Games [The Electro Cosmos Book 2]

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Clanging pots woke the trio the next morning. Oddly enough, it wasn't because someone dropped them in the kitchen next door. After another clamber came the giggle of a baby. Mila woke, finding Mo and her little brother by the door, the little snake sitting on the ground clapping his hands in amusement.

"Why?" Mila glowered as Lillianna groaned in the cot behind her. Heidi rubbed her eyes, blinking against the harsh light from the small window. When she finally gained her vision, Mila's glowing eyes were the first thing she saw. She was looking beyond Heidi, at someone by the door, but when Mila caught Heidi staring, she looked down with a soft smile.

"Breakfast is ready." Mo picked up her brother, holding him in one hand and carrying the pots in the other. "Now get up! Or one of you will get sliced up for lunch."

As Mo left, another voice echoed through the hallway. "Mo what are you doing in there? Please don't tell me you woke them up with pots." Mila could almost see her smile, even though she couldn't see her. "Get to your chores before someone sees you walking around disturbing our guests."

After a few seconds of silence, Griss walked through the open door, her stature very unlike her personality. She looked defeated and embarrassed, walking slowly with as much grace as she could muster in armor. "Please tell me you guys were awake when she came in."

Lillianna groaned, throwing the covers over herself. Griss blushed and looked away, catching Mila's attention. Then she turned to Lillianna for a second, returning her gaze back to Griss after coming to a strange, yet satisfying conclusion. Then she smirked devilishly, an idea swarming through her brain.

"Give us a few seconds and we will be up," Mila stated. Griss nodded, exiting the room quietly before closing the door behind her. Mila jumped up, grabbed the end of Lillianna's sheets and pulled. Lillianna groaned, curling into a ball as she shivered from the temperature change.

"You're such an arse Mila," Lillianna groaned.

"Keep that up and you will no longer receive any lessons from me," Mila turned to her bags, gathering some over-clothes and armor. She dressed quickly as Lillianna bolted upright, still dressed from the day before. She glared challengingly at Mila. "But seriously, we should get going or we will be behind schedule."

Heidi hesitated, still stuck in dazed thought. She wished she could confront Mila about her feelings, but it was too early, too awkward and Mila would probably stop speaking to her. Heidi wouldn't be able to bear it. She stood finally, getting dressed and grabbing the books she took from the library the previous day. She finished reading them before falling asleep that night, and wanted to bring them back before anyone needed them. When she opened the door, Griss waited outside with her back towards the door. She turned, her eyes falling on Lillianna in the back, still as primp as the moment she arrived.

"So there are a few things we have to do today," Griss stated as she led them down the hallway. Lillianna was last, reminiscing in the events of the past few days and completely ignoring what Griss was saying. "First there is some news I have to share with you. We received word from one of our spy ravens that the shield is no longer intact."

"How did you know about that?"

Griss stopped, forcing the rest of them to as she turned and looked at them. "The forest knows everything. Anything an animal sees, we hear about. The forest works for us, and we work for them."