Page 93 of The Artist
“Sorry, we got distracted,” Indiana called out as the others approached.
I let go of Mason’s jacket, but when I tried to take a step back, he held onto me and muttered low, “Think about it, Belle. They indoctrinated you to never consider a romantic relationship, and I’ve been bound by my oath to marry a Northlander. But even those circumstances weren’t enough to keep us apart. There’s always been a connection between us. We just didn’t admit to it before.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Aubri asked.
Mason straightened up. “If I wanted you to know, I would have spoken louder.”
Indiana placed an arm around Aubri and moved her along with a chuckle. “It’s not healthy for young grasshoppers to be so curious.”
The rest of the way to the Exploration Headquarters, Mason and I kept exchanging glances. He smiled at me a few times, but the butterflies in my stomach terrified me.
What if my government wouldn’t budge and I had to say goodbye to Mason forever? The thought alone made it hard to breathe.
I reminded myself that it had been proven many times how dangerous it could be to fall in love. Romantic dreams weren’t for us French.
My friend, Banni, came jogging to the main gate when I called him. He tapped in a code and let us through the large gate. Greeting me in French, he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “It’s good to see you. I was so worried when they said on the news that you’d been in an accident and couldn’t travel when the others returned. What happened?”
“It was an avalanche, but I’m fine now.”
“Did you just return?”
“Yes, a few hours ago.”
Banni whistled. “I’m honored that you found time to see me.”
Switching into English, I smiled. “I’m afraid my friends don’t speak French.”
I had always loved Banni’s hearty laugh and the way his white teeth flashed in contrast to his chocolate-colored skin.
“Finally! For all these years I’ve been telling people that learning English was a waste of time. Sure, we can see movies and read books, but this is the first time I get to converse with outsiders except for our English teacher.” Banni spoke with a stronger accent than me.
Mason reached out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mason and this is Freya, Indiana, and my sister, Aubri.”
Aubri was the last to shake Banni’s hand and held on to it a little longer than necessary. “You’re tall for a French person.”
Banni raised his brow in amusement. “Your eyes tell me that you mean that as a compliment, so thank you, Audrey.”
“It’s Aubri,” she corrected him with a smile.
“My apologies.”
“You’re forgiven.”
“Belle told me you’re interested in learning more about our work, and actually, your timing is perfect. My team and I are gearing up for an expedition. Come and let me introduce you to them.”
We walked between a fence and a large building without windows until we reached an opening where Banni waved us through. Loud music was playing so Banni had to shout a little. “This is our preparation area. We have storage below ground, but this is where we load our bird.”
The room in front of us was massive by French standards. A drone in bright green took up half the space. On the floor, equipment was scattered around. There were kayaks, rope, backpacks and boxes. Unlike Khan’s drone that had transported us from the Northlands to Europe, there was nothing luxurious about this one. It looked beat-up but sturdy like the drone that we French traveled in to and from the summits.
“Normally we’re five on our team, but we lost two members. This time it will just be Alex, Val, and me.” Banni waved over his two colleagues. I had heard about these two men for years and was trying to remember which one had been recruited from prison, and which was the one with the speech impediment.
The music turned itself down as they came closer with wary expressions.
“Do you all have brain implants?” Freya asked.
Banni surprised me when he nodded.
“You do? Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
