Page 185 of Seer Prophet

“No, Vik. You don’t have to––”

“I will come find you,” he said, firm. “I can see you right now––”

“Peeping Tom,” she muttered.

“––on the surveillance, cousin,” he said, exasperated again. “I left your mind alone. But I am coming with you for this. I will not have you shocking your mother a second time. She is still adjusting to the realities of her new situation.”

Dante rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue.

Anyway, he was probably right.

Her mom was probably freaking out at being surrounded by a bunch of hyper-tall, weird-eyed, bizarrely hot people who stared a lot, made off-color jokes a lot, looked human but not, and who walked in that weird, fluid way that made them look more like animals than people.

Dante didn’t voice any of that.

She just waited for Vik to show up in the green and gray corridor.

Vik came around the corner a few seconds later.

He gave her a seer’s eye roll when he drew level with her, then motioned with his hand towards the hallway Dante just left.

Dante followed him, moving fast but still in that arm-folded slouch.

Neither said a word until they’d gone another hundred or so paces.

Then, just after they went through the fourth of those oval portals, Vikram bumped her with his shoulder.

She stumbled, putting out a hand to regain her balance.

Looking at him in annoyance, she faltered at the gleam of humor in his eyes.

When she burst out in a surprised laugh, he smiled, too.

* * *

It tookthem another six of those oval portals––or maybe seven, Dante sort of lost count––before they got to the center of the ship.

Four of those super-steep metal staircases got them to the right deck, then another six or seven hundred steps down residential corridors brought her to the right section of the ship.

Dante was nervous now.

She was actually wringing her hands in front of her chest as she walked, one of those things she thought only happened in comic books and in movies. She was also weirdly glad Vik insisted on coming with her.

It was stupid to be like this.

Really stupid.

It was her mom. Even if Dante really did hurt her feelings a little, refusing to come up to the flight deck, it was still her mom. The thought of her mom crying only made her feel worse though, so she shoved that idea right out of her head.

When they finally got to the correct door, Dante was wringing her hands again, wincing when she rubbed the thumb with the messed-up cuticle.

Her chest felt tight, like something got stuck there.

To distract herself, she stared around at the residency area, following the rows of hatch-like doors, the low ceiling with its exposed pipes and electrical cables.

When Vik looked at her, his hand on the door handle, she realized he was waiting.

She nodded. “Okay. Do it.”

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