The Princess Trials (The Princess Trials #1)(52)
“Is there another cape?” I ask.
She lifts the seat, rifles through the storage compartment beneath, and pulls out a green cape.
I walk to the solar bike and lower myself on the seat. “Give her here.”
After positioning Gemini in front of me, Berta places the cape over my head, and the garment engulfs the smaller girl and me. This arrangement will crush her between our bodies, but at least she’s no longer being pelted by acid rain.
Berta mounts the solar bike and flicks her head to a sodden track. “Let’s go.”
This is the first time I’ve been on anything other than a pushbike, and the gentle rumble of the solar bike makes my heart thrum. As the night fades, and our surroundings brighten, hot rain batters our bodies. I cling onto Berta, and sweat covers every inch of my skin. Poor Gemini feels as hot as a roasted bird.
We travel alongside a stream that’s so full of sludge that it resembles pea soup and an overturned jeep submerged to the wheels in the water. I exhale a long breath and wonder what on earth happened to the Amstraadi girls. Up ahead, abandoned solar bikes litter the track, and Berta negotiates them with rapid turns. I shake my head, wondering if they also ran out of battery.
The ground dips, and we speed down a slope that feels like it’s crumbling under the bike’s wheels. Clenching my teeth, I grip to Berta’s larger body, hoping I’m not killing poor Gemini.
As the acid rain dwindles to a few stray drops, we round a huge salt mound and approach a dome that appears to be built on water. Its reflection ripples, and steam seems to billow out from beneath the building. Berta cuts off the engine and dismounts. She pulls the cape off our bodies and, without being prompted, carries Gemini through the door.
My entire body slumps forward, and a huge breath gusts out from my lungs. It’s too early to feel relieved. Just as the prize for arriving first is a meal with Prince Kevon, I think there will be a penalty for ending last.
Chapter 15
The moment I step through the door of the Mirage, blue light shines at me from all directions, accompanied by several blasts of cold air. It chills my wet skin, and I squeak at the memory of another type of sterilizing light I experienced at the start of the Trials.
I’m in a vestibule of some sort with another door straight ahead, secured by a tall panel that scans my body. The cuff on my wrist vibrates, and a shudder runs through my insides. What on earth are they doing to do to me now?
“Zea-Mays Calio, Harvester Echelon, Rugosa,” says a mechanical voice. “Detoxification complete. You have clearance.”
With a click, the door opens, and I step through to the Mirage.
Even though the Mirage is a dome, its interior is a larger version of the room I share with Gemini and Berta. The main space is square with six beds spaced evenly against one wall opposite a living space of four sofas, a table with six chairs, and a kitchenette. I gape at the double perspex doors of what appears to be a refrigerator.
Gemini lies on one of the sofas with an angry rash covering her face and hands, and Berta lounges on another with a giant bag of trail mix.
I rush to a tall refrigerator and pull open the doors. A blast of frigid air engulfs my body, but there’s absolutely nothing on any of the shelves.
“Where’s the water?” I ask.
Something hard and cold hits the side of my head and falls to the ground. I close the refrigerator door and stare at the plastic bottle on the floor. Resisting the urge to say something about throwing precious resources, I pick up the water and perch on the edge of Gemini’s sofa.
Tiny blisters appear on the side of her face, and I hiss through clenched teeth. All that time spent exposed to acid rain must have caused them to flare up. I raise my head and glower at Berta, who stares at a huge screen.
“Why didn’t you wake me when you carried Gemini out of the shelter?” I ask.
She turns to me and raises a thick brow. “You want the knight in shining armor treatment?”
I flinch at her words. Mom’s voice scolds me for being ungrateful, but something about this situation doesn’t add up. She also could have returned for us the moment she discovered the quad bike. It would have saved her the extra trip.
Prunella Broadleaf’s broad face appears onscreen. “Congratulations, stragglers! Now that your entire team has reached the Mirage, you have completed the teamwork trial.”
“Oh.” I dip my head. They wouldn’t allow Berta to return to the barracks until she had collected us all. I wonder what Mom would say about the larger girl’s behavior.
Prunella tells us that a vehicle is on its way, and the screen broadcasts highlights from yesterday’s trial to a comedic saxophone solo.
The first scene is of the Nobles sitting in their spacious covered jeep, enjoying snacks and glasses of sparkling liquid. It cuts to a view of them speeding through the wilderness and launching explosives at the Amstraadi girls in their topless vehicle.
“They were having a party,” mutters Berta.
“Yes.” I raise Gemini’s head onto my lap and crack open the bottle. After pouring some of the water into the cap, I place it between her cracked lips.
Back on the screen, Vitelotte can’t get her zebu to move, and Emmera’s collapses with exhaustion. Corrie Barzona, the milkmaid, coaxes Vitelotte’s zebu with a handful of water, and all the Harvester girls cross the expanse together, sharing bottles of water and trail mix covered in melted chocolate.