Such a Daring Endeavor Read Free Page B

from my studies. Why you took my freedom.” He brandishes the talisman at them as if they need the reminder.
    Miss Hawkes frames her face into a pout. Clearly, she doesn’t like being criticized. She huffs before opening her mouth to speak when the thick door at the far end of the lab swings open, and a pair of soldiers rushes in, looking harried.
    General Blinnsdale directs his attention toward them. “Odis, you see I’m with someone. Can’t this wait?”
    In a uniform similar to the general’s, Odis inclines his head toward Miss Hawkes, then at Warwick, which surprises him, before returning his attention back to the general. “Apologies, sir. You said to report immediately. There’s still no sign of Haraway or the Csilles, sir.”
    General Blinnsdale slams the clipboard back on the counter, and Miss Hawkes lifts her chin, a severe expression in her eyes. Her heels clack as she moves toward the soldiers.
    “Then keep looking,” the general commands. “No soldiers must be spared until they are found, do you hear me, Odis?”
    Odis lowers his head. “Yes, sir. We did find the location, though. Csille didn’t lie—”
    “Of course he didn’t,” General Blinnsdale says wryly, fingering the claw at his belt. Warwick winces, remembering the sting when Miss Hawkes stabbed a similar weapon into his thigh. “He couldn’t.”
    Odis dips his head. “Their leader is gone, but traces of the wares were unmistakable. It’s Black Vault, all right.”
    General Blinnsdale straightens his posture, giving them a pleased smile. “Tell the men to gather whatever spoils they can find. Take everything—and everyone—back to Valadir.”
    Odis’s heels click together. “Yes, sir.”
    Black Vault? Warwick hadn’t thought the black market actually existed, and yet here someone was claiming they found it? These Arcaians may have questions for him, but if they want answers, they’ll have to provide some of their own.
    The soldiers leave the room, and General Blinnsdale turns to Miss Hawkes. A spark flickers in her eyes, and the glare she was holding melts away under his calculating stare. The general slides his hand to her cheek, drawing her to him in a quick kiss. Although he’s old enough to be her father, she smiles when he pulls away.
    “I’ve got to make sure things are taken care of,” General Blinnsdale says. “You okay here?”
    She gives him a smug smirk. “Under control, sir.” The words are more playful than affirmative, yet he kisses her once more before stomping out of the room.
    Warwick watches with interest. He should have known she was no ordinary recruit. It’s not like Miss Hawkes has the build, carriage, or dress of a soldier.
    She clacks her way back to Warwick, taking an empty beaker and balancing it between her fingers. Her lips are puckered up into the same expression she wore the first time he saw her two days before.
    “You have my transcripts,” he says. “You know who I am. I want to know why. Why, of all people in Itharia, did you pick me?”
    She moves in closer, her gaze lowering. The same pull from earlier compels him now. He grits his teeth. He tries to back away, forces his mind to fight it, but his arms lift to encircle the blonde girl’s waist.
    The stark green of her eyes swirls with segments of gold and the smallest traces of blue. His pulse quickens. He swallows.
    “What are you doing?” he asks, wishing he could back away, wishing he didn’t enjoy the closeness.
    “What is one flaw you’ve found in the transportation system in Jienke?” she asks.
    So she read his report. Or at least she knows what he was working on when she unceremoniously stole his freedom.
    He fidgets in discomfort. The heat of her, the line of her body against his… She’s standing far too close. The same pull from earlier forces the words from his lips.
    “We need a perpetual source of energy for the public transportation system in the city. Workers who drive the vehicles for pedestrians tire