Two more shrieks sounded.
“Rotting hell. Get in!”
Lucian let her go first. With the benefit of her sphere, it would be easier for him to make his way down. Serah wriggled quite adroitly, and he was soon following her path. She went to his former spot, as deep as it was possible to go. If Lucian followed her that low, they’d be rubbing elbows. Well, more than elbows. He was face-down in the tunnel, though, with no way to reorient himself so that he was facing above.
“You’re too close to the surface,” she said. “One of their claws might stick you.”
It seemed there was little choice. He wanted to be as far from the surface as possible, and if that meant risking it right next to Serah, then so be it. Besides, if wyverns could truly detect body heat, he needed to be as low as he could get.
Lucian wriggled his way down, until he and Serah occupied the same cavity. He tried to create as much space as he could, but they were still shoulder-to-shoulder, lying on their backs in the gravel.
“Don’t be bashful.” He could hear her smile. “I won’t bite.”
Lucian ignored her. She let the sphere wink out, likely to conserve her ether. Lucian knew if those rocks above so much as shifted a centimeter, it could cause a chain reaction that would bury them both.
Even as Lucian tried to create more space, Serah didn’t seem to be one for modesty. If anything, she snuggled closer. He almost told her to cut it out, but he had to admit, it was a cold night and all he had on was his prison jumpsuit. Sleep would come easier if he were warm.
They lay there in silence, with nothing but the sound of their breathing and the fading shrieks of wyverns. After five more minutes passed, it seemed the monsters had lost the scent, because there were no more shrieks.
Serah let out a sigh. “I think they’re gone.”
Lucian moved to head up to the surface but was restrained by Serah.
“Hold up! What’re you doing, trying to get yourself killed?”
“You said they’re gone.”
“If you go back up there, they’ll come back, mudbrain! You can’t keep me warm if you’re a dead body.”
Lucian settled back. It appeared that this was reality, at least for the rest of the night. It was too dark to see her, anyway. Thankfully, she didn’t smell too bad, mostly of smoke and earth. He was probably far worse. They only showered them on the Worthless once a week, and it had been a few days since his last one.
“I guess what they say about Earthers is true,” she said.
She left that hanging, likely to get him to bite. “What do they say?”
“That you’re all a bunch of prudes.”
Lucian scoffed. “I’m no prude.”
She gave a short laugh. “It’s all right. Maybe you’re just shy.”
“I’m not shy.”
She sighed. “Well, you’re no fun. That one you can’t argue with.”
“This isn’t a vacation.”
“You’re telling me. This is the first conversation I’ve had in months outside of Ramore’s grunts and groans. Can’t you indulge me just a little bit?”
Lucian was too exhausted for this back and forth. Then again, it didn’t seem she was going to relent unless he gave her something.
“Sorry. Just not sure what to talk about.”
“Tell me about Earth.”
“What about it?”
“Paint me a picture. If you paint a picture nice enough, maybe I’ll fall asleep.”
Lucian had to repress a sigh. “I’m from Miami. It’s a city in America. Lots of water, tall buildings. And people. Lots and lots of people.”
“How many? A thousand?”
“Millions. Most of them clawing and fighting for survival, but some of them living the good life.”
“Which one were you?”
“Clawing and fighting, of course.”
“Good. That’s the more interesting answer.”
She scooched closer to him, until the entire sides of their bodies were touching. Lucian didn’t stop her. They lapsed into silence for a while, and Lucian found himself getting a bit more comfortable. Even if she was fraying, she didn’t seem dangerous.
“Tell me more,” she said.
Lucian almost told her “no,” but he found himself talking about home and himself and how he’d ended up at the Volsung Academy. She got bored of that pretty quickly, and asked him instead to describe various things about life on Earth. What people did, what they ate, what the men looked like there, what the women wore. Her questions were exhaustive.
“Let’s just get some sleep, all right?” he said, once he’d had enough.
“I can’t fall asleep next to a stranger. You’re a dangerous prisoner, after all. An exile of the prestigious and exclusive Volsung Academy.”
“I’m not dangerous. In fact, I was one of the worst Novices the Academy has ever seen. That’s why they sent me here.”
She laughed at that. “Really? The weakest mage of the Volsung Academy can kill two wyverns and bury the Snake Pass? Then I would like to see what the strongest could do.”
He somehow had to get her off the scent. If she even suspected what he had, he didn’t know how she would react. “I don’t know how I did what I did. Pure luck, I guess.”
“Lucky and dangerous. I think you might have a secret.”
She couldn’t possibly know about the Orb. Then again, she had managed to detect him simply because he didn’t know how to stream a “concealment ward.” Was it possible she could detect the Orb, too? Was that the reason she was flirting with him, to lower his guard and try to steal it? To Lucian, it didn’t seem likely, but he knew not to trust anyone.
“Remind me how it is you found me,” Lucian said.
“I followed the light. And I followed the ripples in the ethereal field, which got me close enough to find you.”
“The ripples? What do you mean by that, exactly?”
“So demanding. I might tell you. But you must promise to be nice from now on.”
“I am being nice.”
“Men always think they’re being nice. But I regret to inform you that you’re
