips were warm and soft — I couldn’t believe how soft they were.
I’d kissed a girl once or twice before: usually drunkenly and usually for a man’s attention. But right now, it wasn’t the alcohol that had my head spinning. Spencer wasn’t like any kiss I’d had before, man or woman.
The press of her lips was furtive yet gentle.
She brought a hand up to cradle the back of my head as her tongue swept gently against my lips, inviting me to open for her.
My stomach flipped as I obliged, tilting my head into her caress.
But even as I submitted myself fully to her kiss, she was careful to move at my pace, holding back a hunger that unchecked would have her consume me whole.
After a moment, Spencer pulled away, keeping her hand nestled into the back of my neck. “How was that for you?”
“Uhhhh…” I blinked hard, trying to will words into existence. But in truth, my brain was absolutely short-circuiting.
Come on Kiera, say anything.
Spencer chuckled as heat rose in my cheeks, which only made the problem worse. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”
“Uhhh!” A frenzied chuckle bubbled involuntarily from my chest at the compliment. My response was quickly racing from cute and flustered to clinically concerning.
She’s going to think the kiss lobotomized you.
But rather than running for the hills, Spencer just smiled. “Alright, I’m seeing you’re going to need some processing time. Wanna head back to the group?”
I nodded gracelessly as she helped me back up to my feet and over the rocky terrain. I clung tight to her arm as we walked, not confident that my shaky legs would make it on their own.
As we approached the doorway, she looked down at me with a smile. “How do you want to handle this with Leo? Our little secret?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, relieved to finally get a single word past my lips.
“That’s fine with me, Bunny. As long as we talk about it later. Deal?”
“Deal.” I forced my eyes to meet hers despite the heat rising in my cheeks.
Just before we disappeared through the doorway back to the tunnels, Spencer leaned in on more time, planting a soft peck on my cheek. “Let’s get going then before they send out a search party.”
I took her hand and let her lead me back through the winding tunnels, trying not to notice the way my skin tingled under her touch.
But as we rejoined the group, it wasn’t just my energy that had shifted. The entire Hollow was churning with new traffic, frenzied murmurs bouncing off the high ceilings even through the droning bass.
Leo’s eyes flicked between the two of us suspiciously as we carved our way through the dancefloor, but before she could ask any questions, Leo raised her own. “What’s going on? I haven’t seen it this hectic since—”
“Fight Night’s starting!” Chels called as she bounded over, grabbing Spencer and Leo by the arm.
My saviors exchanged an uneasy look as I looked to them for clarification. “Fight Night?”
Avoiding my gaze, Leo turned to Chels, who was already getting swept up in the crush of bodies funneling toward one of the darkened tunnels I’d spotted earlier. “Fight Night isn’t supposed to be for another few weeks.”
Chels shrugged as they gave a tug on Leo’s arm. “I don’t know. I heard they’re pushing it up for a fresh kill or something. Either way, I’m trying to get a good seat.”
I had no fucking clue what this was. But what I did know is that there were answers down these tunnels, and I was intent on finding them.
Before Spencer or Leo could back out of it, I stepped forward, my grip on Spencer’s hand firm as I slipped into the flow of the crowd. “Come on. We don’t want to miss the good seats.”