Page 79 of Amethyst Flame
I responded with the promise of a phone call when I could…a promise I didn’t intend to keep.
The sugar and protein flowed through me, clearing the last of the desert cobwebs from my mind. I should’ve gone back to BantaMatrix. Even though it was the weekend, Ruskin had told me that the building and staff would always be open to me. “Insight and innovation come in their own time,” she’d told me. “In some ways, you are our muse, so what you want and need will guide us.”
I might have the only known synergized hive—what a joke—but the scientists and researchers at BantaMatrix knew more about my moths than anyone else. They’d designed them, after all. So, yeah, I supposed if anyone could save me, likely it’d be them.
But since Adley had been holding back my prognosis from me, I figured I’d see what Will was offering with his Best Minds. And then I’d make a choice.
With nowhere else to go, I did what any self-respecting young person with a new credit card did: I went to the mall.
The day was warming by the time I got there, and I hustled across the sea of black pavement to the air-conditioned utopia of the American capitalist shopping experience. First things first—good sunglasses.
To break the ice with Will, I texted him a selfie of me deadpan-modeling heavy Terminator shades.I need to talk
There was no response.
I sent him another with bright purple lenses.I’m *dying* to talk
Still nothing back, and I thought that last one was pretty obvious.
I switched to a pair of hideous wraparound blue blockers like old people wore.These are so you, I typed.
In the middle of something, he finally replied.Go with the purple. I’ll call in a few. And sorry about the dying part glad you reached out
I huffed out a breath. And bought the Terminator shades.
I’d barely used my moths, except for that little surge of anger against Jacob, and that smoothie had a triple dose of caffeine, but I felt hollow and exhausted inside. Were the bugs draining me, or was I doing it to myself? Should I be hoarding my power or blowing it out to keep my hive at the bare minimum so they couldn’t feed off me? These were the answers I needed, but instead I stopped in at one of those weird pop-up shops that was half clubwear, half slutty lingerie, and all cheap polyester.
There was a ridiculous, purple lycra catsuit with a plunging neckline and cutouts all over that reduced the fabric requirements by half. Swann would be horrified.
I tried it on and texted Will a picture of the heinous thing, centered on the cutout over my boobs.How much longer?
Cause it’d been way longer than “a few.”
He got back to me instantly.What is that?
My burial outfit
Ya killing me here
Feeling’s mutual, I replied.
Mixed signals,he typed.
Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I had great boobs, and now, apparently, very little time to show them off. And no one else to show them off to. Not Jacob for damn sure. Although…I was sorely tempted to send the selfie to Dane just to piss him off. Smoke would literally come out of his ears. I was just about to give into temptation when, finally, my phone rang.
I answered with a brilliant, “Hey.”
Will the Smartass returned with a low-key genius, “Suup?”
“Oh, nothing much,” I drawled as if we had all the fucking time in the world. “Just matters of life and death. Where the hell are you?”
He made a hissing noise, sounding a little like Dane at that moment. “We need to meet.” My phone pinged a notification, and I flicked over to see GPS coordinates. “One hour,” Will said. “Come alone.” And hung up on me.
I mapped the coordinates he’d sent me…and swore some more. “Really? The middle of the desert?”
The spot he’d picked looked like the perfect place for someone to kidnap me. Again.
And he thought I’d just go out there all alone. Hand myself over? I wasn’t an idiot.
