BLOOD AND BONE | rewritten

37

When Delphinium was sure she was facing the other way, she shot Gigi a sidelong look. As soon as the five of them discussed parting ways for the day to get everything in order for their third brush with the Needles, Delphinium expected to be traveling alone. No one was exactly jumping with excitement to work alongside her. Still, she understood Gigi's desire to be useful.

She'd been pleased to hear they were only a few kilometers outside of Jinhua, for she knew a smuggler of unlicensed weapons. That lined up perfectly with their task of securing firearms.

Finn and Jake took the vehicle for their quest for information on their teammates' arrival, so Gigi and Delphinium walked through the misty morning fog. The light precipitation wasn't enough to keep the Kybeshi citizens from crowding the streets under red umbrellas. The sky was a sickly dark green.

Gigi carefully sifted through the remainder of their money stolen from Fenon. "This does not seem like enough to buy more than one," she said in Riengan.

"It's not. We'll have to rely on incentives beyond money."

Her dewdrop-speckled curls swished against her back as she glanced at Delphinium. "Death threats?"

"You learn quickly."

"I believe not leaving with a bullet in your forehead is better than being a corpse with a few more coins." It was the most forward she had ever been. After the words exited her mouth, Delphinium recognized the regret in her eyes-she just didn't understand why it was there. Was that the face Delphinium wore when she removed Ivana Afolayan's heart from the cavity of her chest?

Delphinium was ordinarily not opposed to silence, but she knew from experience this one was anything but comfortable. So she said, "Have you ever shot a gun before?"

Delphinium could only guess at her gratitude for the subject change, for Gigi showed none of it. "Only at the compound. And those weren't real."

"You prefer a bow and arrows."

"I've had experience... I used to take archery lessons after school."

School. Delphinium dropped out so long ago it felt like an experience from another lifetime. "I wish my school had offered extracurriculars like that. All we had were things like water polo and equestrian club. Very preppy." She failed to mention how she excelled in traditional ballet up until fifteen. It was one of the few things that had freed her from the smothering secret of her telekinesis. But it was long gone now.

"Normal things feel foreign," she said, barely audible over the shouting match between two drivers stuck in traffic beside them, "after being on the team."

That brought Delphinium back to Jake's advice from a few nights before. "I don't think we were ever meant to be normal, being born like this."

Gigi did not look at Delphinium, but it felt intentional. "You believe so?" They passed under a series of digital billboards flashing Welcome to Jinhua.