Chapter 35 35
Annabeth's POV:
I should've pulled my hand back. Should've stepped away and put distance between us like we'd agreed to do during training. But I didn't. I kept my palm pressed to his chest, feeling his heart pounding and the heat radiating through him and the way his breath had gone shallow.
"Annabeth." My name came out of his lips almost like a warning.
But I moved even closer and sat next to him, leaving no space at all between our bodies. I looked at him and his eyes were gold, fully gold, that blue-green completely consumed by his dragon nature. We were close enough that I could feel his breath on my face, see the way his jaw was clenched tight, watch the muscle in his neck jump as he swallowed hard.
The air between us felt electric, charged with something that had been building for weeks. Every training session where we'd touched, every conversation where we'd gotten too close, every moment of tension we'd carefully avoided was right there in the space between us.
His control was slipping. I could see it, feel it, and mine wasn't much better. My hand moved from his chest to his shoulder, then his neck, my fingers brushing the edge of his jaw.
He made a sound low in his throat that went straight through me.
"We shouldn't," he said, but he didn't move away. If anything he leaned closer, his forehead almost touching mine.
"I know."
"Marlen's right outside."
"I know."
"And I'm sick and probably contagious and—"
I kissed him.
Or started to. Our lips were maybe a centimeter apart, both of us barely breathing, his hand finally moving to cup the back of my neck, when the door opened.
"Kaelen, do you want—oh." Marlen stood in the doorway, her expression caught between annoyance and triumph. "Sorry. Am I interrupting?"
I jumped back from Kaelen so fast I almost tripped over my own feet. My face went bright red and I couldn't look at either of them.
"Yes," Kaelen said flatly. "You're interrupting."
"My bad. I'll just... yeah." But she didn't leave, just stood there smirking. "I was gonna ask if you wanted soup but I can see you're busy."
"Marlen."
"Fine, fine. I'm going." She backed out and closed the door, but I could hear her laughing in the hallway.
The moment was completely shattered. I covered my face with my hands and groaned.
"I'm gonna die of embarrassment."
"She did that on purpose," Kaelen said, and he sounded somewhere between amused and frustrated. "She's been timing her interruptions since yesterday, I swear."
"Yesterday?"
"Every time I'm about to fall asleep she comes in asking some random question. She's making a point about something, I'm just not sure what."
I lowered my hands and looked at him. He'd put his shirt back on at some point, which was probably for the best, and was leaning back against the pillows looking exhausted but also happier than when I'd first arrived.
"You need to rest," I said. "And I should go before Marlen decides to murder me for making you sicker."
"You're not making me sicker. Actually I feel better with you here."
"That's the fever talking."
"Maybe." He reached for my hand again and I let him take it. "Annabeth, what I did yesterday, absorbing your fire, it's something golden dragons can do. We can take excess energy from other dragons, especially if we're connected to them. It helps them stabilize and it gives us something to process. Usually it's fine, barely noticeable."
"But red dragon fire is different."
"Red dragon fire is different," he agreed. "It's more powerful, more concentrated. It takes longer to work through my system and it hits harder going in. But it's not dangerous, just uncomfortable. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if you needed me to."
"You shouldn't have to."
"I know. And you're getting better at controlling it on your own. But until you're completely stable, I'm here. Okay? If you need me to absorb the overflow, I will. Don't feel guilty about it."
Easier said than done, but I nodded anyway.
I stayed for a few more minutes, just sitting on the edge of his bed and holding his hand while he slowly fell asleep. His temperature was still too high but it seemed more manageable than when I'd first arrived, and his breathing was even.
Marlen was waiting in the hallway when I finally left his room.
"He's asleep," I told her. "And he seems a little better."
"Good." She crossed her arms, studying me. "You care about him. Like, actually care, not just using him for training or whatever."
"Of course I care about him. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
"Okay. Just checking." She paused. "He's been through a lot, you know. We all have. And he takes care of everyone else and never thinks about himself. So if you're gonna be with him, you need to actually see him, not just what he does for you."
The words hit harder than they should have. "I do see him, Marlen."
"Then prove it. Help him rest instead of making him worry about you all the time."
She walked away before I could respond, leaving me standing in the hallway feeling like I'd just been given both a blessing and a warning.