Page 17 of The Explorer
“Not if a house is collapsed and you have to crawl through a narrow passage. Sparrow and I would have an advantage then. You said it yourself; I would be a great firefighter and I deserved that spot.”
“Sure, but so would the people who got accepted. I know it sucks, my young grasshopper, but sometimes we just don’t get what we deserve.”
Aubri picked up a small twig from the ground and threw it in my direction while blowing a raspberry.
“You know what, Aubri, if your goal is to be a firefighter then I’m sure you’ll find a way to get accepted to that school,” Banni told her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s Sparrow’s dream more than mine. Originally, I wanted to be a Huntsman like my brothers, but that didn’t work out. I’ve been teaching fighting techniques to students at local schools since I was eighteen, and I’m involved with some of the many philanthropic projects that my cousin Freya runs. It’s not that I’m bored, I just wish I could be a pioneer like Raven, Christina, or my mother.
Banni chuckled. “But you are! No Northlander woman has ever worked as an Explorer in Old Europe.”
The way Aubri’s face lit up and she sat up straighter made me frown. I didn’t like the way she looked at him.
“You think I’m a pioneer?” The hope in her voice was troubling. It shouldn’t matter what Banni thought of her.
“I already told you that earlier today,” I reminded her.
She gave me a quick side glance. “Yeah, I know, but that’s different.”
Annoyed, I stood up and moved away from the bonfire to empty my bladder. I didn’t like how Aubri dismissed me or took me for granted. She might come across as a ball-buster to everyone else, but I knew the mushy softness under her armor. She and I had been friends since childhood and the times my world had collapsed, she had always been there for me, just like I was always there for her. She’d helped bury my first dog when I was eight and held my hand when I cried that day. I, in return, made it my mission to cheer her up when she carried the grief of her family’s falling apart after Magni’s drone crash. Our shared story was intertwined in every way and I could read her like an open book. I hated the interest she’d taken in Banni. It was fucking obvious that she thought he was fascinating, and she wanted him to like her.
They laughed around the bonfire while I finished up and wondered how I could make Aubri see that she should care about my opinion and not his.
An idea made me shake my beast and quickly stuff him back in my pants. I had another message to record.
CHAPTER 5
Orders from Home
Aubri
I was squeezed up against the side of the tent with the four men taking up all the room. Indiana was next to me, snoring lightly and throwing off heat like a bloody furnace.
Lifting my head, I looked over Indiana’s body to see where the faint light in the tent was coming from. A tiny window next to the opening revealed that the sun was slowly rising outside.
After a lazy stretch of my arms, I scratched my scalp and yawned.
A movement made me look over at Banni, who opened his eyes and smiled at me.
“Bonjour.”
“Morning.”
My eyes were probably puffy, and I needed a tooth cleaner, but my first priority was to get myself out of the corner Indiana had me backed into. Using his body as a shield between me and the three men, Indiana had made sure to keep me safe and warm all night. Being stuck in a sleeping bag with no room to maneuver made it hard for me to get out, but with a few grunts of frustration, I managed without waking up my gentle giant.
Banni came out of the tent not long after and sat on a log while I got the fireplace going again.
“You’re good,” he said with a satisfied nod as I blew on the leaves and twigs that I’d set on fire.
“I’ve been doing this since forever for training purposes. It’s just hard to get to actually do anything when there are Nmen around. Most of them are overly chivalrous, constantly trying to impress us women.”
“Huh. I’ll happily let you do all the hard work if it makes you happy.” Banni leaned back and stretched out his legs with an amused expression.
For five or ten minutes we didn’t speak. I was busy gathering water from the river and boiling it, while Banni sat in deep thought.
“Aubri.”
“Mmm?”
