Mind momentarily blown.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the arena?” I was mostly just keeping him talking now, so that he wouldn’t notice me backing toward the door.
“They don’t let me train with the others. I keep crushing them.”
“So that’s your gift, then?” I squeaked. “Crushing?” I couldn’t really believe I was having this conversation with a sol alone in his bedroom, let alone having this conversation at all without a whip cutting across my back.
His smile disappeared and he jumped into motion, backing me into the door much faster than I had been backing myself into the door.
“Strength,” he whispered, pressing a body against me that kind of felt like a giant boulder. Or a brick house. Or maybe a stone mountain. “Strength is my gift, dweller, and I’m not going to reassign you, so start cleaning.”
He was off me instantly, pulling open the door hard enough to send me sprawling on the ground. He then slammed it shut hard enough to knock the broom off my cart. It hit me in the back, of course.
“Strength,” I mocked, picking myself up off the floor and kicking the broom away. “Clean my room, slave! Or I’ll crush you like a bug because I’m a big strong sol!”
I was working myself up a bit. I realised that … I just couldn’t seem to prevent it. Yanking the door open, I leaned out and peered down the corridor. I was pretty happy to see that Number Two was nowhere in sight, because I definitely would have tried to kick his ass, and definitely would have ended up in someone’s soup come morning. I glanced to the top of the door, on the outside, reading his name.
Room 2: Rome Abcurse.
I pulled the rest of the way out of the room and moved to Room Number 3.
Aros Abcurse.
With a feral-sounding growl catching in the back of my throat, I glanced at the other two rooms that I had already cleaned.
Yael Abcurse and Siret Abcurse.
I didn’t even bother looking at Room Number 1. I knew what it would say. My luck was just that bad.
Coen Abcurse. A.k.a., Pain Master of Blesswood. The guy with the crossbow.
“Motherf—” I paused, my tantrum on the verge of spilling out, when a dweller pushed out of Room Number 8, his cart pulled behind him.
He blinked at me, his mouth falling open, and I recognised Atti.
“You’re a recruit!” he accused, his voice a hiss as he moved closer.
“You’re a boy!” I returned, a dose of horror shot into my tone, my finger raised in a point. “What are you doing in the girl’s area?”
He had a moment. He totally had a moment. I could see it all over his face—before he realised that he’d just finished cleaning the rooms that he always cleaned, and then confusion descended.
“What are you doing in the male dorm?”
“Exploring my sexuality.” I leaned against the cart, propping my elbow, wiping my expression into something neutral. “How am I doing?”
“I can see your nipples. Your shirt’s wet.”
My elbow slipped, and I almost toppled over, but my chin caught me against the edge of the cart. “I knew the boobs would be a problem,” I groused, rubbing the pain out of my jaw. “I knew it. I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen to me.”
“Who?”
“Emmy. Remember? Grumpy Emmy?”
“Oh yeah, she looked kinda uptight.”
“She’s not.”
“Really?”
“Okay, maybe a little. Do you have a shirt I can borrow? Maybe a cap? Maybe some pants? And a fake moustache?”
He laughed, glancing down the hall before looking back to me. “You seriously got assigned to their dorms?”
“Yeah, the leader of our village gave me a boy’s name on the form. Think they’ll reassign me?”
“Probably.” He stroked his chin, trying to hide his growing smile. “With those five, you can expect a reassignment at some stage.”
“Like when, exactly?”
“When they’re done playing with you, given that you’re still alive. I’m in room 17, in the dweller residence. Come and find me once you’re done. I’ll lend you some clothes.”
“Thanks, Atti. I’ll put in a good word for you with the big boys,” I promised, jerking a finger over my shoulder to the doors behind me.
His smile stretched, taking over his whole face. “Try not to get yourself sacrificed,” he warned, pushing his cart away.
Five
After I finished the Abcurse rooms, rushing through the last two like my life depended on it—which it almost definitely did—I found myself sneaking into the dweller residence with Atti. He’d finished his dorms at the same time as me and decided it was safer to show me where to go, rather than leave me to my own devices.
How did he know me so well already? Maybe he was just smart like that. Smart like Emmy. Smart like every other damned dweller in Blesswood.
Maybe I was the only stupid person there.