If the mech riders weren’t capable of performing this mission on their own and needed backup, that probably meant Myrddin was expecting problems. Or he could just be setting the new team Boundless up with an easy win, something to grow their egos and knowledge. Who threw a bunch of newbs into the deep end?
Alex heard noises where the line usually was. She leaned over to see what was making the sounds.
Brath was getting food and something to drink. He walked closer and stopped when he saw Alex. Then he came over and put his tray on the table next to her. “Hey,” he grumbled.
Alex, surprised that Brath had sat beside her, replied, “Hey.”
Suddenly Brath groaned loudly and slammed his hands on the table while he blushed bright red.
“All right, all right, you don’t have to drag it out of me by giving me the silent treatment,” he exclaimed. “I hate doing stuff like this, all right? Hate it. So, I’m only doing it because I mean it. I’m sorry.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m sorry for being such a turd about you not being able to see and throwing you on the spot and junk and making you feel terrible. Okay? Do you feel better now?”
Alex had to hold in the laugh threatening to break out and spoil the sincerity of Brath’s apology. “Yes,” she said quickly. “Much better. And I appreciate the apology.”
“All right, great.”
Brath started eating and didn’t look up again. He sped through his meal. When he finished, he stood and said, “And Gill likes you. He’s not going to tell you, but he does. So, don’t be a dick to him and break his heart or anything, all right?”
Then Brath said something quickly in Gnomish, spun in a circle once, and bowed before sprinting out of the mess hall.
Alex was left confused and annoyed. Why did he have to go and ruin a great moment by telling me about Gill? she thought. Ignorance is supposed to be bliss.
Later in the evening, Alex was sitting on her bed, scrolling through a book titled A List of Abnormal Uses for Dragon’s Blood. She thought the book was gruesome, but it had captured her attention.
Jollies opened the door and flew inside, then sat down at her desk and started writing.
Alex looked up from her book, trying not to make it obvious she was interested in what Jollies was doing. But the pixie was too small, and Alex couldn’t see over her shoulder. “Hey, you didn’t bring back any food this time?” she asked.
Jollies threw a glance over her shoulder and smiled at her roommate. “I ate in the Hall,” she said. “I was too excited. A letter from my parents came today, and I wanted to write back before we leave. Just in case we don’t have time, you know?”
Alex’s heart twinged. She still hadn’t heard back from her parents. She wasn’t sure if they had received her message, or if they just hadn’t bothered responding. Deep down, Alex knew there had to be a good reason for her parents not to have messaged back. It wasn’t like some unspoken terrible thing had happened between the three of them.
If Alex was honest with herself, she would think her parents were probably just too overworked to have figured out the technological part of messaging her. She remembered when she’d overheard her folks trying to figure out how to use Skype. She had wished she was deaf that day.
Jollies picked up her letter, sealed it in an envelope, and flew out of the room. She came back in a couple of seconds and flew up to Alex’s face. “I told them all about you and how you’re such a great roommate, and really fun, and super brave, and really, really, hot, and how we’re becoming best friends but you’re kind of standoffish like you’re afraid of getting hurt but still really sincere.”
Alex was taken aback by the revelation, but she tried to roll with it. “Wait, you told them I’m hot?” Alex asked.
“Uh, yeah, obviously. It’s an important piece of information.”
“And all that other stuff? You know, like about me being standoffish. You think that is true?”
Jollies perched on Alex’s shoulder and stretched her arms. “It could be, but I’m a pixie and you’re a human, so there’s some stuff lost in translation,” she admitted. “Honestly, most everyone but fairies or pixies seem standoffish to me. At least you aren’t as bad as the gnomes.”
“Yeah, I hear you on that.”
“Talking to Brath is like trying to get a wall to develop a personality, then teaching the wall how to talk. But that’s a teenage gnome boy for you. You almost ready to get fitted?”
Alex got out of bed and flipped her HUD up. “Yeah, almost. I’ve been dreading this all day. Last time I got fitted, I almost attacked Primrose,” Alex said, then fell silent.
Primrose’s death had slipped Alex’s mind. For a second, she had completely forgotten about all the casualties from just a few days before. So many had died. Primrose was the only one Alex had known personally and, even then, she had only known her for a short while.
It still hurt like hell to remember Primrose’s beautiful face, half-smiling, looking so content, lying in that casket. That death was entirely down to the Dark One.
Jollies must have just remembered as well. Her glowing skin had faded to gray, almost black. When she looked up at Alex, there were tears pouring from her eyes. “Funny, it only takes a couple of days of not stressing out to forget,” the pixie said with a hiccup.
Alex tipped up Jollies’ chin and shook her head. “No, it’s not that,” she said. “They’re still in our hearts. We’ve just been…remembering we’re alive. Life isn’t back to normal yet.
