Praetorian Rising, стр. 37
"No need to rush, Ace," he said with a pat on her knee covered in a mountain of blankets. "Now that you're awake, things are significantly better. We're in Romeo Village. Vesyon is taking care of a few things up top, and you are to stay in bed and rest. His orders." Something about the way his eyes flitted away from hers felt off.
"You're keeping something from me."
Theo appeared shocked as well as annoyed at her deduction. "No!"
"I'm going to find Vesyon," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Theo's eyebrows rose. "Of course, you are. Why would you stay put?"
"I've slept long enough," Camille retorted, shrugging off his clipped annoyance.
"It's not about sleeping, Cam. You've been through a lot, and you should take it easy."
"I said I'm fine. Now drop it!" She could feel the rush of blood fill the veins around her eyes, threatening to break free, and there was no doubt the whites of her eyes had begun to darken before she regained control.
Theo huffed, pinching his lips together. Perhaps he was right about her having been through a lot but lying in bed wasn't going to help matters.
Pulling back the covers to prove her strength and determination, Camille instantly regretted her decision when she realized she wore nothing but an over-sized linen shirt and undergarments.
Camille snatched up the crisply folded pants at the foot of her bed and hastily dragged them up her goose fleshed legs. Once she was a little more presentable, she turned her attention back toward Theo, who had occupied himself by attempting to pet Neeko. The black cat wasn't having it and kept moving out of Theo's reach further along the windowsill.
"Fine. Stay there like a grouchy porcupine."
Neeko hissed in response to Theo's verbal barbs.
"Watch it! I have no qualms roasting you for dinner one night."
Neeko didn't seem bothered by the threat and turned to begin grooming his hindquarters as Camille went to a side table where a bowl of water sat. She splashed some of the warm liquid on her face, hoping it would help to soothe her fraying nerves. Lifting her eyes up to the small mirror above the water bowl, Camille leaped back in shock at her gruesome reflection. Her face dripped with blackish gore and blood, and her eyes were no longer a vibrant emerald but a deep, obsidian black that bled across the whites of her eye sockets. She looked like a demon from another world.
"Camille?" Theo said softly from behind her, his concern racing through her senses like a cold rush of water.
She dried her face with a rag and shook her head, willing the image to flee. Her complexion had been perfectly clean just a moment before: she had imagined it. It wasn't exactly a calming thought.
Camille peeked through her lashes, absolutely terrified of what she might see. Clean skin, green eyes, and pale cheeks greeted her.
"Everything all right?"
Her eyes narrowed as they met Theo's in the mirror. "I'm fine."
"You just jumped three feet in the air for no reason. I think 'fine' is grossly inaccurate."
"I said I'm—"
"Fine? In my opinion—"
"Nobody asked for your opinion, Theo!" Camille shouted, whipping around to face him. The silence that followed filled the void between them. It was deafening. She could hear the heavy thud of her heart pounding out a quick tempo against her ribs, but neither one of them seemed to know what to say next.
"Camille, I..." Theo started as Neeko jumped down from the windowsill to rub against her ankles, purring loudly.
"Let's go," she barked, bending to scratch the cat between the ears before pulling on her boots with rushed, erratic motions. Her hands shook with weariness and embarrassment over her outburst, but she wasn't going to let either of those things distract her. Vesyon was her only source for answers, and she had a mountain of questions to throw in his face.
"Good luck getting up top on your own. It's kind of a maze down here," Theo smirked, all pearly white teeth and sexy bravado. The thin, pinkish scar running from his temple down to his cheekbone stood out against the tanned complexion of his skin. Despite the perceived flaw—it only enhanced his rugged demeanor, which irritated Camille further.
"Neeko will show me the way, won't you sweetheart?" Camille cooed. The cat meowed in response, confirming that his loyalties always lay with Camille. "See, I don't need you."
She grabbed her vest and fur-lined coat from on top of the dresser, yanking them on as she headed for the bedroom door.
Theo didn't attempt to stop her but followed quickly on her heels. She jerked open the wooden door and stopped immediately when harsh white light flared brightly against her eyes. She stared down an endless hallway from right to left. Gleaming steel plates lined the walls, clinical, white tiles blanketed the floor, and yellow fluorescent bulbs dotted the ceiling every five feet. The thick mahogany door she'd walked through was metal on the other side.
Bizarre, she thought as she stared critically at the sterile-looking hallway. It smelled even more heavily of earth, and the air was dense, as though they were miles underground.
Camille studied the small window just above the bed she'd been sleeping on. Soft dusk light filtered through the glass, and there appeared to be a copse of thick evergreens, ashy aspen trunks bare of leaves, browning bushes and snow-dusted mountains in the distance. "That's not..." Camille stared openly at the window in shock. "Is that fake?"
"It's a reflection panel. It takes the temperature and light refraction from above and transitions that information through the microchip placed in the wall sensor. The panel recreates a similar scene so that it still feels