Where He Hides
"Where is he?"
I walked through the arena's empty halls, searching for him with purposeful strides. Whenever I need him, he disappears into one of his hiding places.
So tiny, he could fit in a crack of the wall.
I should have kept an eye on him when I first found Lambit. But no, I was too busy dealing with those three and forcing them to head to Clematis City. Now I have to find him all over again.
This arena was far too big. Our ancestors once fought here—it had been built for their colossal size.
I came to a stop by the ivy-covered pillar. I switched on my device, checking the tracker Lambit had agreed to wear. Unlike the other three—Noctira, Reaver, and Skarvek—he had actually agreed to it.
But the device didn't work in the arena. Security reasons—Hornet had said.
And like every single time, Ava agreed.
Ava. Ava. Ava.
She was just as irritating as the Goddess she was named after.
I rolled my eyes.
Where is he?
I dialed him on the transceiver.
Where did he disappear to now?
Lambit.
"I have been trying to reach you, and this is where you are hiding?" I said, peeking under the desk in the Zionalma lounge room.
He was cramped beneath it, eating gummies.
Ever since we arrived, all the Zionalma Kingdom members had become obsessed with some sort of human snack.
Human food had infected all of them.
As if back home we didn't have snacks of our own.
Then again, Rukhiti* hardly counted as a snack.
"What are you doing here? You'll never grow if you keep stuffing yourself."
He didn't even look at me, focusing on the gummies piled in his lap.
For Leda's sake.
I reached down and dragged him out in one motion.
The gummies scattered across the floor.
He immediately dropped down, scrambling to collect every last one as if the world would end without them.
Tsk.
Pathetic.
And yet—
If he stood, no one here could stop him.
"Silen needs you."
He listens to him.
Not to me.
He froze.
The room stilled.
Slowly, his head turned towards me.
His beige eyes dilated.
"I can't reach him through the transceiver. So go to the VX-12 and help him with whatever he is struggling with."
He didn't waste a single moment. The last gummy disappeared in his mouth.
He rose to his feet—
and was gone before I could blink.
The air settled.
Sigh.
At least he cared about Silen. His only friend.
And Silen's only friend in this miserable place.
My jaw tightened as I stared at the empty space he left behind.
Lambit wasn't like the others.
He never had been.
I stared at the empty hall a moment longer.
Then I turned away.
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Notes:
Rukhiti: A native dish of Zionalma. Usually bitter in taste.