Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vesper
Vesper woke at first light. As soon as the cabin interior was slightly brighter than almost pitch black, she could no longer sleep.
She glanced over at the bed, where Bellamy was sprawled out and snoring lightly.
Vesper tried not to envy Bel’s ability to sleep in.
Instead, she relished the time not having to deal with her.
Just because yesterday didn’t go how Bellamy wanted did not mean she would stop trying.
Vesper checked her watch and mentally tallied the minutes until they were out of this damn trolley. It was still early. Too early. They had at least another twelve hours of forced confinement.
Their hotel, which Bellamy had arranged, would also serve as the meeting place with their contact, so at least that was nice. They’d get that out of the way as soon as they got in, and then they had the next day to learn their surroundings and scope out the location.
Those little details were what told Vesper this was an important assignment.
It was rare to have a day to prepare for the attack, let alone be able to familiarize themselves with the location and make an advanced plan of action.
Bellamy better not fuck this up. Vesper would need to keep a close eye on her.
She decided now was the best time to take advantage of Bellamy’s sleep schedule and get some of her routine stretches out of the way. Her body was stiff from yesterday, and it would do no good to let Bellamy goad her into another round of sparring just for her to try the same bullshit again.
It took her an hour—she wanted to be thorough since she had time. Her body would thank her later, when she had to haul other bodies around. Bellamy still hadn’t stirred, so Vesper knew there would be time for some light bodyweight exercises too, now that she’d warmed up.
She grabbed a quick shower when she finished, hoping that Bellamy didn’t wake while she was naked. She didn’t trust Bellamy to respect any boundaries anymore. But when she finished and Bel still hadn’t woken, she didn’t bother being quiet anymore.
Vesper might have also been a little annoyed that Bellamy still had the ability to fucking sleep. Especially with the interior lit up in a fiery blaze of morning sun shining through the windows as it crested the tops of the mountains.
Vesper needed the time to get her head on right before Bel woke up.
She was still all sorts of fucked up from yesterday.
What had changed? Something had to have spurred Bellamy on like that.
It had to be deeper than just that bet. Vesper hadn’t been able to keep Bellamy in check. To keep her limits. That was a first.
She wondered if it was because Bellamy’s debt was deeper than she’d initially thought.
Not that she cared. It was the fucking debt that got them into trouble in the first place.
The debt that ruined their hopes of a future—well, not entirely the debt.
Bellamy did quite a grand job of ripping them apart all on her own.
But it had been spurred on by the gambling. Vesper fucking hated it, all of it.
No, she wouldn’t give Bellamy a pass just because she couldn’t stop making those fucking selfish decisions.
Couldn’t stop playing cards. Couldn’t stop being shit at them.
Vesper remembered Claric’s threat—well, their warning.
She’d hoped to put a stop to it, a laughable idea since Vesper had never been able to stop Bellamy gambling before.
Bellamy would be back within a week. She’d wait until Claric cooled down, and then she’d do whatever ass-kissing she needed to get back at a table. Absolutely nothing would change. It would only hurt worse if Vesper gave in now.
The fruit bar wrapper crinkled loudly. Bellamy chucked a pillow at Vesper’s head and told her to “shut the fuck up with that shit.” Bellamy was still sore from yesterday and, much to Vesper’s surprise, barely spoke a word all morning.
Not that she wanted to talk to Bellamy. The silence allowed her to read, which she was definitely able to focus on.
Vesper was not at all hyperaware of Bellamy’s every movement.
And she had definitely been able to push the thoughts off Bellamy’s touch out of her head.
She couldn’t still feel Bel’s lips on hers.
Nope. She was not at all thinking about that.
Vesper squinted at the words on her page like they were foreign. What had she been reading about?
The trolley abruptly stopped. Vesper jolted out of her seat from the force and looked at Bellamy, who peered out the window.
She followed suit, standing a safe distance away from Bellamy, and looked over her shoulder at the empty valley beyond.
The snowcapped mountains in the distance glistened in the sunlight, haunting and gorgeous.
“Can you see anything?” Vesper murmured. Bellamy was pressed up against the glass looking toward the front of the tracks, but there wasn’t a good angle. Of course there were no windows at the front either.
“No, should we get out and check?”
Vesper scoffed. “Yeah, you do that. I’ll stay in here so when the trolley starts back up again and leaves you, at least one of us will make it to the assignment.”
Bellamy turned and glared. She stepped forward, bringing them closer. “Please, you’d hate having to travel without me,” she purred and placed a hand on Vesper’s chest.
Vesper glanced down at Bellamy’s hand and raised an eyebrow.
She swallowed and forced herself to hold her ground until Bellamy backed off first. Clearly, Bel had learned from the day before.
Only a second later, she yanked her hand back.
Still, Vesper’s skin was scorched from where her hand had just been, the imprint of it lingering just as it had on her lips.
“I’ll send a message,” Vesper said, smirking when Bellamy glowered at her and turned back to face the window. Bellamy stuck her ass out just a little bit more, but it was easier to ignore her with a distraction.
Vesper tapped the thin, silver communicator bracelet she wore on her left wrist and brought up the shimmery fog of illusion which projected along her forearm. She tapped out her message in as few words as possible, relaying the stop and asking for the reason.
They’d look into it. Sit tight.
Of course. Vesper and Bellamy would be trapped here even longer. She could practically feel the time being added onto their journey. Her irritation started to bubble back up.
Then, Bellamy gasped. Her hands moved to the windowsill, and she quickly straightened.
Vesper tensed, eyes darting toward the door, prepared for an attack.
It wasn’t unheard of for Embunuh Organization trolleys to be targeted while in transit, but out here?
In the middle of fucking nowhere? Not good.
Her magic crackled in the confined space, the sparks popping loudly.
Then Bellamy clasped a hand over Vesper’s and diminished the energy instantly.
“It’s not that. Look.” Bellamy pointed out the window, positioning herself in front of it again as she pulled Vesper with her, subtly pressing into her while Vesper peered around.
Vesper sucked in a breath. It wasn’t an impending attack, it was beautiful.
Outside their window, in the deep shadows of the valley, was a herd of Moon Bison.
Their giant horns glowed, and Vesper was positive that if they’d been in the sun, she’d have been blinded by the sheen.
Their shaggy, solid white fur was visible clearly, even from their distance.
They were just grazing peacefully, not a care in the world.
Vesper inched closer to the window. She refused to blink, in case they vanished before she’d had her fill of them.
She had never been big into the fauna of their region, but she’d always wanted to visit these mountains to see the Moon Bison.
They were one of the few natural creatures on their planet whose magic wasn’t tied to the planet itself, but to one of its moons.
They looked so small from far away. She wanted to get closer. Wanted them to drift nearer until they towered over the trolley and eclipsed the sun with their height.
Then, one of them popped out of existence with a flourish of white sparks, and the rest followed in a matter of seconds.
Vesper sagged with disappointment, the excitement from seeing them gone in a heartbeat.
That was replaced quickly with the heat underneath her, which she hadn’t registered while she’d been so distracted.
Vesper’s hands had gripped the windowsill on either side of Bellamy. Their bodies were pressed close together. Bellamy watched her cautiously. She looked unwilling to move, to breathe. Like she was scared if Vesper realized how close they were, she’d leave too.
Well, she wasn’t wrong. Was Bellamy seriously using this to make another play at winning their bet?
That fucking bet. Vesper really regretted it.
Not because she wanted to fuck Bellamy, but because it was making her worse than she normally was.
She was more desperate, more handsy, more bold.
That was the only reason Vesper could think of that would’ve made Bellamy dare to kiss her.
“What?” Vesper snapped, instantly pulling away.
She’d caught a look in Bellamy’s eye that she couldn’t read, and she didn’t like it one bit.
Normally she’d relish holding her power over Bellamy.
The tension in her body, the anticipation, the knowledge that Vesper could do anything she wanted, and Bellamy wouldn’t stop her.
But it didn’t feel like Vesper had all the power here now. Not anymore.
“Nothing.” Bellamy released a breath and looked away. Her body slumped back down on the seat, her gaze shifting to the floor.
That didn’t bother Vesper. The weirdness of it, the sense of rejection. It just meant that Vesper had won. She’d broken Bellamy’s hope of winning the bet by cheating. That was it. Nothing more than that.
Her wrist vibrated with a message from her Embunuh contact.
“The track is on fire,” Vesper read aloud.
It didn’t sit right with her—the track on fire?
That couldn’t be normal, but their employers weren’t worried.
For all Vesper knew, it could happen all the time out here.
“We’re backtracking. There’s a switch a few hours back.
It’ll take us through the mountain instead. ”
She groaned when she kept reading. They’d be there in the morning. Not tonight. Their contact would meet them at the hotel when they arrived.
“Weird,” was all Bellamy had to say, her voice quiet.
“Yeah,” Vesper agreed. She looked back out the window to the still-empty valley beside them.
The trolley jolted, then they started moving back the way they’d come.
Their first assignment in Soveba and it’s already getting fucked up.
Vesper didn’t feel good about this. A gnawing in her gut warned her that something bad was coming.
Pair that with how Bellamy had been behaving, and Vesper could only hope this assignment didn’t get out of control.
“Play a game with me,” Bellamy demanded. Vesper just stood in front of her, staring blankly at the message along her arm, lost in thought.
She shook out her bracelet, dissipating the message and turned to Bellamy. “Why would I do that?” Vesper scoffed, but Bel was already shuffling the deck, already prepared to deal out like she’d just assumed Vesper would agree.
“I’m bored,” Bellamy pouted.
Vesper rolled her eyes. “I don’t care.” She stalked back over to her side of the trolley and sat back down, fully intent on reading her book.
“Asshole,” Bellamy muttered before she remembered she was trying to sweet talk Vesper into doing something and fixed her attitude. She cleared her throat, and in a much lighter voice continued, “We can make it interesting. Winner gets something from the loser?”
“Sounds a bit like gambling to me,” Vesper mumbled, her focus solely on the book.
“It’s not,” Bellamy argued. “It’s a fun incentive for you to play.”
“No, it’s really not.”
Bellamy stood up and sauntered over to Vesper, who braced herself for an assault.
Instead, Bellamy straddled her and leaned her forearms on Vesper’s chest. Vesper tried not to think about what happened after they’d been like this last time.
She should stop this. Nothing good would come of it.
Should shove Bellamy off her lap, snap at her, and make her go back to her side.
Vesper did none of these.
“You’re telling me,” Bellamy purred sweetly, her voice low, her eyes on Vesper’s mouth, “there’s nothing you want from me? What if winner gets anything they want.”
Vesper swallowed and licked her lips. Then, a really good idea came to mind. Bellamy’s entire demeanor changed when she saw the slight smile that graced Vesper’s face. She thought she’d won.
“The bed,” Vesper whispered.
Bellamy blanched. She leaned back—giving Vesper the space she so desperately needed—her face scrunched in confusion. “The bed?”
“Yeah, we’re stuck here another night. I want the bed. You take the bench.”
“I just said you can take anything you want from me if you win,” Bellamy explained, not bothering to hide her shock. “Anything.”
Vesper smirked. “I can do that anytime.”
“But you want the bed?” Bellamy ignored her, still seemingly unable to wrap her mind around the fact that Vesper was not going to fuck her if she won.
“Yep. Scared I’ll win?” Vesper teased. Bellamy narrowed her eyes, and Vesper knew she was going to accept the challenge. She just hoped Bellamy was as shit at cards as her reputation suggested.