Lesbian Academy (Girlxgirl, Lesbian)

Chapter 67. Tunnel's End

Chapter67. Tunnel's End

Howling. That was what followed the scream. It started as a low-pitched whine that gradually increased in tempo, an ear-splitting sound vibrating inside my skull. I made a pivot and clawed on the door where we came from. Agony rippled on my spine. The gnawing on my stomach, the panicked-stricken breaths was not for me but Lilith. I had to get to her. She needed me.

Blue enveloped my waist and tried to tug me away. "It's no use," she said, riding my struggles. "The castle has shifted again." Didn't she think I know that? If there had been a handle, if the door was still made of wood, I'd have pounded it into splinters to get to Lilith. But nothing was simple in the Academy. It had a way of kicking and taunting me while I was already beaten on the ground.

The forlorn wail, both of human and animal, suddenly stopped.

She twisted me to face her. "Lilith's not dead," she said, as firm as the hand she kept on my shoulder. "Don't give up on her just yet. That girl is tough as nails." A cry slipped through my lips, and I sagged against her. I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Blue shook me roughly. I could see her lips moving. "Close your eyes. Close your eyes, come on. Do it." The world went dark. "Now tell me. Is Lilith the type of girl to leave you?" Was she? It wasn't her choice to make. "Just answer me."

"No," I said, not even believing myself. Lilith could be having her last breath as we spoke. She could be. . . She. . . What?

Blue had pressed her soft, wet lips to mine. My thoughts were interrupted, dangled in the air by unseen strings, and then unwelcomed feelings swept in like tidal waves, so fast and hard that it left me breathless and powerless to stop it. What could have been; what never was; what shouldn't be. It was stepping into unknown territory that had yellow tape plastered all over the gate. That line wasn't meant to be crossed.

True to what she was, Blue kept it short and sweet. She was the first to break free, unapologetically so, and with a small smile on her lips as she withdrew her hand from my face. "I had to, or you'd never calm down," she said with quick breaths. Both of us were panting, breathless. "Don't worry about Lilithia. She'll meet us when it's time." Blue's pupils dilated before she turned away. "Please get a hold of yourself before we move. I don't want to see your face like that. It eats at me that you liked the kiss more than you should. I might do it again."

I couldn't tell if I enjoyed it or not. So many emotions jabbed it me from left and right, and it didn't help that my heart was trying to escape from my chest. Maybe that was the whole purpose of the kiss, to take me away from what was, and make me think of what should. Either way, I should have better faith in both me and Lilith. She was still alive, and I was irrevocably in love with her that not even a kiss from someone like Blue could change that. I wiped my mouth discreetly to free my lips from temptation.

"Which door should we take?" Blue said for the umpteenth time. After passing a series of corridors, there'd been a long hallway with dozens of doors on each side. Every time we chose one to enter, we wound up in the same corridor, with the same red carpet, and the same fluorescent lights. It went for ages.

I pointed to the right tiredly. "There," I said.

She regarded me worriedly. "Do you want to stop and rest?"

I leaned on the wall and shook my head. "The more I pause, the harder it is to continue," I said. "We should go on. The lamp is getting nearer. I can feel it." It wasn't a lie either. My wrist pulsated with each turn, every door we entered. The lamp was calling to me silently, guiding me to its direction. If my hunch was right, Zophiel and the Jesters could have programmed it to respond to me and Alya.