Secret Value of Zero, The by Victoria Halley Read Free Book Online

hours, Meke’s brain grew to accommodate these interlopers begrudgingly and painfully. Neuron by neuron, her brain righted all shapes and found some rhyme and reason to them.  
    The world filled in around Meke. Things found their rightful place. Her world felt bigger, more intense than ever before. Meke gasped as she felt a bug crawl on a tree trunk as she sensed the wind sweeping along the ground.  
    Meke was too tired for wonderment and awe. She fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.  
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    The new way of relating to the world felt too vivid, too full. Now, however, her head didn’t ache so. It only throbbed dully, as if her mind had overexerted itself.  
    Meke walked through the forest, feeling every evergreen needle in its own clarity, tracing the contours of the cliff on her left. Meke stumbled, her sense of the ground inconstant and fickle. Her sense still left her slightly heavy-headed and dizzy, but now she didn’t wince in pain or need to steady herself on trees as she walked.  
    Meke had to smile. This thing, this sense, was becoming hers. No longer did it feel like something alien lived in her brain without her permission. Her mind was hers again. She had achieved this all by herself.
    She could even feel Arya slow down in front of her. Arya adjusted her belt, which had protruding dagger hilts. “You okay?” she asked, glancing at Meke’s slightly too-wide stance.  
    Meke nodded, righting her feet. Her balance felt unreliable these days, so she had nudged her feet apart to compensate.  
    “You know. We’ll be over the mountains in two days. There will be some people there to pick us up.”
    Meke exhaled. “Okay. Then what?”
    “We’ll go to the Barracks. That’s where Sterling is. You’ll meet him and see what you can do.”
    Meke frowned. “What if I don’t want to do anything?”
    “Why wouldn’t you?”
    Meke thought about telling Arya about her old plans to roam the country. Then she looked at Arya’s expectant gaze and just shrugged. Arya glanced at her. “This will be a way for you to make things right,” Arya said.
    Meke nodded. Arya walked ahead, satisfied with the mute reply.  
    Meke looked around her. Not just with her eyes and that sense, but with her brain. Arya, Theria and Trove all formed a loose triangle around her. Cecil stayed with Theria, but he walked with her without hesitation. These people had ringed her for the last few days, just like this.
    Meke slowed, making sure to lag behind Theria who had been behind her. Trove dropped back as well, keeping level with her. He kept his eyes fixed in front of him, but Meke felt his attention on her. She slowed down even more, stretching the distance between her and Theria. Trove glanced at her, turning his body toward her, keeping his eyes on her. Meke sped up, closing the gap and Trove turned back, his posture relaxing.
    They’re keeping me with them , she realized. Now she was having trouble breathing. Why ?
    Meke tried to think. She was still a Zero, a speck in a universe of important things. Surely, they would leave an unimportant thing like her alone. Then again, they’d risked their lives to rescue two meaningless specks. Meke had to trust that there was a good reason.
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    She hadn’t consciously kept this new thing from them, but every time she raised her hands to tell someone, she dropped them. This thing was hers, something that she didn’t want to share with anyone. Besides, how could she tell someone something she didn’t even understand? She couldn’t put these feelings into words. Now that she felt like it was hers , finally, she couldn’t give it up so soon after she had mastered it.
    She should tell Arya. Not only should she tell Arya, but Trove was noticing. Sometimes she would feel something flutter or move nearby and turn to look. Every time that happened, Trove would fix these dark eyes on her. His mouth would twist into a strange shape as if he needed to