Page 115 of Serpent In White

I give her a pointed look, and she rolls her eyes. It makes me smile. I’m already picking up on her snarky attitude, and I think it’s sort of adorable. She reminds me of a cross between Gem and Lauris.

“Do you like tea?” I ask, in between blowing on the fire just enough to get it going. She does a little half-shrug and a nod. “I have some chai that’s great for breakfast. And I have sandwiches too, if you’re hungry.”

“I don’t usually eat breakfast.” She combs her fingers through her long, wispy locks of hair. It’s mostly blonde, but with these auburn natural highlights that give it an almost pinkish hue, especially when bathed in the light of early morning.

“Well, we have quite the journey ahead of us, so you’ll need sustenance.” I get up and go to the tent to grab my bag so I can boil us water for tea.

When I come back, she says, “Look, I stayed because I thought it would be rude to just disappear on you. You’ve been so kind to me, and I really appreciate it…” I pause with sandwiches in my hand and glance at her. “But I don’t think I can come with you. It’s not a good idea. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you.”

“Well, exactly,” I mumble. “We’d be getting to know each other. That’s the point.”

Her forehead lines and I can hear her thoughts trying to fight against her obvious desire for a change. I know she wants a new life. Of course she does. It’s better than ending your life altogether.

But she’s afraid. Most people are, and it’s fine. Still, I don’t think she should use that as an excuse to bolt.

“No, the point is that I think I’m best on my own for now,” she sighs.

“You see, the thing is, Rhiannon, I know you don’t believe that,” I tell her with certainty. I can hear her thoughts, after all. She doesn’t want to be alone. She actually hates it. But she’s been building a wall around herself based on something that happened to her… something she doesn’t like to think about, so I haven’t caught onto it yet.

“And how would you know?” She huffs, again with the attitude. It makes me want to smile, but I keep it under wraps.

“I just do. I know you think you deserve to be alone and unhappy… You’re not the only one. There’s someone I care a lot about who does the same thing.” My mind drifts to Drake, wondering what he’s doing right now… Slithering through the lab or the woods, or his cabin by himself because he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of the love Darian and I want to give him. “But it’s a mask, a crutch. It’s a Band-Aid, Rhiannon. Eventually you’ll have to face what’s bothering you and let people in, because—”

“All life is precious?” She cuts in with a smirk, and I laugh.

“Because you deserve to be happy, too,” I tell her, handing over a sandwich.

She gapes at it, taking it hesitantly, all the while wondering where I came from, and how it’s possible for me to be so sweet and kind. Her thoughts bring warmth to my stomach. I’d like to be her friend, and introduce her to all the amazing members of my big family. I’m still not even exactly sure why, but I feel a kinship with her.

There’s something about her that’s slinking into me. I found her up here, by such a terrible place rife with bad feelings. She’s like the good that came from the bad.

“I guess… I’ll think about it while we walk.” She unwraps the sandwich and takes a bite.

I release a smile. I just won’t mention that if she decides against entering The Principality, she won’t be welcome on the Expanse.I could potentially be fucking shit up here… But we won’t think about that right now.

“Holy crap!” She shrieks, and I flinch. “This sandwich is so good! You made this, too?”

I nod, chuckling. “It’s my famous bacon and egg sandwich with a secret ingredient. Honey.”

“Okay, that sounds completely disgusting in theory, but it’s freaking delicious,” she raves.

“Sweet always compliments savory.” I give her an unapologetic shrug. “Don’t knock any weird combos until you try them.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, kid. I love Hawaiian pizza.”

“Oh, I make the best Hawaiian pizza,” I tell her. “Bacon, not ham, of course.”

“It’s really the only way,” she agrees, giggling through her massive bites.

I like this girl a lot. She’s super cool, funny in her own aggressive Outsider way. Just very different, and I like that.

I make us some tea, and we drink it by the fire as the sun rises into the sky. I haven’t checked the time, but I’m sure it’s probably close to seven by the time we’re done with breakfast.

“The hike down will take all day,” I tell her, packing everything up after disassembling my tent. “But if we stay on track, we could be back by dinner.”

Rhiannon looks nervous, and her thoughts reflect the same. She’s afraid no one will like her, that she won’t like them. She also seems to be harboring some ideas of what The Principality is about… like mind games and manipulation. I can only assume it’s from something she’s seen on TV or in movies. She has a vivid imagination, that’s for sure.

But I want her to know, “The Principality will be different from how you’ve been living your life, sure. But I mean… you clearly haven’t been thrilled with how your life has been going up until this point, right?”