“What’s the point of stains?”
“There isn’t any. That’s why we don’t have them in the Realms. ” Aria studied her best friend. Paisley wore a pinched expression, her brow overlapping the edge of her Smarteye. “Are you all right?”
Paisley waved her fingers in front of her Eye. “I hate this. Everything’s missing, you know? Where is everyone? And why do I sound so pseudo?”
“We all do. Like we swallowed megaphones. ”
Paisley lifted an eyebrow. “A what?”
“A cone people used to make their voices louder. Before microphones. ”
“Sounds mega-regress,” Paisley said. She scooted around, squaring her shoulders to Aria. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Why are we with Soren?”
Now that they were shut off, Aria realized she could tell Paisley her reason for flirting with him. “I need to find out about Lumina. I know Soren can get information from his father. He might already know something. ”
Paisley’s expression softened. “The link is probably just down. You’ll hear from her soon. ”
“The link has only dropped for a few hours before. Never for this long. ”
Paisley sighed, leaning back against the plastic mound. “I couldn’t believe it when you sang to him the other night. And you should’ve seen Caleb. He thought you’d broken into your mother’s medicines. ”
Aria smiled. She usually kept her voice private, something strictly between herself and her mother. But a few nights ago, she made herself sing a sultry ballad to Soren in a Cabaret Realm. In minutes that Realm had reached full capacity, with hundreds of people waiting to hear her sing again. Aria had left. And just as she’d hoped, Soren had been chasing her since. When he’d proposed the idea for tonight, she’d jumped at the opportunity.
“I had to get him interested. ” She flicked a seed off her knee. “I’ll talk to him as soon as he calls off the fruit war. Then we’ll get out of here. ”
“Let’s get him to stop now. We’ll tell him we’re bored . . . which we are. ”
“No, Pais,” Aria said. Soren wasn’t one to push into anything. “I’ll handle it. ”
Soren leaped on top of the farming row in front of them, making them both jump. He held an avocado, his arm cocked back. His grays were covered in blotches of juice and pulp. “What’s wrong? Why are you both just sitting here?”
“We’re bored with Rotball,” Paisley said.
Aria winced, waiting for Soren’s reaction. He crossed his arms, his jaw working side to side as he stared down at them.
“Maybe you should leave then. Wait. I almost forgot. You can’t leave. Guess you’ll have to stay bored, Paisley. ”
Aria glanced at the airlock door. When had he closed it? She realized he had all the codes for the door and for resetting their Smarteyes. “You can’t trap us in here, Soren. ”
“Actions precede reactions. ”
“What’s he talking about?” Paisley asked.
“Soren! Get over here,” Bane called. “You need to see this!”
“Ladies. I’m needed elsewhere. ”
He tossed the avocado into the air before he jogged away. Aria caught it without thinking. It popped open in her hand, becoming a slick green mess.
“He means we’re too late, Pais. He already locked us out. ”
Aria checked the airlock door anyway. The panel didn’t respond. She stared at the red emergency switch. It was wired directly to the mainframe. If she hit it, Reverie Guardians would come to help them. But then they’d also be punished for breaking out and probably have their privileges in the Realms docked. And she’d lose any chance to speak with Soren about her mother.
“We’ll stay a little longer. They’ll have to go back soon. ”
Paisley pulled her hair over one shoulder. “All right. But can I hold your hand again? It feels more like being in the Realms. ”
Aria stared at her best friend’s extended hand. Paisley’s fingers were twitching slightly. She took her hand, but fought the urge to pull away as they walked to the far end of the dome together. There, the three boys stepped through a door Aria hadn’t noticed before. Another set of lights clicked on. For a moment, she wondered if her Smarteye had reactivated and she was actually seeing a Realm. A forest loomed in front of them, beautiful and green. Then she looked up, seeing the familiar white ceiling above the treetops, run through by a maze of lights and pipes. It was a huge terrarium, she realized.