Chapter 9 9
Annabeth's POV:
My aunt made chicken stir-fry for dinner, which was weird because we usually just ate whatever was easy on weeknights, and I sat at the kitchen table pushing vegetables around my plate while she asked me about my classes.
"Biology is good," I said. "Lots of memorization but I like that. Chemistry is harder than I expected."
"You'll do fine. You've always been good with science."
"Yeah."
We ate in silence for a minute. The chicken was a little overcooked but I didn't mention it.
"So," I said, trying to sound casual, "I had lunch with that guy I mentioned. Kaelen."
My aunt's fork stopped halfway to her mouth. "Oh?"
"Yeah. He wanted to thank me properly for helping him the other night. We went to that café off campus."
"I see." She set down her fork very carefully. "And how was it?"
"Fine. Good. The sandwiches were really big."
"Annabeth." Her voice had that tone, the one that meant she was about to ask something she actually cared about. "Tell me about him. This Kaelen."
"There's not much to tell. He's a student, he just moved here with his family a few months ago, he's studying literature I think."
"Where did he move from?"
"Um, the city. Up north somewhere."
"Which city?"
I looked at her, confused by the intensity in her voice. "I don't know, he didn't say exactly. Why does it matter?"
"It doesn't, I'm just curious." But she was gripping her water glass too tight, her knuckles white. "Does he have siblings?"
"Yeah, two. A brother and a sister, both younger."
"And his parents?"
"Aunt Sarah, what's with the interrogation?"
She blinked, seeming to realize how she sounded. "Sorry. I just... I worry about you. You're meeting strange boys and I want to make sure you're being safe."
"He's not strange. He's nice."
"I'm sure he is." She picked up her fork again but didn't eat. "Just... be careful, okay? Not everyone is who they seem to be."
Which was a weird thing to say. Like, obviously not everyone is who they seem, but the way she said it made it sound like she knew something specific.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked.
"No. Of course not. I'm just being an overprotective aunt." She forced a smile. "Are you seeing him again?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Probably."
"Okay. Well, just... keep me updated. Let me know where you're going."
"I'm eighteen, Aunt Sarah. I don't need a curfew."
"I know. But let me know anyway."
I finished dinner, helped with dishes, and escaped to my room as soon as I could. My aunt's reaction had been strange, too intense for just meeting a guy for lunch. She'd never been that overprotective before.
I sat at my desk and opened my laptop, the curiosity eating at me.
In the search bar I typed: "rapid healing humans"
The results were mostly medical articles about how to speed up recovery from injuries. Ice, rest, elevation, proper nutrition. Nothing that explained healing a split lip and facial bruising in less than twelve hours.
I tried: "why do eyes glow"
More articles, these about bioluminescence in deep sea creatures, about tapetum lucidum in animals like cats, about how camera flashes can make human eyes appear to glow in photos.
Nothing about actual human eyes glowing gold. Or red.
I stared at the screen, feeling stupid. What was I even looking for? Proof that Kaelen was some kind of... what? Superhero? Alien?
I almost closed the laptop but then typed one more search: "unexplained phenomena sightings"
This brought up a rabbit hole of conspiracy theory websites and forums. People claiming they'd seen UFOs, ghosts, cryptids. I clicked on one forum thread titled "Strange sightings in rural areas - anyone else?"
The posts were a mix of obviously fake stories and people who seemed genuinely disturbed by what they'd seen. Someone in Montana swore they'd seen a huge winged creature flying over their barn. Another person in Oregon claimed they'd found massive claw marks in the woods that didn't match any known animal.
A user from Washington state had posted photos of burn marks in a field, scorch patterns too perfect to be from a regular fire. "Like something breathed flame in a concentrated stream," they wrote.
I scrolled through dozens of posts, my heart beating faster with each one.
Then I closed the laptop.
This was ridiculous. I was a biology student, not some conspiracy theorist. There were logical explanations for everything. The burn marks could be from agricultural equipment. The claw marks could be from bears or maybe even vandalism. The winged creature was probably just a large bird seen from a distance.
And Kaelen's healing was just... good lighting and my own imagination.
Right.
I got ready for bed, brushed my teeth, set my alarm for tomorrow. Lay down and tried to clear my mind.
Sleep came eventually, and with it, the dream.
I was flying again but this time it was different, more real and more visceral. The wind cut across my face and I could feel every muscle in my wings working, powerful and coordinated. Below me the landscape stretched out in shadows and moonlight, forests and fields and the winding river that ran through Emberdale.
But I wasn't alone.
There was another dragon beside me, keeping pace. Golden scales that caught the moonlight, making him, because I knew it was a him somehow, look like he was made of metal and fire. He was beautiful and strong and when he looked at me I felt something in my chest pull tight.
Recognition.
We flew together in perfect sync, banking and diving and climbing higher into the clouds. The joy of it was overwhelming, intoxicating. This was what I was meant for. This was what I was.
Then the scene shifted.
We were hunting. I could smell prey below us, warm blood and fear. My predator instincts kicked in and suddenly I was diving, the golden dragon right behind me. The heat built in my throat, that same heat I'd felt before, and I knew I could release it, knew I could burn whatever was below us to ash.
The fire came out red and white-hot, so bright it lit up the entire forest. I could feel it coursing through me, power that was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
The golden dragon's fire joined mine, his flames mixing with mine until we were creating an inferno together.
I woke up gasping, my sheets soaked with sweat.
My room was dark and quiet. The clock read 2:47 AM. I was shaking, my heart pounding so hard that I could feel it in my throat.
It had felt so real. Not like a dream at all but like a memory, like something that had actually happened or was going to happen or was happening right now in some other reality.
I pressed my hands to my face and they came away damp.
What the hell was wrong with me?
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I grabbed it, grateful for the distraction.
A text from Kaelen: "Are you awake?"
I stared at the message for a long moment. It was almost three in the morning. Why was he awake? Why was he texting me?
I should ignore it. Go back to sleep. Deal with this in the morning.
Instead I typed: "Yes. Can't sleep either?"
The response came immediately: "Something like that. Keep having weird dreams."
My breath caught.
"Me too," I wrote.
Three dots appeared, disappeared, appeared again.
"Want to take a walk tomorrow after classes? Clear our heads?"
I shouldn't. I should stay away from him until I figured out what was happening to me, until the dreams stopped and my body temperature went back to normal and everything made sense again.
"Yes," I typed. "What time?"
"Four? I'll meet you by the science building."
"Okay."
"Good. Get some sleep, Annabeth."
"You too."
I set the phone down and lay back, staring at the ceiling.
In the dream, the golden dragon had looked at me with eyes I recognized. Blue-green eyes that turned molten gold when he flew.
Kaelen's eyes.
No. That was insane. It was just my brain making connections that weren't there, turning a guy I barely knew into something from my subconscious.
But as I finally drifted back to sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that the golden dragon knew me too.
That we'd flown together before.
And that, somehow, we were meant to fly together again.