“There’s this guy…”
My heart sinks into my stomach. “Oh,” I say.
“No, Tristan, it’s not like—”
“No, it’s okay. I understand. You barely know me, I chased after you like some crazy stalker, I shouldn’t have expected—”
“Will you shut up!”
The power in her voice makes me stop talking and just stare at her. My heart hurts and my mind is blank. I wait quietly to hear what she has to say about this guy.
“I like you,” she says, and her simple words send tingles through my skin. I ignore them, waiting for the but…
Instead she says, “You, Tristan. Only you.”
Huh? “Maybe you should have started with that,” I say and she laughs.
“I’m not very good with words,” she says, “a side effect of not talking to humans for almost six months.”
“So you were talking to animals then…or aliens?”
She laughs again, even though I know it’s not one of my best jokes. It makes me like her even more. “Mostly myself, and even then I only spoke in my head.”
I smile. “I’m not great with words either,” I say. “Sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth before I start speaking to save myself the trouble later.”
I’m enjoying the conversation and I’m hoping we can just keep talking like this, and not go back to the thing about this guy, whoever he is. Or not. “So this guy…” Adele says, and I cringe, waiting for the hammer to drop. “Stop it! It’s not bad news, I promise.”
“Okay, just hit me with it quickly.”
Adele sighs. “There’sthissergeantnamedBrodyandhetriedtokissme,” she says in a rush.
I heard everything she said but only four words really register: tried to kiss me. “What do you mean, ‘tried’?” I ask. Fire is pumping through my veins as I picture a little squirt of a guy puckered up and leaning into Adele, trying to sneak a kiss. And then my knuckles collide with his face, knocking him into the next Realm.
“He was teaching me to shoot a gun—you know, as part of my training—and then he just thought there was something between us, so he tried to kiss me.” She rushes on, “But don’t worry, I didn’t let him. I pulled away. It was nothing.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“I just thought…we should be completely open with each other. That is, if we’re serious about seeing each other.”
I let out a deep breath that I realize I’ve been holding in my chest. I’m relieved. It really sounds like it was nothing, and she’s just trying to be honest with me. “Thank you. I…I’m sorry if I overreacted. I’ve just had a lot of anger in me lately. Because of my father.”
She smiles. “It’s okay, sorry about how poorly I handled telling you. So we’re okay?”
“Most definitely. Now if we could just bring peace to the Tri-Realms, perhaps we could go on a proper date.”
“Oh, is that all we have to do,” she jokes.
“Yep, that’s it.”
The door opens and Ben says, “Sorry, we’re out of time.”
“Adele, I have to go, but I’ll see you soon, right?”
Her jaw is as firm as truth. “You can count on it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Adele
My heart is beating with all the strength of a miner’s sledge. Talking with Tristan was incredible and reminded me all over again why I almost kissed him back in the Moon Realm.
Tawni and my mom are waiting outside of the conference room, chatting like best friends. My mom’s telling stories of me as a kid and Tawni’s laughing. “There were mashed beans all over the ceiling,” my mom says, her words mixing with her laughter.
Tawni shrieks with laughter. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she chuckles.
“Ha ha. I can hear you, ya know.”
“Oh, hi, honey,” Mom says, pretending she just noticed me. “How’d everything go with…Tristan?” She raises her eyebrows twice.
“Fine,” I grumble, wishing I’d never opened up to her about my feelings for him. For some reason I thought now that she’s a general she’d be cooler about boys. But no, she’s still just acting like a mom.
“Well, you two are very cute together.”
“Mom! You haven’t even seen us together.”
“Call it Mom-dar. There are some things that a mom just knows.”
“She’s right, you know,” Tawni says, not helping things.
“Whatever,” I say, trying to brush them off the subject. “When do we leave?”
“Anxious to go see Tristan?” Tawni says, refusing to let it go. But this time I’ve got the perfect comeback.
“How did I miss the sparks flying between you and Roc?”
The crimson on Tawni’s face is worth every word. “What? There’s nothing…we’re just friends.” Her voice is about as believable as a politician’s.
My mom’s tone is back to business. “We’ll leave immediately. There’s no point in trying again with the generals—they just won’t budge. Go get your things and don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”
“What about Trevor?” I say, not trying to hide my sarcasm.
“He already knows and will be coming with us. He’ll help you get ready and escort you to meet me.”
My face feels like it’s about to explode. How can she trust that creep? I’ll be shocked if all the generals and half the army aren’t waiting to arrest us. “Let’s go, Tawni,” I say coldly.
I grab her hand and leave my mom without saying bye. I’m just too angry.
We pass a few soldiers in the hallways but they don’t speak to us, barely look at us. We’re just a couple of random girls. We make it back to the bunkrooms, which are empty, with all the female soldiers off doing whatever it is that they do all day. Training, I guess.
For us, packing is like a thirty-second process. Tuck everything into our small packs, fill our brand new army-provided canteens, splash a little water on our faces, and we’re ready to go. As we head for the door, I realize I’m missing one important thing: the gun. The gun my mom gave me, the gun I hope I never have to use. I’d rather just leave it hidden under my pillow, forget it ever existed, that my mom ever thought it wise to give it to me. But I can’t. It’s got her name on it. My name.
“One sec,” I say.
I throw the pillow back and reach for the gun, but—
—it’s not there.
I pull back, alarm crossing my face. “What’s the matter?” Tawni asks.
“My gun—it’s missing.”
Tawni’s brow furrows in that way that could only look cute on her. “Maybe you already chucked it in the bag and just forgot.”
I know I didn’t, but I check anyway. It’s not there. Or in Tawni’s pack. Someone took it. No, not someone…
“Trevor!” I exclaim. “He must’ve stolen it when he realized I was on to him. We’ve got to tell my mom right away!”
Squinting, Tawni says, “Hold on a minute. We don’t have any evidence. I know he’s been acting strangely, but it’s quite a leap to say he’s stealing weapons now.”
She’s the voice of reason, as usual, but I won’t be deterred—not this time. “I know it’s him, and I’m not going to sit by while he screws up everything for us.”
I whirl around and storm toward the door, not caring if Tawni follows.
I gasp and my eyes widen when I see him standing before me, gun leveled at my head.
I freeze, my heart thudding in my chest.
Time seems to stop for a moment and I wonder if it will be my last.
“Adele, you shouldn’t just jump to—” Tawni starts to say and then stops, letting out a tiny squeal.
“Hello, ladies,” Brody says, standing in front of the open door. I didn’t even hear it open when he came in.
“You?” I breathe. I’m in shock. Why is Brody of all people pointing a gun—no, not a gun, my gun, I realize—at my head?