Nine doesn’t move when we come in, he just stands there with his arms crossed over his chest and glares at us. “Where have you two been?”

“Geez,” says Eight, inching around Nine’s bulk. “How long have you been standing here waiting for us? Aren’t your feet tired?”

“We just went out for a bit,” I explain, feeling more than a little timid around Nine. It reminds me of getting caught sneaking back into the orphanage after curfew, and I briefly picture Nine trying to take a ruler to my knuckles. “Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine,” snaps Nine, focusing more on Eight than me. “You can’t just go gallivanting around the city without telling me.”

“Why not?” counters Eight.

“Because it’s bullshit,” growls Nine. I can see his mind working, like he’s trying to think of something else to say. “It’s irresponsible and careless. It’s stupid.”

“It was a couple hours,” complains Eight, rolling his eyes. “Spare me the Cêpan lecture.”

It is kind of funny to see Nine so enraged about us acting out of line, especially considering the stories I’ve heard Four tell about their time together on the road. Strangely, it’s also endearing. He puts on this big show of being this tough-as-nails loose cannon, but when he woke up to find us gone, he was actually concerned about us.

I touch Nine on the arm, trying to defuse the situation. “I’m sorry we worried you.”

“Whatever, I wasn’t worried,” Nine snarls, jerking his arm away from me and rounding on Eight again. “You think that was a lecture? Maybe I should show you the kind of lectures I used to get, back when I was a cocky little dumbass.”

Eight wiggles his fingers at Nine, just egging him on further. Most of the time his joking around is charming, but this is one of those times when I wish he’d just cut it out. Nine steps right up to Eight; they’d be nose to nose if Eight was a few inches taller. Eight doesn’t back down, still smiling, like it’s all just a goof.

“Come on,” says Nine, his voice low. “I’ve seen you in the Lecture Hall playing patty-cake with Six. You ain’t trained with me yet.”

Eight glances down at an imaginary watch. “Sure, dude. I’ve got some time to kill.”

Nine smiles. He looks over his shoulder at me. “You too, Nurse Marina. Your boyfriend’s gonna need you.”

CHAPTER NINE

“I’M GOING TO WHIP YOU INTO SHAPE,” DECLARES Nine. “That way, the next time there’s a mission, we won’t be the ones left sitting on our asses.”