Chapter 37 37
Annabeth's POV:
I waited until I got home and had dinner with my aunt before I locked myself in my room and pulled up Mara's contact in my laptop. My finger hovered over the video call button for maybe ten seconds while I tried to figure out how to tell my best friend I had a boyfriend without accidentally revealing that said boyfriend was a dragon.
Fuck it. I'd wing it.
The call connected after two rings and Mara's face filled the screen, her curly hair wild around her face and her eyes lighting up when she saw me.
"ANNABETH! Oh my god, finally, I've been texting you for like three days and you've been—WAIT." She leaned closer to her phone, squinting at me. "Why do you look different?"
"I don't look different."
"You absolutely look different. You're like... glowing or something. Did you get laid?"
"MARA."
"What? It's a valid question! You have that look, that I-definitely-got-some look. Spill. Immediately."
My face went bright red and I covered it with my hands. "I didn't... we haven't... oh my god."
"WE? THERE'S A WE? WAIT WAIT WAIT." She was practically shrieking now. "You have a BOYFRIEND? Since when? Who is he? Send pictures immediately!"
"I don't have pictures readily available—"
"Liar. Check your camera roll right now, I know you have pictures."
She wasn't wrong. I had one selfie we'd managed at the café today where we both looked ridiculous because I'd caught him mid-laugh.
I pulled up the selfie and turned my phone so she could see it.
Mara went completely silent. Then: "Holy SHIT, Annabeth. He's gorgeous. Like, unreasonably gorgeous. How did you land that?"
"I don't know, personality? Charm? Wit?"
"Okay but seriously, who is he? What's his deal? How did you meet? I need every single detail starting from the beginning."
I laughed and settled back against my pillows, getting comfortable. "His name is Kaelen. He's twenty-two, studying literature. He has two younger siblings who he basically raises on his own because their parents are... not around anymore."
"That's so sad. But also kind of hot? Like, the responsible older brother thing is very appealing."
"Mara."
"What? I'm just saying! Keep going."
"We met right after you left for your mom's, actually. He got into some trouble and I kind of... helped him. And then we kept running into each other and talking and he started helping me with some stuff I was dealing with." That was the most vague I could possibly be, but it was technically true.
"What kind of stuff?"
"Just personal stuff. Family history things, figuring out who I am, boring identity crisis things."
"Identity crisis at eighteen is very on brand for you. So how long have you been together?"
"We're not... technically together together. Like, we haven't had the official talk or anything. But we've been spending a lot of time together and we went on a real date today and we've kissed and—"
"KISSED? Multiple times based on that plural! Annabeth Clarke, you've been holding out on me!"
"It just kind of happened! Things moved fast because we connected really intensely right away and now I'm just... I'm really into him, Mara. Like, more than I've ever been into anyone."
Her expression softened from excited to genuinely happy. "You deserve this, babe. You've been so focused on school and taking care of your aunt that you never let yourself have fun. I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy."
"He does. He really does. Even when things are complicated or scary or weird, being with him makes everything better."
"Scary? What's scary?"
Shit. Wrong word choice.
"Just, you know, the intensity of it. Feeling this much this fast is kind of terrifying. What if I screw it up or what if he realizes I'm not actually that interesting or—"
"Stop. You're extremely interesting and if he doesn't see that then he's an idiot. But based on the way he's looking at you in this picture, I don't think that's gonna be a problem."
I pulled my phone back and looked at the photo. Kaelen was mid-laugh, his eyes crinkled at the corners and his smile genuine, and yeah, okay, there was something in the way he was looking at me that made my heart do the thing.
"He has really pretty eyes," Mara said. "Like, wow. What color are those even? Blue? Green?"
"Both. They're like blue-green and they change depending on the light." And turn gold when his dragon nature surfaces, but I left that part out.
"And he's tall? He looks tall."
"Like six-two I think. Maybe six-three."
"Perfect height. You can wear heels and he'll still be taller."
"I don't own heels."
"You should get some. For sexy date nights."
We talked for another twenty minutes, Mara asking increasingly personal questions about Kaelen and whether we'd done anything beyond kissing, which we hadn't but the sexual tension was apparently obvious enough that she kept pushing. I told her about his siblings, about how protective he was, about the way he read poetry out loud when he thought no one was listening.
"He sounds perfect," Mara said. "Almost too perfect. Like, suspiciously perfect. Are we sure he's real and not some kind of AI boyfriend you created in your head?"
"He's definitely real."
"Good. Because I'm visiting for Thanksgiving break and I want to meet him in person and verify he's not a hologram."
"You're coming for Thanksgiving?"
"Yeah! I miss you and I need to personally vet this mysterious literature boy who swept you off your feet."
Emotion hit me unexpectedly hard and I had to blink back tears. "I miss you too. So much. It's been so lonely without you here."
"Aw, babe. I know. But I'll be back soon and we can do all our normal stuff. Movie marathons, judging people at the mall, eating our weight in Chinese food."
"That sounds amazing."
We talked for a little longer, Mara telling me about life at campus, about her classmates and about her major. Then she yawned and said she had to go to bed because she had an important test early the next morning.
"Text me more pictures of hot literature boy," she said. "And details about when you finally have the what-are-we talk. I need updates constantly."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye!"
The screen went dark and I sat there alone in my room, holding my laptop and feeling the weight of everything I couldn't tell her settling on my chest.
Mara was my best friend. We'd told each other everything since middle school. Every crush, every fear, every embarrassing moment and secret dream. And now I had this massive part of my life, this huge identity-defining thing, and I couldn't share any of it.
I couldn't tell her I was a dragon. Couldn't tell her about the Order hunting people like me. Couldn't tell her that Kaelen wasn't just some guy I met but my destined mate, that we had a soul bond that would become permanent if we slept together, that we shared dreams of flying together as dragons through the night sky.
I couldn't tell her any of the truth because knowing the truth would put her in danger. Would make her a target or a liability or someone who could be used against me.
So I'd lied. Not big lies, just lies of omission, carefully curated stories that left out every important detail. And it sucked.
I pulled up my messages with Kaelen and typed: "Just talked to Mara. She wants to meet you at Thanksgiving."
His response came fast: "I'd love to meet her. Fair warning though, I'm terrible at first impressions."
"You made a great first impression on me."
"I was bleeding on the sidewalk when you met me. The bar was pretty low."
I smiled at my phone, some of the loneliness easing. Mara couldn't know everything, but I had Kaelen. And his siblings. And my aunt. People who understood what I was, who I didn't have to hide from.
It wasn't the same as having my best friend know, but it was something.
"Thank you for being patient with me," I texted. "About the bond and everything. I know I'm taking forever to figure out what I want."
"Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."
I read that message probably five times, letting the certainty in it sink in. He wasn't going anywhere. Even though I was complicated and dangerous and still figuring out how to control powers that could kill people, he was staying.
That had to count for something.
I fell asleep with my phone on my pillow, dreaming of flying with a golden dragon under stars that felt more real than any waking moment.