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Sebastian could feel Hess’s shifting frustration and waited for him to say something, but then the frustration got tamped down, and Hess said nothing.
They kept walking, Sebastian feeling out for a right turn but also with one mental tendril outstretched and resting lightly over Hess’s consciousness, simply too curious to look away.
“I can feel you hovering,” Hess finally grumbled.
“How would you know?” Sebastian mentally yanked back nonetheless. “Maybe it always feels like this when you have a torvar in your head.”
“No, you’re hovering.” Hess shifted in his head. “You’re too close.”
Sebastian bit his lip, unnerved by Hess’s certainty. He was right, of course, which just drove home how exposed Sebastian’s mental state was to him. And Hess was exactly the person Sebastian had the most confused mental state about. He didn’t want Hess to be able to see all the feelings he—
Sebastian stubbed the toe of his boot into a raised pipe, tripped, and slammed his knee into the ground.
“Ow.”
“Ow.”
“Sorry.” Sebastian rubbed his—Hess’s—knee apologetically and climbed back to his feet.
“Try to be a little careful. Unlike you, I only have the one body.”
“Well then, maybe you should try stretching it now and again.” Sebastian shrugged, dropped his shoulders, and picked up his knees a little higher to make sure he didn’t hit any more hidden obstacles.
Defensive confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re so tense!” Sebastian threw his arms into the air, and his muscles rebelled at such an emotive motion. “How do you live like this?”
“I’m not tense. I’m controlled.”
“No, you’re constricted.”
And then, to Sebastian’s surprise, Hess laughed. “Compared to you, I suppose I am.”
Sebastian was saved from thinking of how to respond by his hand dipping into the alcove he’d been looking for. “Finally!”
“What is it?”
“Supplies.”
Sebastian squatted and felt around the ground for the backpack he knew was there. Sure enough, his hand caught on a strap, and he pulled the pack toward him. He felt around inside until his hands closed on cold metal. Then he closed his eyes and flicked the switch.
White light flared behind his eyelids, and after a few moments, he slowly blinked them open.
The small lantern blazed like a sun in the small space after so much darkness, and he set it as far from himself as he could while still using the light to inventory the pack.
“You know these tunnels well.” Admiration and pride bled out from Hess, and Sebastian blushed.
He shrugged a shoulder, and it actually felt very natural. He and Hess must shrug the same. He pulled out a water bottle and opened a cap. “I have to use them a lot for jobs in Ralscoln.”
“And you can navigate them in the dark.” Hess’s consciousness sagged a little in relief as Sebastian took a swig. They could both feel the discomfort of their dry, parched throat. “You’re impressive.”
Warmth and pride flooded through Sebastian, and he ducked his head as he opened a ration bar. Hess thought he was impressive. Ugh, he was ridiculous. He already knew that; Hess had told him he was his most valuable soldier, hadn’t he? But still, it made his heart beat faster. But actually, that was Hess’s heart. What a mess.
He took a bite of the ration bar to distract himself—and because their stomach was rumbling—and then immediately fought the urge to spit it out. “What the fuck?”
Sheepishness from Hess. “Oh, right.”
Sebastian looked at the perfectly normal bar, then grabbed the wrapper and brought it closer to the light to see if there was anything weird about it, but it was perfectly normal too. “Why does this taste so bad?”
