Chapter 10 10
Kaelen's POV:
She was waiting by the science building when I got there at four, sitting on the steps with her backpack beside her and her face tilted up toward the sun.
Something in my chest tightened at the sight of her.
"Hey," I said, climbing the steps.
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Hey yourself."
"Ready for that walk?"
"Definitely. If I have to look at one more cell diagram today I might actually lose it."
We headed toward the trail that ran along the edge of campus, the one that eventually led into the woods. It was a nice afternoon, warm, the cold hasn’t totally arrived yet.
"So how was your day?" I asked.
"Long. One of my professors spent an hour explaining protein synthesis and I'm pretty sure half the class fell asleep. Including me, almost."
"That boring?"
"No, actually it's fascinating. She's just really good at making fascinating things sound like reading a phone book." Annabeth kicked a small rock along the path. "What about you?"
"Literature. We're reading Beowulf."
"The dragon one?"
I laughed. "Among other things, yeah."
"Is it any good?"
"It's... old. Really old. But there's some interesting stuff about honor and loyalty and fighting monsters."
"Fighting monsters sounds more exciting than protein synthesis."
"Everything sounds more exciting than protein synthesis."
She bumped her shoulder against mine, playful, and the brief contact sent that familiar electric current through me. I wondered if she felt it too, or if this was just my dragon nature reacting to whatever she was.
We walked in comfortable silence for a while, following the path as it curved away from campus and into the trees. The sounds of students and traffic faded behind us until it was just us and the birds and the crunch of leaves under our feet.
"This is nice," Annabeth said. "I didn't know this trail was here."
"I found it a few weeks ago. Good place to clear your head."
"Do you need to clear your head a lot?"
"More than I'd like."
She glanced at me, curious. "Big family stuff?"
"Something like that."
We reached a wooden bench someone had installed years ago, weathered and covered in carved initials. I gestured to it.
"Want to sit for a minute?"
"Sure."
We sat side by side, not quite touching but close enough that I could feel the warmth coming off her skin. Which was weird because the temperature was dropping as the sun got lower, and she should have been getting cold, but instead she felt like she was running a fever.
"Are you cold?" I asked.
"A little." She rubbed her arms. "I forgot to bring a sweater."
I didn't hesitate. I shrugged off my jacket and held it out to her.
"Here."
"Kaelen, you don't have to—"
"Take it. I'm fine."
She took the jacket with a small smile and pulled it on. It was too big on her, the sleeves hanging past her hands, and something about seeing her in my clothes made that possessive dragon part of me very satisfied.
I helped her adjust the collar, my fingers brushing the side of her neck. She went very still, her breath catching, and suddenly the air between us felt thick and charged.
Our eyes met.
For a second neither of us moved. My hand stayed on her neck, my thumb against her pulse point where I could feel her heart racing. Her pupils were dilated, her lips slightly parted, and I wanted to close the distance between us so badly it hurt.
But I forced myself to pull away, to drop my hand and look away before I did something stupid.
"Thanks," she said, her voice quieter than before.
"No problem."
Silence stretched between us, not comfortable anymore but loaded with everything we weren't saying.
Then Annabeth spoke. "Kaelen... can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you ever feel like..." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "Like there's something different about you? Something you can't explain?"
My heart stopped.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to describe it." She pulled the jacket tighter around herself. "It's like... lately I've been noticing things. Weird things. About myself."
"What kind of things?"
"My body temperature has been all over the place. Way too hot, like I'm constantly running a fever, but I don't feel sick. I feel... I feel more awake than I ever have." She looked at me. "And I've been having these dreams. Really vivid ones. About flying and fire and... and things that shouldn't be possible."
Every word she said confirmed what I already suspected. She was awakening. Her dragon nature was manifesting and she had no idea what was happening to her.
I should tell her. Right now. Explain everything before it got worse.
But Marlen's voice was in my head: "Not until you're sure. Not until we know it's safe."
"That sounds intense," I said carefully. "Have you talked to a doctor?"
"No. I mean, what would I even say? I feel too hot all the time and I dream about being a dragon?" She laughed but it was strained. "They'd think I was crazy."
"You're not crazy."
"How do you know?"
Because I'm a dragon and I recognize my own kind. Because every instinct I have is screaming that you're one of us. Because when you touched me that first night my essence recognized yours and I've been drawn to you ever since.
"I just know," I said instead. "Sometimes people go through... changes. Especially around your age. It's probably just stress or hormones or something."
It was a terrible lie and we both knew it.
"Right," she said, not sounding convinced. "Stress."
"Annabeth—"
"No, you're probably right. I'm overthinking things. I always do that." She turned to look at me fully. "It's just... when I'm around you, everything feels more intense. Like whatever's happening to me gets stronger when you're close."
Oh God.
"That's... that's probably just—"
"Chemistry?" she suggested with a small smile. "Is that what you were going to say?"
"Something like that."
She held my gaze. "Is it just me or do you feel it too?"
I should lie. I should make up some excuse and change the subject and keep the distance that would keep us both safe.
Instead I said: "I feel it."
Her breath hitched. "Okay. Good. I was worried I was imagining it."
"You're not imagining anything."
We were close again, closer than we'd been a minute ago, and I wasn't sure which of us had moved first. Her face was tilted up toward mine, her eyes bright and searching, and all I could think about was how easy it would be to just lean down and—
My phone rang, shrill and intrusive in the quiet of the woods.
We both jerked back.
"Shit," I muttered, pulling out my phone. Marlen's name on the screen. "I'm sorry, I have to—"
"It's fine. Answer it."
I accepted the call. "Marlen, this isn't a good—"
"Kaelen, you need to come home. Now." Her voice was tight with fear. "Someone was in the house."
Everything else disappeared.
"What? When? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Lucian's fine, but someone was here. While we were at school. Things are moved, drawers opened. Kaelen, they were looking for something."
I was already standing, my body going into protection mode. "I'm coming. Lock all the doors. Don't let anyone in. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Okay. Hurry."
I ended the call and looked at Annabeth, who was watching me with concern.
"I have to go. Family emergency."
"Is everything okay?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry, I have to—"
"Go." She stood up too. "It's fine. I understand. Text me later?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I will."
I was already backing away, my mind racing through worst-case scenarios.
"Kaelen," she called. I turned. "Be careful, okay?"
"Always."
I ran.
Left her standing there in my jacket, alone on that bench, with all her questions unanswered and that connection in the air between us.
But as I sprinted back toward campus and my car, all I could think about was Marlen's voice saying "someone was in the house" and the black car I'd seen last night and the growing certainty that running away might not be enough this time.