Brightly Burning(49)

“What do you mean?”

He clapped his hands together, standing, then announced to the whole room. “Everyone, stop what you’re doing. I propose we play a game.”

“Ooh, yes!” Bianca trilled, grabbing Hugo by the arm and pointedly tugging him away from me. “What do you have in mind?”

“Hide-and-go-seek,” he answered.

“But that’s a children’s game.” Bianca pouted.

“Only if children are playing it. And you’re not a child anymore, are you?” Hugo teased, prompting Bianca to giggle, smacking him playfully in the shoulder. My dinner threatened to rise into my throat.

“Now, everyone must play,” Hugo continued. “And the only rule is you must hide in a publicly accessible space. No going into any private rooms. You have the whole ship, both levels, at your disposal. And we’re going to make it fun.” He strode over to a side table, grabbing a bottle of liquor and pouring a little bit into a dozen small glasses. “One for everyone. You must drink before you run off.” A line quickly formed, while I edged toward the door, waiting for the best moment to sneak out.

“Stella, where are you going?” Hugo boomed. “You must play.”

Everyone turned to stare, and I stammered out an excuse about being tired, but Hugo was relentless.

“She can be the seeker,” Bianca suggested, but Hugo shook his head.

“No, she knows the ship too well. The game won’t be any fun. I want you to be the first seeker, Bianca.”

“But I wanted to hide with you,” she huffed, swallowing down her shot and then snatching up another.

Hugo shook his head. “Hiding with another person is against the rules. If your spot is taken, you must find another one. And anyway . . . I want you to find me, B.” He winked at her and she blushed. I marched over to the sideboard and drank two shots for good measure. When I came up for air, I found Hugo appraising me, seemingly impressed. I just wanted to get this over with.

“One last thing,” Hugo said, stopping everyone before they spilled out into the hall. “Rori? Turn off all the lights in public areas. No emergency lights, please.”

Several people gasped.

“Now, this is going to be fun!” Hugo said before running off into the black.


All the hiding spots I could think of were taken. I’d tried the bridge, the kitchens, various shadowy alcoves. Basically, everything at front and midship. I was running out of time.

“Rori, how much more time until Bianca starts searching?” I whispered.

“Sixty seconds,” she chimed in my ear.

I sighed. Maybe I should just give up and let Bianca find me easily? But no, then she’d tease me endlessly for failing at a child’s game. I headed aft, squinting in the darkness as I approached the landing bay. It was technically public, but only accessible via two bio-locked door codes, which defeated the purpose. I could hide there, but Bianca wouldn’t be able to get in. The supply room, however . . .

I crept inside, careful not to trip over Lieutenant Poole’s toolkit, or the bench in front of the lockers. I aimed for a pitch-black corner, where the row of lockers ended and a heavy metal cabinet created a shadowy nook at the best of times, when the lights were on. Sixty seconds had to be up by now. I slipped into the darkness, my back to the wall, peering out, around the corner to the door. Worried she’d be able to see me from this angle, I took a step back.

And hit something solid and warm. Not a wall. A person.

I shrieked, but the sound was muffled by the hand that clapped itself over my mouth. Hugo’s voice in my ear stopped a full-scale panic.

“Sorry to startle you,” he said.

I pulled away, body tingling from the shock. Or maybe from his touch.

“I’m sorry. I’ll go find somewhere else.” I started to back away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the shadows.

“No, stay. It’s too late to find somewhere else.”

“But the rules . . .”

“Frex the rules. They’re my rules, anyway. Stay.”

Hugo pulled me in so close my breath warmed the skin of his neck, and he secured his arm around the small of my back, hand resting on my hip. This was as physically close as we’d been since the night of the fire, only this time he was fully clothed. My thoughts flew in a million directions, most of them shouting about why and how and that he smelled like liquor and sweat, but why didn’t I mind? I tilted my head up to search his eyes, features rendered in shades of gray by the dark, like one of my charcoal drawings. I couldn’t read him or his intent. Was it necessary to be so close?

I exhaled a shaky breath, the sound of it jarringly loud, so much so that Hugo pressed a finger to my lips, shushing me. I kept further attempts to breathe quiet, but he didn’t move his finger, the graze of his skin against my lips maddening, only serving to draw my breaths quicker. At this rate, I’d overheat. Or faint. But no, there’d be no falling with Hugo as an anchor. His hand on my hip burned a hole through my clothes.

A high-pitched squeal from the corridor broke the spell. Bianca must have found someone nearby. I startled out of Hugo’s grasp, backing against the wall, both savoring and dreading the space. He didn’t reach for me again. Minutes passed, and my heart slowed, my mind catching up with me. What was I thinking, hiding in the dark with my boss? When Bianca found us, she’d tell everyone, and all would assume we were doing something untoward. My cheeks burned with new purpose, a preview of the mortification to come. I couldn’t let that happen.