Human Bait

Chapter 42: Marvikk

I mumbled words to myself on my way out of the cafeteria, preparing what to say to Rekkan. The person who followed me out escaped my notice.

Until a bony hand snagged my shoulder. 

I jumped and spun around to face Serigg. Her good eye fastened to the platinum keycard clutched in my hand.

"You are going to find Rekkan?"

"Yes." Defensiveness added a bite to my tone, an unsaid 'And don't you dare tell me not to.'

She glanced behind me, where innocuous chatter spilled through the doorway, and she lowered her voice. "You asked why I came to the Refuge, Zafaru. I came here for you. One week before she became Implanted, your mother came to me and asked me to keep you safe if anything happened to her."

My ribcage contracted, squeezing my heart. "She suspected something would happen?"

She hesitated, tongue flitting over her sagging lower lip. "If you promise to stay away from Rekkan, I'll tell you everything I know."

Hot frustration seared through me. I wanted to know what she meant when she told me I was in danger at the Refuge, but not at this cost. This whole place seemed determined to paint Rekkan as a villain. To keep us apart.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I demanded.

She clucked her tongue. "I don't hate him, Zafaru. But I heard what happened at Mediation today... and I saw what happened to Marvikk. What would your mother say?"

I didn't know if my mother would have liked Rekkan, but I knew what she would do in my shoes. She would prioritize the future over the present. The discovery of knowledge over repairing a relationship. The world over me.

I admired many things about my mother... but I didn't want to be like her.

"I'm not staying away from Rekkan," I said. "If that's all you have to say, I'll be on my way."

She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Zafaru, please. I'm on your side."

I pushed her hand off of me. "If you're against Rekkan, you're not on my side. You're in my way."

Side-stepping her, I started toward the Northerner rooms.

My footsteps echoed down the empty entry corridor, a perfect replica of the Southie side. The same walls, the same lighting, the same double-door leading to the dormitory. I swiped the platinum keycard over the blinking red light, passed through the door, and hunted for the room number assigned to Rekkan.

In front of Room 28, I paused. Sucking in a breath, I rapped on the door.

Silence.

I fingered the keycard, debating whether to enter. I needed to at least see Rekkan's clothing. To see Fluffy. But the fear of finding the room empty immobilized me.

Then heavy footsteps approached. When the door cracked open two inches and Rekkan's face appeared, a sigh of relief spilled from me.

His eyes widened, and his brow pinched. "Zaf?" He scanned me from head to toe and glanced both ways down the corridor. "What are you doing here?"

I wrapped my fingers in the hem of my shirt, prepared words sticking in my throat. "Um. I just... can we talk?"

His brow furrowed further, but he pushed the door open and gestured for me to enter.

And my prepared words fled.

Rekkan was shirtless. Damp hair clung to his forehead and neck, a few shades darker than when it was dry, and the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen glowed with that post-shower freshness. Gray joggers outlined his muscular thigh and silhouetted his bionic leg. The scent of clean soap and spicy musk wrapped me.