Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (hardest books to read txt) 📕

Her eyebrows shot up as the sentiment caught her by surprise. “P-proud?”

I nodded. “Yeah, proud. Despite our current situation, you still managed to look back at everything that happened and gain some rational insights from it. You know what went wrong during our fight, you’re talking about how you’re feeling, and more importantly, why you’re feeling that way...” I gave her a slight shrug. “I guess your maturity caught me off guard, is all.”

Lia’s face burned a bright red. “Why wouldn’t you expect that I could be mature?! I’m an adult, and we’re basically the same age!” She fumbled over her words, clearly flustered. “I’m mature!”

“Now THAT’S the Lia I know,” I teased. She looked away and pouted as I laughed. “I’m sorry, Lia,” I said as I wiped a tear from my eye, “you know I’m teasing you, right?” I stood and moved across the wagon to sit beside her, and she glared daggers at me in response. “Oh, c’mere, you,” I chuckled playfully, putting an arm over her shoulders. Lia looked away and held her nose up in feigned indignation, but she eventually leaned her head back in my arm.

“I appreciate that you talked to me about how you were feeling. I hope we can always be open and honest like this in the future, too.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You’re the only person I’d want by my side in this world, Lia. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

She snuggled into my shoulder and let out a contented sigh. “Thanks, Lux.” We sat quietly and enjoyed each other’s company, comfortable in the temperate autumn weather. The road had smoothed significantly since our morning departure and made for a much less jarring ride. After a few minutes Lia was dozing against my chest, and I made no effort to resist falling asleep myself. As I rested my head atop hers, I caught the familiar airy scent of mint from her hair, and I joined her in sleep with a smile on my face.

The sky was a pale orange when the wagon stopped again and roused me from my nap. I gently extricated my arm from behind Lia’s head and shifted back to my bench as a single set of heavy footfalls moved along the side of the cart. The locks on the door were removed and, without a shout of warning, the doors creaked open. To my surprise, the commander of the guard company stood at the exit. He examined us with a chiseled, emotionless grimace that looked as though it hadn’t left his face in decades.

I gave him a jovial wave, clearly displaying my bare wrists. “Good afternoon, sir. I didn’t expect to see you bringing us our dinner.”

His cold, steely eyes bore through my false cheerful demeanor as he stared at me wordlessly. After a long pause, he turned to look at Lia. “Girl, come here.” She flashed me a quick look of uncertainty before she stood and crept carefully to the exit. The commander gave her a brief inspection, then reached into his pocket and fished through its contents. His hand emerged with a small steel key, which he inserted into Lia’s manacles and gave a hard turn. The cuffs fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

“This is your last chance to relieve yourselves for the night,” he said, his gruff voice cool and even. Turning to allow us exit, he motioned to a patch of trees. “Any attempts to escape will be met with severe punishment.” He met my gaze as he spoke his warning and gave me a knowing look.

I nodded in return as I stood to exit the wagon. “Thank you, sir.” Lia hopped down to the ground, and I followed suit. We were at the side of a road I recognized, having traveled it by foot in the other direction only a few days prior. Two wagons flanked our prison cart on either side with a large collection of guards milling about between them. Directly to our right, four men with crossbows eyed me anxiously.

Lia and I returned to the cart immediately after finishing our business in the thicket. I waved at the men with crossbows as we passed, which drew looks of disgust from two of them, and a look of panic from the others. My lips tightened as I resisted the urge to laugh. When we reentered the cart, the commander set another bag of food on the bench. “Don’t make me regret this,” he called out as he picked up the unlocked manacles.

“Of course not, sir. I greatly appreciate it,” I responded in earnest.

He turned to close the doors but paused to look over his shoulder. “It’s Savitz. Third Company Commander Savitz.”

The statement surprised me. “Oh. Thank you, Commander Savitz.” Without a response, Savitz closed the wagon doors and locked the latches before heading back towards the front of the caravan. I moved to the door and retrieved the food, only now realizing I hadn’t eaten anything for almost a full day. After choosing a plump asperfruit from the meager selection, I handed the bag to Lia and took my seat.

“So…” Lia said as she picked through the offering, “What do we do now?”

I smiled as I took a bite from the fruit, pausing a moment to savor the delicious spiced jelly inside. “Well, we’ve spent two days relaxing in luxury here so far. I think it’s time we get to work.”

***

2. BREAKTHROUGH

A bead of sweat dripped from Lia’s nose down to the wooden floor, jostled by the rumbling of our wagon. She sat cross legged with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes closed. Although the morning air was cold enough to make our breath visible, we were both hot and red faced from exertion. I studied Lia intently through my closed eyelids, watching her mana rush down her limbs and cascade back to her