“Almost weekly,” said Sam. “We changed our hair back to colors found in nature a day before coming here since we didn’t know what to expect.”
“It was clearly the right decision,” said April, taking her hair out of its tight bun for the first time since their arrival. Or, at least, for the first time in front of Deryn. It was shorter than she’d expected. “But I’m bored of this. I’m going to change it tonight.”
“Samesies,” said Sam, taking Deryn’s knife and tossing it into the air. It did several twirls before landing perfectly in his hand. “How about you, vixen? Care to have hair to match?”
Deryn raised her eyebrows. “Green hair? You can do that?”
“Absolutely,” said Sam, giving one of his toothy smiles.
“I don’t think so,” she said. But maybe ... “Do either of you know how to cut hair?”
“Yes -”
“Yeaaah -”
“I wouldn’t mind a little off. For that fresh start.”
April jumped off the table. “Are you finished here?”
“I can be.”
“Meet us in the bathroom in ten minutes.”
She and Sam exited while Deryn cleaned her work space. She was curious what colors they would change their hair to, and also really wanted to see the reactions from everyone else at the base.
She arrived at the bathroom before Sam and April and stood against the wall with her arms crossed, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She normally avoided being in there for longer than necessary.
While she waited, Dakota walked in. He blushed when he saw her, smiling before walking toward the stalls. As he washed his hands after, he glanced at her in the mirror. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Trying to catch a peek. Drop the pants, Triggs.”
Dakota laughed. It was a joke from when they were in guard training together and dating. She would sneak into the men’s restroom to get some alone time with him and would always use that as her opening line.
“Only if you drop yours, Leon.”
But she never did. Though she did drop her top once or twice. A couple of over-the-bra breast squeezes were about all they could sneak in before someone came looking for them. Come to think of it, it was often their instructor Soren Tash who ordered them to return to their duties.
“I’m actually waiting for Sam and April. They’re going to help me cut my hair.”
“It does seem wrong that your hair is longer than mine,” said Dakota with a smile.
The door opened and Sam and April walked in. April immediately noticed Dakota, her already unfriendly face falling into a scowl. “This guy,” she said with complete disgust. “I’ll get rid of him for you.”
As April stomped forward, Deryn hurried to stop her. “No, no. It’s fine. Dax and I are fine. We’ve had a talk since that first training day.”
April kept her distrustful eye on Dakota. “Let me know if that changes and I’ll gladly cut off that stupid ponytail of his.” She lifted the scissors she was holding. “Snip, snip.”
Dakota gulped.
“Well, that’s not right, April. Sometimes he has a bun on the tippity top of his head. That would be more fun to cut off,” said Sam, grabbing Deryn’s arm and walking her over to the sink. “Now, vixen, I’m going to need you to trust us. Can you do that?” he asked while bending her over the sink and turning on the faucet.
“Please, just don’t make it really short.”
“Fine,” said April, her scissors still pointed at Dakota. She opened and closed them slowly.
Deryn heard a bottle open, then felt something cold touch her head, followed by Sam’s fingers. “What is that?”
“Shampoo,” he answered.
“Are you lying?”
“Maybe.” She could hear that stupid grin of his.
“Sam, I swear, if my hair ends up green I’ll take those scissors from April and cut off something of yours far more valuable than hair!”
“He’s not making your hair green,” said April, taking a seat on the counter beside her. “But cutting off his dick does sound fun.”
Sam lifted Deryn from her bent over position. Dakota was still standing nearby and raised his eyebrows.
“Oh god, what did they do?” she demanded.
Dakota opened his mouth but shut it quickly after one sharp snap from April’s scissors. “Nothing,” he said obediently.
“Liar.”
Deryn was pushed onto a bench and April started cutting. While she did that, Sam played with a color wheel on the top of the small bottle he held. He stopped on a pale blue, put just a pinch onto his fingers and stuck his head under the sink.
“So what do you think, April? When these bloody cavemen see our hair will they think we’re freaks or want the same?”
“I expect a good mix,” said April, still snipping Deryn’s hair. “I’ll bet his girlfriend -” She nodded toward Dakota, who was sitting beside Deryn and keeping a close eye on things. “- will see this as proof that we can’t be trusted.”
“That bitch is not his girlfriend,” said Deryn.
Sam walked over with his wet blue hair, the color of sky on a bright, sunny day. He took the scissors from April and she played with the color wheel next, going straight to a deep purple without a second thought.
“What color are you going to do, Dax?” asked Deryn, trying to take her mind off of all the hair falling around her.
Dakota snickered. “I think I’ll stick with what I have.”
There was a loud noise. Deryn looked at April, who was using a brush with air blowing out of its bristles to dry her deep-purple hair.
“We’re ready to dry over here,” said Sam, putting down the scissors and holding out his hand. April gave him the brush. While he dried Deryn’s hair, April went into the small utility closet and came out with a broom.
Deryn had never experienced anything like this before. Sam dried and fluffed her hair, twirling and curling the edges. Sometimes women in Utopia styled their hair but she’d never had the opportunity to be one of them.
When Sam finished, Deryn was scared to look in the mirror. Dakota smiled and gave her an approving nod. It boosted her confidence enough to look.
“Oh.”
Deryn was surprisingly thrilled when she saw herself, the cut a few inches below her shoulders and layered so it wasn’t quite as thick. Sam had changed her natural red streaks so that they were instead a vibrant cherry red. Definitely not a hair color found in nature. But she liked it. She really, really liked it.
“You look like Christmas,” said Sam, grinning proudly beside her.
“And you look like hypothermia,” she responded.
“I’m going to choose to take that as a compliment.”
The door opened and a group of people walked in, Hera and Cress among them.
Cress lowered his head when he saw Deryn. She doubted he even noticed her hair. But Hera did. And she noticed Dakota sitting beside April. The latter picked up her scissors and gave a couple of slow snips. It was amazing how threatening she looked with a simple pair of scissors.
Then, just for fun, April placed a possessive hand on Dakota’s thigh and gave it several strokes a bit higher than he clearly felt comfortable with.
Hera was fuming, but one of her friends dragged her in the other direction.
Dakota, stiff and awkward, looked at April.
She smiled and pulled her hand away. “Don’t worry. Unless your dick magically becomes a vagina, you’re not my type.”
Sam laughed. “Oh please. Even you like some strange every now and again.”
“Only when there’s no one better to do,” said April with a sigh. “Which I may have to resort to while I’m here.” She glanced sideways at Dakota, that little but effective smile of hers returning.
He blushed and looked away.
The four of them left the bathroom before Hera and her group came out of the stalls. It was about dinner time, so after dropping off the hair supplies in April’s r
oom, they headed to the mess hall.
Talon was at his usual table chatting with Laramie. Both of their eyes widened as Sam and April entered with their bright hair. Deryn’s change was barely noticeable standing beside them but, the moment she sat down, Talon smiled and said, “Did you color your hair with the blood of our enemies?”
“I wish,” she said, running her fingers through it.
“I like it. The shorter hair is more like the old Deryn.” Talon reached across the table and gave one of the red streaks a tug.
“And the red is like the new Deryn,” said Sam, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “You should go show it off to your fella.”
“I’ll wait,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous. What if Xander didn’t like it?
But then she felt it. His presence. She always felt it in the way her heart tingled whenever he was near. She looked over at the kitchen door just as he stepped out with a large bowl of chopped fruit. He spotted her immediately, pausing for a moment and taking a good look at her. He blinked several times and then he smiled. After putting the bowl down, he motioned for her to come over.
“He likes it,” whispered Sam as she stood up. He and April exchanged satisfied smiles.
“Well, well, well. What have you been up to?”
“What do you think?” Deryn asked as Xander ran his fingers through her shorter hair.
“I think it’s sexy as hell and I look forward to pulling it later tonight while I’m inside of you.” He fisted her hair and tugged her toward him for a hard kiss.
“I look forward to it.” Deryn gave his aproned bottom a spank. “Now get back to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They parted and Deryn returned to her table, surprisingly happy to see Sam and April looking so delighted. The two of them were masters at making her feel like a normal person and she was so grateful they were there.
“So what time should I join the two of you tonight?” asked Sam.
Deryn laughed and rolled her eyes. “Never going to happen.”
CHAPTER 33
Deryn brushed her teeth for the second time that morning while Xander lay in bed, dirtying up the sheets with his sweat from their early morning workout with Sam and April, and talking through their earpiece to Bronson and Quigley.
He’d wanted to have sex, he always wanted to have sex, but since they had a full schedule and she had no clue when she’d be able to fit in her next shower she’d said no. But she did give him something else, hence the teeth brushing.
He smirked over at her and she scowled before spitting into their small basin.
“Your Cupcake is cleaning my cum out of her mouth.”
Deryn gasped. She flung her toothbrush at him and hit him in the forehead.
“Ow!”
“Whatever she did, you deserved that,” said Bronson through the earpiece. “So tell me something. That ex of yours, Finley.”
Xander’s ears perked up.
“Is she the one who helped you escape? Other than our houseguests, I mean.”
“Possibly,” said Xander. “Why?”
“She approached me. Gave me a letter to Odette from her sister. I wanted to ask you about her before handing it over to the people going at it in our living room.”
“And they’re really fucking loud!” shouted Quigley.
“You can trust Finley,” said Xander, getting back on topic. He cared very little about Neo and Odette fucking in Bronson and Quigley’s living room. “Any news on Luka?”
“Oh, yes!” said Bronson. “Great news, actually. He remembers the night we met. Admitted it right to my face. Still not sure if he’s faking the rest of his memory loss, but he did let me blow him in an alley again. I’m pretty sure he felt as reminiscent as me but ... Oh, wait! I never told you about the first time, did I? Just Cupcake, I think.”
Deryn couldn’t hear the conversation but the look of near vomiting on Xander’s face told her enough. “Oh, good! Did he and Luka do something in an alley again?”
“Sorry, mate! Too much information?” Bronson asked brightly.
Xander groaned. “I fucking hate you.”
After hanging up, Xander accompanied Deryn to her lab. She’d written down some ideas the previous night and wanted to input them into her computer before training began.
When they arrived, Chelsea and Danny were already inside, both crying as they talked quietly to each other. When they saw Xander walk in, they were quick to look away.
“What’s wrong?” asked Deryn, throwing down her notebook and hurrying over to them.
Chelsea shook her head and Danny just sat there, mute.
“Please tell me.”
They looked at each other. Danny shrugged and Chelsea swallowed. She faced Deryn and Xander but did not look at them.
“One of our contacts in the Government Lab was executed yesterday.”
Deryn’s heart dropped. “They were discovered?”
“No, it wasn’t about that. As far as Saevus knows, he executed a completely innocent woman.” Chelsea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “She was executed because she let Xander Ruby take a mind-control chip from the lab and didn’t report it.”
Something heavy and dark settled in Deryn’s chest. She turned to Xander. He stood frozen, his breath shallow and eyes sunken as he took in her words.
“But ...” His mouth barely moved, his words barely spoken. “She was just following orders.”
“From the president’s favorite Guardian. We know,” said Danny. “The man’s off his fucking rocker.”
“Xander.” Chelsea finally raised her eyes and made a point to catch his. “We don’t blame you,” she said firmly. “We blame him. As we should. This isn’t your fault. She told us about her encounter with you months ago. She thought you were acting strangely, but she trusted you more than she trusted Veli Tash so she kept her mouth shut. She put her trust in you before we even knew you were one of us.”
“And that was her downfall.” Xander turned and walked out of the room.
“Sorry, Deryn,” said Danny. “We didn’t think we should tell him but then he just walked in.”
“Don’t apologize, and don’t worry about him. Just grieve,” she said, giving them each a hug before following Xander.
He was standing outside of the door, his back against the wall and his head in his hands. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight.
“Xander, look at me.”
He did, his eyes rimmed with red as tears marked his cheeks. “I didn’t even know her. I didn’t even fucking know her but one conversation with me got her killed. What’s he going to do? Find every person I’ve ever talked to and execute them? How long until he moves on to people I care about? When’s it going to be Luka, or Finley, or Lona’s turn? How long until he drags Bronson and Quigley out of our building and puts them on display? He knows I was friends with them, Deryn, so why hasn’t he acted? It’s because he’s fucking waiting!”
Deryn stretched up and kissed his damp cheek. She pressed her forehead to his and hugged him even tighter.
“We shouldn’t have left them there,” he continued. “We need to get them out. Before it’s too late.”
She nodded, staring deeply into his golden-brown eyes. “I know. We’ll get them out soon. I promise.” She kissed him, a small press together of lips. “But we need to be ready first. We can’t just go in there and grab them, not like we did with you. We got so incredibly lucky and I realize now how stupid I was to just go in there like that. We’re going back for them and we’re bringing an army with us when we do.”
“You were incredibly stupid,” said Xander.
Deryn smiled.
“But I’m glad you came for me.”
A set of quick footsteps turned the corner. Sam smiled when he saw them snuggled together. “Room for three?”
Xander groaned.
“Sorry, Sam, but we’re forever a twosome,” said Deryn.
“You say that now -”
/> “Don’t misconstrue this, but come here for a moment,” said Xander, removing his arms from Deryn and standing up straight. She did the same and took a step back so she wasn’t crowding him.
Sam walked forward, looking rather curious.
“Are you going to ask me for matching red streaks?”
Xander crinkled his brow and said, “Fuck no. I’m just curious to know what your plan is.”
“My plan?”
“Yes, your plan. You have everyone doing this ridiculous training in the mornings, and we both know it isn’t to teach us new skills.”
Sam smiled and said, “You would be correct, sir. The Peace Ops won’t send you an army without a plan. I need to know exactly what it is we’re dealing with and who we have fighting for our side. I also ...” He paused and looked around, making sure there were no lingering ears. “I need to confirm that we’ll be helping the right side. If it turns out the city’s president is a good and righteous leader, it will be my head on the line.”
“How do you confirm something like that?” asked Deryn. “Isn’t my history with him and Xander’s testimony of what goes on in Utopia enough?”
“Afraid not,” said Sam. “Don’t worry. April and I have excellent guts and we know the guy is a knucker. We have a plan, we just need to execute it.”
“And when will that be?” demanded Xander. “We have friends in Utopia. Friends whose lives are in danger, more and more with each passing day. When exactly can they expect to be free? And, I swear, if you tell me this shit plan of yours is going to take months.”
Sam chuckled, his dimples and eyes twinkling. “No, not months. But we won’t be bombarding Utopia tomorrow either. Or the next day, or the next. Again, I need a plan and I haven’t fully formed one yet.” The dimples vanished for a moment. “But there is one thing we can speed up. I hope you don’t have any plans after training because we’re going to have some fun.” And the dimples were back.
• • •
Training with Sam and April that day was short. They ended it before lunchtime and then Sam made a speech about the importance of teamwork and conformity among soldiers.
“From my experience, battles rarely benefit from loose cannons. You need to follow orders because, if you don’t, that could be the difference between life and death. For you. For someone important to you. For someone you don’t even know but, I promise, they’re important to someone. Which is why I’m so disappointed to see such rising tensions between your own people. It shouldn’t be like that. You need to trust those who fight beside you. Which is why some of you will not be fighting.”
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 30