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“How is that better?”
“At least there are no water creatures.”
It felt like a low standard, but she supposed anything was better than that jungle area despite all the fruits and fresh water it contained. Being in a cave felt more like her home—except, of course, this wasn’t her home.
“We should probably take inventory,” she said when the noise from the other parties died down. “See if we can make weapons out of anything and all that. Cave dwellers aren’t impossible.”
They discovered that they had lost clothes, the three tents, and some food supplies that they hadn’t packed in when the flooding started. But there were still some left, along with a limited supply of water. She felt Charlie pass her by without saying a word and heard shattering sounds before his warning came.
“Step away from the center, please. I’m not sure how disassembling these things will affect the rest of the structure.”
Which meant the ceiling might crash down on them anytime soon. Riva left her side, but another person stepped in.
“I can kick those stalagmites, but I might end up breaking my feet,” Oscar confessed. She found it endearing and tilted her head.
“Can I be honest?”
“About my stupendous lack of knowledge when it comes to your world? Sure.”
Daria bit back a smile. “You are not helpless. You survived in that prison, survived out in the wilds, and are highly aware of what you can and cannot do. Not everyone in our world is strong. You are smart and positive.”
“Oh.” The silence made her imagine him blushing, pleased. “So, that’s….”
“What I’m trying to say is you shouldn’t put yourself down.”
“Right.” There was cheer in his voice. “I won’t, then.”
“Good.”
“Put me down,” someone declared. Sona.
“Will you drink water?” Charlie asked.
“No. We have to conserve it.”
“And how long does it take your tail to recharge?”
Silence.
“A few days.”
“Then you are to be carried until either solution presents itself.”
The firmness of his tone reminded her of his fierceness with her when he had held her out of the water, away from the creatures’ grasp. It also reminded her that jealousy had no place here, not when she had been the one to misunderstand everything. She waited for him to come close, but it was Diego who handed the broken stalagmites around.
“Swing it if you sense trouble,” the vampire said to Oscar. “Make sure it’s an enemy and not one of us.”
Swallowing, Oscar clutched her elbow. She took pity and linked her arm to his, then twisted her stalagmite around in her other hand.
“Come on. When we get out of here, I will teach you how to handle prickly stuff. It’s easy.”
If Charlie heard her, he didn’t comment.
The hours crawled by with no dangerous creatures lurking to pounce on them, brightening everyone’s mood and lightening their steps. But the problem lay in the pathways and tunnels spiraling endlessly, and it went on enough that Charlie stopped in his tracks and addressed everyone once more.
“This is another stop.”
“This is better than the last one,” Oscar said, tone encouraging. “No holes for monsters to crawl into except the entrance, no sharp objects to stab us in our sleep, and it’s compact.”
