Chapter 8 - Red Soul
July
I’ve been calling Galen for hours.
“Where the hell are you?” Grunting, I toss my phone, which lands just mere inches from the edge of my bed.
Having to go back to Horigos in such a short time without being able to share the details with him is killing me.
But if I tell Galen that the Rogue Roden found, happens to live somewhere between Cleryce and Brenath, he surely will put up a fight and perhaps use the authority that comes with his role to drag me out of it.
I sigh aloud, spinning on my chair with my hands behind my head while rehearsing a dozen speeches to support the righteousness of my stance.
The door bursts open when I’m in the middle of another, very reasonable and very apologetic, mental dialogue with an invisible, very upset Galen.
“What the hell!” I almost fall off the spinning chair, dashing for my desk to hide the assignment, resting there in plain sight.
“You weren’t joking about your next mission. It wasn’t just a stupid revenge because you were mad at me. Evelyn confirmed—” The very upset Galen materialises in my bedroom, a hand splayed against the door, the other curled in a fist at his side.
I quickly compose myself, turning away from my desk and sitting on its edge, arms crossed, pressing the assignment against my chest. “And why exactly did you ask her? Hang on a minute... When did she become Evelyn to you? And she simply told you? Since when…ah, never mind. You should know better than anyone else that Rogues’ harvesting is strictly confidential. Even to leaders. Including you.”
How could a few sheets of paper feel so heavy? Or is that just Galen’s judgemental look weighing on my conscience?
“Do you want to tell me where they’re sending you, or should I rip those stupid papers out of your hands?” he demands, slamming the door shut with such violence I fear it will fall off its hinges.
I stare at him as he paces up and down the room, waiting for his temper to cool down.
My bed complains when he plops on the mattress, bracing his arms on his knees and interlacing his fingers as if to contain his thoughts.
We both know this should remain between Roden and me, and I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but…
“Sector 43. IDon’tKnowWhereExactly!” I blurt out.
Sector 43 has recently become well known to Harvesters because Roden believes that’s the spot where hotbeds of rebels, who want us and our business gone forever, hide.
It is a stretch of nobody’s land, dotted with abandoned buildings destroyed during the Famine and solitary settlements of farmers and veterans who fought in the war that saw our people exiled.
Galen tilts his head up, trying to focus on the ceiling rather than my face, and runs his fingers through his hair with a harsh intake of breath.
I sit back on my chair, roll it closer to him and lean forward, resting a hand on his knee. “I’ll be fine. I won’t get near Brenath…Miss P. says they’ll send a team right behind me for cover. She reassured me they would call me back if they noticed any suspicious movement. She— ”
“Popplewish knows what Roden wants her to know,” he snorts, falling on his back with his hands behind his head.
I jump off my chair. “Galen, do you hear yourself? I hope this is just your disappointment talking because I surely don’t want to be part of this sudden need for rebellion.
Popplewish revealing details of my mission to you is already on the verge of insubordination. But you…talking shit about Roden…”
“Sof…” He is the only one who can call me that. Besides, an argument over my name is the last thing we need. “You’re missing the point…” His voice trails off as if there’s more he’d like to say.
The ceiling and the naked walls of my room must have lost their charm. I startle when Galen bolts up to look at me with an expression that makes my heart shrink and ache. I can read his mind as if mine.
“Is this about the red soul? Has Popplewish told you about that as well?” I sit on the bed, next to him, folding my hands on my lap.
Galen’s shoulder lightly brushes mine, his muscles rigid against mine. “You’re cutting me off…”
That was unexpected. He uses this voice only with his junior Deleteri, never with me, because it only carries orders and barriers.
“Why…What do you mean?”
“You shouldn’t remember that.” He stands up, crossing the small space between my bed and the window behind my desk. Resting his back against the wall, he crosses his arms, giving me a deadpan look.
My eyes widen. That’s all on me. “I—you were gone when I realised, and I knew they would have taken that memory because…It pulsed bright red. It wasn’t like the others. I can’t explain it, but I felt as if it was still sentient.”
He pushes away from the wall. “How did you remember?”
“I wrote it down before they picked me up,” I shrug.
“You what?” He pounces, his arms stretched out as if shielding me from sudden, unexpected danger.
In just a few steps, he’s once again close to me, crouching at my feet, covering my hands with his. “Please tell me that piece of paper is gone. Burnt. Destroyed.”
My heart shrinks at his reaction. “I’m still here making you worry, so…” I try a smile, but his gaze only darkens. His chest rises as he tries to calm whatever turmoil of thoughts is going on in his head.
I give him time, searching his face for any clue I’m safe to speak again.
Until he stands up, pulling me up with him and in his arms.
“You are so fucking reckless; I swear you’ll be the death of me.” My hair muffles his last words as he kisses my head, tightening his hold around me.
I rest my ear against his chest and listen to his heart beating fast, stealing one more second to enjoy his warmth and the smell of fresh cotton from his white shirt before wiggling out to look him in the eyes.
“There is nothing I’d like more than to take you with me to find this Rogue. But risking the protocol and Roden’s fury will be a greater risk than me having to cross so close to Brenath. Besides, Popplewish says there’s a new team stationed just over the border, should I need cover and help.”
I cock my head to one side, performing the most innocent smile ever.
“Did she tell you exactly where and how to reach them? Do you have names?” Galen gently pushes me away but keeps his hands around my waist.
“Is the Deleteri leader asking, or…?”
“This is not an interrogation.” He steps away, his hands falling, breaking that contact, I know I will miss in the next few days.
I’m still holding my next assignment. My eyes travel from the paper to his face—expressionless to anyone else—but I can see beyond those curtains of dark lashes.
“Tonight. Dinner’s on me. Here’s not safe…” I say, nodding at my bedroom door securely shut.
His eyes widen in surprise, “Are you sure?”
I puff my cheeks, “You’ve been acting all dramatic until a minute ago, and now you’re concerned about safety? Just promise me you won’t find a way to follow me. This is just another Rogue…”
A smile on those serious lips, at last. He consumes the tiny space between us, taking the papers out of my hands and letting them fall on the carpeted floor.
His eyes shine with the reflection of the young boy I met during my first week on the island—eyes I struggled to read for a long time. And there they are now, questioning, curious, caring, and mischievous as he runs a hand through his dark curls.
“I’ll miss you,” he whispers, closing his eyes in time to miss a sudden rush of blood beneath my skin.
What the…
I find a way out between him and the bed and use it to move us both around as if dancing to no music, averting my gaze from his.
“I need to stay focused,” I blurt out.
“I know you can do that just fine…” he takes my right hand, turns it palm up and kisses it with such attention I’m jealous of my skin.
“Galen…we’ve been there…” I rasp.
He slowly runs his lips from my palm to the thin spot of skin on my wrist, and as if he could feel my pulse quickening under his touch, he smirks, switching from the friend I’ve known nearly my entire life to someone able to fire up every inch of my body.
But as much as we both may want this, I bite my lips, chastising my will.
“You should go,” I say, stretching a hand to caress his cheek. My voice is not even close to being as strong as I’d like.
He stops, but the warm breath escaping his mouth keeps tickling my skin, full of promises I’m too scared to listen to.
“I’ll miss all of you,” he mutters against my bare arm before stepping away.
“Out!” I force some authority out of me to sound convincing. And for my sanity.
“Getoutofhere…” I push him down to the corridor and the door, opening it for him. The students sharing my floor are used to Galen and me bickering any other day; it’ll sound like another silly argument to them.
He lingers by the threshold, his face still flushed a soft pink. “There is something I wanted to tell you for a while now…”
“And you will when the right time comes,” I answer before he can say anything else. The last thing I need now is some personal confession that will only make the day I have to leave a bit more painful.
He throws his arms up, “But you didn’t even let me finish.”
I shake my head, rushing him out into the corridor outside my room, keeping my head down like a small bull. “Tonight, okay?”
Seeing him drop his head in defeat and turn away from me hurts a little. But I can hear him chortling as he goes, “I’ll be downstairs at eight sharp. Don’t be late... for once.” His laugh echoes across the corridor, audible even when I shut the door.
Best sound ever.