a/n: ;)

Chapter Nineteen

I started to break into a jog beside Biana, our thighs brushing as we sprinted through the dewy grass. It was a momentary thing, but I soon realized that sometime in our run, mine and Biana's hands had interlocked, our fingers slid together and pressing warmth into each others' hands.

We had gotten about halfway across Everglen's pasture when I telepathically reach out to her mind to check on what we were about to do. So, what's the plan? I transmit, struggling to keep the connection secure while running.

You're going to guard the location we pick, and I'll Vanish, travel to their base- which you'll discover by reading one of their minds, or both, because they'll likely try some kind of trick to keep you away from the actual location, she thought. Sounds good to you?

Okay, I reply, and to show her I understood, my fingers slide deeper into her clutch, squeezing her hand in agreement. How about there? I point a sweaty finger to the patch of various hedge sculptures aligning the house, one of which was the posing wyvern I had only noticed the last time I was here.

Biana nods, and we cross the yard swiftly, our bodies nearly hitting the wall in exhaustion. "We can't rest yet," Biana pants out. "Not until we beat their sorry asses," she adds confidently.

I grin. "Don't be so sure. Fitz and Dex are good at this game."

Biana scoffs. "They're mediocre at best. Don't humble them, Sophie."

"Okay okay," I say, and close my eyes, pressing both fingers on either side of my temples, concentrating on Fitz's mind. I pushed my whisper of consciousness over the length of the yard, searching for his mind. I find it, and delve into his thoughts stealthily. There were various images flashing through his mind: a riverbank, a patch of red fir trees by a bunch of stalky flowers that wove around them, and a few stumps hidden under a canopy of thistles. "He's trying to confuse me," I confirm, and decide to try Dex's mind this time.

I dive into his mental threads, plucking through the images he had at the front of his mind. I frowned slightly, noticing a few glowing thoughts that kept sorting to the back of his mind.

Deciding not to invade his privacy, I ignore those and focus on the strong images of different parts of Everglen that were potential candidates for their base.

I rifle through them, realizing that one of them were the same as Fitz's.

"Their base looks like a small circle of red fir trees, with these orange yellow flowers surrounding them. Does anything come to mind?" I report back to Biana, opening my mind and returning to our current situation at hand.

Biana tapped her chin thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah, there are a lot of fir trees growing here but we have one part that kinda grows the way you described- and with the flowers and everything. I'm going in," she said steadily.

"Good luck," I mouth to her as she starts running away from the hedges and me, going straight for their base.

I prop my body against the side of the wall, keeping watch of the yard. I was almost certain it was going to be Dex coming to try and touch our base- but was somewhat surprised when I spotted Fitz's figure galloping across the lawn, eyes squinted in determination. I flex my fingers and slowly walk to the edge of our base, awaiting him.

He saw me and curved around the trees, beelining for the hedges.

I scream a battle cry and slam my body against the pushing breeze, running through the grass that tickled my exposed ankles.

Fitz dastardly avoided me, preventing an opportunity I almost had to hit his shoulder. "Get back here!" I yell, chasing after him. I manage to expertly turn around the trees, the ends of my lips curling up as I push the energy thrumming in the back of my mind into a brain push, my body hurling through the space at an impossible speed.

"No fair!" Fitz complained as I cornered him, wiggling my hands teasingly.

"Surrender," I order, trapping him between the wall- which was a good three meters away from our base.

Fitz was literally backed against the wall, with no choice but to allow me to hit his shoulder.

"Tagged!" I cackle.

He slumps his shoulders in submission, nodding. "You got me."

I smirk triumphantly, crossing my arms over my chest and glancing over the distance, trying to make out whether Biana or Dex were heading for this base.

Blowing a strand of my blonde hair out of my eyes, I squint at the purple clad girl sprinting like she was winning a marathon. "I did it!" she screamed joyously, pumping her fists into the air. "I touched their base, Sophie! We're winners!"

My eyes lit up and I broke into a run, throwing my arms around a laboriously breathing Biana. She wrapped her arms around my back, her cheek brushing mine. "We won, Soph. What did I tell you? We're the pros here," Biana breathed out, and unexpectedly rested her forehead against mine, her crystalline teal blue eyes boring into me. The tips of our noses knocked, and I felt the warm waves of air from her lips washing onto mine, warming them.

"We did," I whisper faintly.

My gaze kept subconsciously flickering to her lips- they looked unbelievably soft, and tantalizing.

Acting purely on my instincts, I lower my mouth onto hers, our lips connecting for a brief duration.

Biana let out a tiny squeak of surprise but she pressed her lips into mine with vigor. My tongue swished over her bottom lip, licking up some leftover lip gloss- it tasted like a foreign elven berry and mint, tingling the skin in my mouth- and we kissed for what felt like a moment that had lasted forever. I pulled away, my breath stolen right out of me.

I pant, my chest heaving as I struggled to make sense of what I just did.

Did I just... kiss Biana Vacker?