Chapter 85 85
Kaelen's POV:
Through the bond, I could feel Annabeth. She was awake too, lying in her bed on the other side of that thin wall. Her emotions were a low hum of want and frustration and that wired restlessness that comes from being too keyed up to sleep.
I thought about going to her. Just to talk. Just to be in the same room, breathing the same air. The distance between us felt obscene, like a physical ache in my chest. Ten steps, maybe less. I could be at her door in three seconds.
But it was not a real option. I knew that.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps on the stairs.
I sat up, instantly alert, but it was just Lucian. He appeared at the bottom of the staircase wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt that was too big for him, probably mine from three years ago, his hair sticking up on one side.
"Kael?" His voice was small. Younger than fifteen. "You awake?"
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
He shuffled over to the couch, not quite looking at me. "I can't sleep. The room's weird. It smells wrong."
"Wrong how?"
"I don't know. Just... not like home." He stood there, arms wrapped around himself. "Can I stay out here for a bit?"
I moved my legs to make room. He sat down on the end of the couch, knees pulled up to his chest, looking smaller than he'd looked in months. This was the Lucian I remembered from after our parents disappeared, the scared kid who used to crawl into my bed at night because he couldn't handle being alone in the dark.
"You want to talk about it?" I asked.
"Not really."
"Okay."
We sat in silence. The river kept rushing outside, that constant low sound that should've been soothing but just reminded me how far we were from anything familiar.
"Is this going to be like the other times?" Lucian asked finally. "Where we stay somewhere for a few months and then have to leave again?"
"I don't know."
"That's not very reassuring."
"I know. I'm sorry."
He was quiet for a minute. Then: "I liked Emberdale. I know we weren't supposed to get attached or whatever, but I liked it. My school was okay. The apartment was okay. I was starting to make friends."
"I know, Lu."
"And now we're in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with Annabeth's dad who looks like he wants to kill everyone all the time, and we don't even know how long we'll be here, and—" His voice cracked. "I'm just tired, Kael. I'm really fucking tired of this. I just hoped this time would be different."
I reached over and pulled him against my side. He didn't resist, just leaned into me the way he used to when he was ten and the world was too big and too scary. My little brother, who'd had to grow up too fast and was still just a kid underneath all the forced maturity.
"I know," I said. "I'm tired too."
"Do you think we'll ever get to stop running?"
"Yeah. Eventually."
"Promise?"
I wanted to. God, I wanted to promise him safety and stability and a normal life with normal problems. But I'd learned years ago not to make promises I couldn't keep.
"I promise I'll keep trying," I said instead. "That's the best I can do."
He sniffled. Wiped his nose on his sleeve, which was gross but also very fifteen-year-old boy. "Okay. That's... okay."
We sat there for a while longer. Through the wall, I felt Annabeth's restlessness slowly shift, the frustration fading into something softer, heavier. She was finally drifting off, worn out by the long drive and everything that came after.
"You should go back to bed," I told Lucian. "Marlen's probably freaking out that you're gone."
"Marlen's asleep. She can sleep through anything."
"Since when?"
"Since always. She just pretends to be a light sleeper so people won't mess with her stuff."
I laughed quietly. "That tracks."
Lucian stood up, stretching. He looked a little better now, less like he was about to shatter into pieces. "Hey, Kael?"
"Yeah?"
"Annabeth's cool. I mean, I know things are weird between you guys, but... she's cool. I'm glad she's here."
Something warm spread through my chest. "Yeah. Me too."
"Don't screw it up this time."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I'm serious. You got all weird and secretive before and it messed everything up. Just... be normal. Talk to her. Whatever."
"When did you become a relationship expert?"
"I watch a lot of TikTok." He headed toward the stairs, then paused. "Night, Kael."
"Night, Lu."
He disappeared up the stairs. I heard a door open, close, then nothing.
The house was quiet again. The river kept rushing. And I lay back down on the terrible couch, feeling Annabeth sleeping on the other side of the wall, and tried to convince my body that this was rest.
It took a long time.
But eventually, somewhere between three and four in the morning, I finally fell asleep, dreaming of red fire and a girl who tasted like want and felt like home.