Page 97 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Don’t know, don’t care.”

“Nico?” I drop the rest of the sandwich on the plate. His gaze goes from me to the sandwich and then back again. I inhale and playfully swipe at his arm.

“What do you want me to do? Lie?”

I shake my head. I’ve had enough lies for a lifetime. “No, definitely not. I don’t want you to be something you’re not, either. I know what that feels like, and it’s not something I want for any of us. But the cultural unit I took on pods says that the males in a pod should have compassion for each other. If they don’t, it can lead to infighting and cause difficulties.” It was one of the basic tenets in the last cultural unit I studied. I glance at the tablet.

Nico huffs out a laugh and picks up the tablet. “Thank you. You’re right. I’ll try harder.”

My heart soars. “That’s all I can ask.”

“How are your studies coming?”

“Okay, I guess. I passed some cultural levels. I’m working on language now. The tablet is reverse engineering it for me, Dorian to English. So some things are a little off. But I’m doing it.”

“No science?”

I wobble my head around my neck like a bobble head.

Nico grabs my ears. “What does that mean? Other than you’re making me dizzy.”

“It means I’m trying, but with the language barrier, it’s slow going.” I think back to the secret room in Eros’s apartment and wish I could use his machine. I’ll have to ask him if we can bring it here.

“What do you need help with?”

“You’ll help me?”

“I’m an 18.2 in science, but I get by.”

“Oh, that would be great.” I grab the tablet.

“What do you need to know first?”

I open it to where I left off and then thumb back a few pages. “This word,Sudxritrix.”

“Ah, easy...” Nico’s patient and answers every question I have. With his help, I speed through half a lesson.

My brow is tight.

“I think we should stop.” Nico puts the tablet down on the table. It’s only been maybe half an hour.

“What? Why?”

“This, Little Krill.” He rubs his thumb over my forehead. “You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“No, I’m fine.” He’s worried about me, but I’m still worried about him. I see the way he rubs his wrists when no one is looking.

“You don’t look fine.” He runs his thumb over the crease in my forehead some more.

“It’s just a different way of learning than I’m used to. I normally take notes. I need to write it down to get it to stick in my brain.”

“Oh, well.” Nico thunders to the other side of the room and picks up his mother’s book. The book that Eros gave me as a gift before everything happened. I’ve tried to use it a few times, but there are so many languages written in the margins it’s hard to comprehend it. “You can take notes in this.”

My palm goes over my heart. “Your mother’s book? I wouldn’t dream of taking notes in it. It’s too precious.”

“It’s a book, and it’s meant to be used, so you should use it. Alder has a closet full of her books. How this one got away, I don’t know. But no one has looked at them for thirty years, Little Krill. It’s fine for you to use it.” He cracks it open, and his head tilts to the side.

“What?”

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