After their fight, both Kiara and Reed seek Gilly.
The sunlight was just starting to peek through the forest as Gilly trudged up the path to the forge, using the heel of his hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes. The camp was silent around him save for the chirping birds and squirrels jumping through the trees.
He wandered over to the woodpile, mentally organizing the tasks he could get done before his siblings rose and started to join him in the forge or they were called away to breakfast and classes.
“Want a hand?” a tired voice asked behind him. Kiara moved into his periphery vision, her hair sticking up at odd angles and her clothes wrinkled, as if she had slept in them. Though her red-rimmed eyes and grey bags underneath would bely that assumption.
He had stopping questioning long ago how she did it, adding it to the mysterious tapestry that was Kiara Scuro. The threads were all leading back to a single spool, but Gilly knew it was a dangerous one to unravel.
“D-d-did you s-sleep a-a-at all?” He responded as he dropped his gatherings and pulled her toward his workbench. His hands were firm on her shoulders as he sat her down.
“Yes, mother,” she quipped, the corner of her lips lifting slightly for a second before they fell.
He frowned at her, his nose scrunched slightly, before he sighed and sat beside her.
“Un-un-unless you w-w-want t-to see our c-c-cousins f-from A-A-Apollo, I-I-I think its b-best i-if-if y-you s-s-sit th-this one out,” he instructed gently as he nudged her with his shoulder.
She hummed slightly in mock offense, her head dropping his shoulder. He could feel her sag against him. It was a well-practiced routine, him a shoulder to lean on, a sounding board for her frustrations or rants. Just as she listened to his plans, offering a question or suggestion.
“Something is coming,” she sighed, the words weighted. He could hear the hesitation, the uncertainty and the frustration. “I … feel it in my bones. And in my dreams. I just … I don’t know what. And Reed does. Or, at least, I think he does.”
Gilly frowned. “Y-you h-h-had another f-f-fight?”
She tensed, an annoyed growl rising in her throat as she straightened. She folded her arms over her chest and huffed, the puff of air blowing her bangs out of her face.
“I was so angry I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted bitterly. “He’s just – he’s so stubborn!”
The son of Hephaestus quirked an eyebrow at the outburst, but he knew what Kiara meant. He’d heard enough of the rants and tirades, seen the subtle intimidation that Reed – unknowingly or not – wore around him like a cloak. The way power wrapped itself around the unclaimed child, radiating and He wondered how many other noticed it, though he suspected it was a growing population.
“He keeps acting like it’s my fault, like I can’t do anything rights,” she growled, her heel bouncing off the ground. “And last night, he –“
She clenched her jaw, her lips pressed thin. He watched as the shadows, fading in the morning light, stretched toward her, a nearly imperceptible shift that he hadn’t noticed for so long.
He slid an arm around her shoulder, squeezing gently until he felt her shift, tension slipping away from her. Shoulders. Hips. Knees. Feet. All connected, sharing space, energy, supporting, united.
“W-wh-whatever you n-need, K-Kiara,” he stammered, though nothing wavered in his resolve, “I’m h-h-here.”
~*~
She wasn’t there anymore, but if he closed his eyes, sometimes he could hear it. The lilting notes drifting through the air and filling the amphitheater. The way her breathing would even out, seem almost meditative as she poured every bit of herself into the bow and strings. He wondered daily how so many people had missed the siren song she played and thanked the gods that he had been so blessed.
I-I-I w-won’t t-t-tell a-anybody, he promised.
He could still see the gentle tinge of blush across her cheeks as he watched her, thoughts full of awe and wonder even though he was too nervous to do more than sneak a peak at her. He could see her get more frustrated, her mood souring as she reacted to something, someone, brazen enough to interrupt her.
He faintly dragged his pencil over the paper, his lip between his teeth as he stared at the column of figures and formulas. In the months since Lexie had gone, this was where he still felt her the most, treasuring the secret he was privileged to know.
“Mead.”
His head snapped up and he glared at the looming shadow above him, his irritation weighing more than his fear of Reed Scuro. The older teen always stopped the music, even when Lexie had been LiLi and a physical presence at camp.
The son of Hephaestus closed his notebook with a snap, tucking the pencil in the little leather loop sewn onto the cover. He stood, ignoring the unclaimed child, and started to climb over the benches. Gilly tolerated Reed because of Kiara, but if his best friend was speaking to her brother than he was under no such obligation.
“I need a favor from you,” Reed said, the words low but impactful.
Gilly froze, his shoulders tense. Everybody knew the currency in which Reed dealt. Information and secrets, both of which he had plenty and none of which were ever shared outright with him – unless you were a certain daughter of Athena, who seemed to know so much.
Reed stalked toward him until they were eye-to-eye – the 13-year-old only achieving that height because of the bench he was climbing on. The older teen’s cold, steel gaze (Did the sibling know how similar their eyes were? The brother, an unyielding weapon, intimidating, unwavering. The sister, fresh and heat from the forge, full of potential and dreams) sent a shiver down his spine.
“It’s for Kiara,” Reed supplied, He clasped his hands behind his back, his shoulders tense as he studied Gilly.
The scrutiny made his skin prickle and his heart race, and he stood frozen like a mouse in the cupboard. The son of Hephaestus could practically hear the raven-haired boy’s teeth grinding, the sound echoing like a saw in his ears.
“She’s upset at me, I know, but I’m only trying to keep her safe,” Reed argued, the note in his voice was meant to be commiserating, but it sounded more. Like there was a bitterness clawing at the curtain of his words. “You want her to be safe too, right, Gilbert?”
Gilly’s chest tightened, breaths only able to escape in short, staccato patterns as his heart beat wildly in his chest. He wavered slightly, stumbling awkwardly off the bench and into the center aisle.
“Tell her, Gilbert, that camp is the safest place for her,” the older boy drawled, no room for argument in the order. He circled Gilly, lithe, predatory. “She’s upset, and she does reckless things when she’s upset. Look at what happened two years ago. She almost got herself killed. She almost got …”
A clenched jaw. A strained swallow. As if a thought pained the infallible camper.
“Alexa could have died because of her,” he offered bitterly.
The words were almost inaudible as the blood rushed to Gilly’s head, roaring in his ears. He tripped backwards, his body connecting with the bench with a heavy thud.
“You don’t want Kiara to get hurt, do you, Gilbert?” Reed pushed, resting his hand on the young camper’s shoulder. His fingers pressed into the flesh. “Its safest here. You know that. Look at what happened to your house.”
Kiara. Standing on the trunk of his family’s car. Blood splashed across her face and a shovel covered in gore. Kiara. Determined. Unrelenting.
A slight squeeze on his shoulder, threat disguised as comfort, and the pressure eased as Reed backed off. He stalked toward the top of the hill while Gilbert struggled to regain control.
“W-w-wait!” The son of Hephaestus called, shakily rising to his feet. Through hazy vision, he could see he was alone.
Letters from Lexi start to arrive. The younglings daydream.
Before shit hits the fan with Reed.
Kiara finished reading her letter before Gilly did, a grin stretched across her face. She fell back, the grass at the edge of the strawberry fields cushioning the impact, and hugged the paper to her chest.
“She’s getting so much better,” the girl sighed happily. She closed her eyes, inhaling the fruits’ sweet aroma as the breeze danced through the air. “She tells you about her day too, right? Its not much, but … its more than it was.”
Gilly hummed in agreement. She could hear him carefully crease the folds as he returned it to its original shape. His shoulder brushed hers as he laid back. “The w-writing’s getting more c-c-confident too. M-more relaxed.”
The responses had come gradually, from the solitary answer doing little more than reassuring them that she was alive to a letter weekly. Kiara’s letters to her had doubled, littered with details about the camp and sketches of Gilly and whatever the invention of the day was, or Ryan’s easy grin. She was less truthful with her drawings of Reed, tired of showing his almost permanent scowl, so she turned to her memories, occasionally revealing the upturned corners of his lips or the triumphant gleam in his eye.
“Maybe she can come visit soon,” Kiara mused. She opened her eyes to watch the clouds drift lazily overhead. “Do you think the island could reach the lake again or was that a one-time thing?”
“If its m-m-magic, it could probably m-make it,” Gilly answered, hesitant to open himself up to the hope of seeing Lexie again. “I w-w-wonder if divine p-p-power alters its s-speed or if its as s-s-slow as an a-a-actual floating island.”
Her imagination flared, transforming the voluminous clouds into sea serpents and sharks that surrounded a many-sailed vessel in the aerial ocean. A smile tugged at her lips. She rolled to her side and propped her head up on her hand.
“Make us a ship, Gilly,” she pleaded, the joking words tinged with wistfulness. “One that would rival the Argonaut.”
Her friend laughed, folding his hands behind his head. “W-we could f-f-fight pirates and m-monsters. Our c-c-cousins from Apollo w-would craft epics of our v-v-voyage.”
He met her gaze, a moment of longing flickering in his gaze. “I’ll m-m-make a ship so g-great, H-Hephaestus himself would b-b-bless its helm.”
What would it be like to not worry about the consequences of your existence? To be claimed without fear of retribution or to know that another deity wouldn’t strike you down for breaking a promise you never made?
Gilly nudged her leg with his toe, the canvas of his sneakers scratching at her skin.
“After we f-f-find Lexie, that is,” he assured her. His brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “D-do you t-think R-Ry-Ryan would risk the i-isolation if h-h-he got to see her a-again?”
Kiara laughed. “I’m sure there would be a sea witch or two who could distract him. I’m more worried that we won’t be able to stop him from leaping off the side at the first sight of a woman we see.”
Gilbert Mead. Kiara Scuro. The duo get to test Gilly's gadgets.
Demigod AU. 714 words. Day 3 of Hurtcember - "Blood."
The whistle’s shrill note was sharp, almost painful if it wasn’t for the distance. Gilly stiffened at his perch and tightened his grasp on the remote, his thumb hovering over the trigger. His eyes scanned the riverbank as he searched for the azure plume.
Kiara skidded down the embankment opposite of him, the scarlet flag tucked into her breastplate. Other campers were shouting in the woods behind her, one voice barking orders and the others alerting their team where the combatant was. Her whistle clenched between her teeth, the noise piercing the air as those closest to her winced. It gave her the distance she needed to tear her helmet off her head and dive into the water.
Gilly had to clench his teeth to stop from shouting in warning as several spears flew through the air, plunging into the water dangerously close to where Kiara had disappeared. An Ares camper threw his helmet off and leapt in, his muscled arms pulling him quickly through the current.
“Blue, hold!” Lizzie ordered from his side of the boundary, throwing her arm out to halt one of the new campers. “Archers, across the river!”
The command sent a volley of arrows through the air, hitting the campers who weren’t fast enough to shield themselves.
Kiara swam to the surface, almost at the boundary line, but her pursuer was right behind her, his hand closing around her ankle to pull her back. The 12-year-old twisted in his grasp, struggling to free herself and stay above the water. The red team started to follow them into the river, when they realized their opponents were not aiming for the water.
“Now!” Kiara barked, her order insistent. She twisted and slammed herself back, taking her opponent down.
He hesitated for a second before he jabbed the trigger. Kiara’s blonde head breached the surface a second before the percussion explosives their team had sunk to the bottom of the river detonated.
The sharp pop was barely audible above the water surface but he saw Kiara wince as she swam. He swung down from the branch, memory guiding him to the sturdiest limbs until he could drop to the ground.
The red team who had stayed on the banks were in the river, too busy fishing their teammates out to attack. Gilly pushed through the people who had formed a protective barrier around their scout.
Kiara grinned him, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction, and she fished the scarlet cloth out of its hiding place and offered it to him. The gesture sent a cheer reverberating through the circle but he pushed her hand aside with a frown. He could see the blood trickling down her neck.
He reached out, meaning to push her hair away so he could study the wound, but a warning squeeze on his shoulder made him wince and draw back. Reed moved between the second-year campers, handing Gilly the flag.
He almost dropped it with a yelp when one of his hulking half-brothers picked him up and lifted his scrawny frame on to his shoulder, the triumphant shouts drowning out the victory horn. His cabinmates were assaulting him with questions about the bombs, how they worked and what the components were as they started to parade him back to camp.
“Let me down, please!” Gilly insisted eventually, probably the loudest he’d ever been all summer. His feet back on the ground, he raced back to the riverbank.
Kiara was limping slightly as she walked, pressing a wad of orange material to her ear that looked about the right size to have been Reed’s sleeve. Her brother was at her side, inserting himself between Kiara and Lizzie. It left him unable to do more than yell at the 12-year-old as she jogged toward the mastermind with a grin. “They work-“
“What happened to your ear? Didn’t the plugs work?” He asked worriedly.
He’d tried to minimize the damage, but her serving as the lure had been risky, especially when they’d done so little testing.
“The plugs were fine, but Jeremy from bit my ear. That’s it,” she assured him as she draped her arm over his shoulder, discreetly letting him take some of the weight off her foot.
Gilly eyed her suspiciously. “You’re getting checked out, just in case.”
Kiara Scuro. Reed Scuro. Gilbert Mead. Set after the Stymphalian bird attack on Gilly's birthday.
Demigod AU. 1,605 words. For Hurtcember Day 2 - Breakdown.
“Where are y-y-you going?” Her best friend asked sharply, one hand on the doorknob, as he looked at Kiara.
Her heart quickened, her mind racing to conclusions – he wanted her gone, it was her fault after all, that the birds had found them, she’d put his family in danger – while she froze, squeezing between the basement door and the hallway wall.
She held up the painters mask she’d pilfered from the part of the garage her friend hadn’t coopted for his forge yet. “I was gonna ... the birds … they made a mess in your dining room,” she explained hurriedly, stumbling over her words. “I’m cleaning …”
She’d leave, as soon as she was done, she just –
They’d opened their home to her, and she’d screwed it up. Reed had been right, it’d been stupid to come visit Gilly, when it just invited trouble.
“H-hey, it c-c-can w-wait,” he assured her, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he held up the first aid. “Mom w-would never f-f-forgive me if I-I-I let you d-do anything before s-s-she made sure y-you were OK.”
They’d been standing there long enough to assure Gilly’s family that it was safe, if the clatter of things moving and people shifting was any indication. A muttered word of confirmation backed Gilly’s argument and a second later, Mrs. Mead was standing at the base of the stairs, one foot lifted to ascend.
“Wait!” Kiara and Gilly demanded in unison, instinctively creating a barrier with their bodies. Mrs. Mead froze, the dim lighting casting shadows on her worried face.
Gilly relaxed slightly, offering his mother a weak smile. “S-s-Stymphalian bird p-p-poop is t-toxic. B-b-basement is s-safest until w-w-we can clean i-it up.”
The words sounded crazy to her ears, out of place outside of camp, but Mrs. Mead only nodded as Gilbert’s father started to open up the small windows to let in air.
“Get your butt down here and let me look you over, then,” she insisted. Her gaze met Kiara’s as she stepped off the stair, stubborn and brooking no argument. “That means you too, Kiara.”
Gilly stepped back, gesturing for her to go first, and she conceded with a small huff, feeling the guilt knot in her stomach. It tightened as Gilly’s parents fussed over her, ignoring her claims that the blood wasn’t hers while they checked her over.
“Thank you, Kiara,” Mrs. Mead said when she was satisfied. “I don’t know what happened, but I have a feeling its not worse because of you.”
The 11-year-old shook her head, trying to cover the way her bottom lip quivered, and tears welled in her eyes. It had only happened because of her.
~*~
Kiara had made the mistake of letting Gilly call Chiron to update him on the situation while she started to clean. Thus, she had to wait for Felix to come pick her up instead of lying about buying a bus ticket.
She didn’t sleep that night, sitting grimly on the bed with one of Gilly’s swords in front of her. The voice in her head that chastised her was Reed’s, telling her she should have never come, that she should have left the second the birds were taken care of, that something could happen at any second … because she’d stayed.
Gilly frowned at her when he saw her, his sandy brown hair tousled from sleep, from his seat at the table. The Meads had covered the broken windows with garbage bags and loaded the broken chairs into their car when they’d sent her up to wash the blood off. “D-d-did you sleep at a-all?” he asked, as though he hadn’t guessed the answer.
“It’s a long car ride, I’ll sleep then,” she told him, dragging a chair out next to him. Only seconds passed before Mr. Mead plopped plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon in front of them.
“Breakfasts of champions, for you two,” he told them as he set the syrup and condiments on the table. “Felix called about half an hour ago. He’ll be here in an hour or so.”
She smiled to show her appreciation, trying to set aside her worry before she seemed ungrateful. “Thank you for cooking, sir.”
He gave her a jaunty salute before retreating to the kitchen. The clatter of dishes drifted out to them.
“It’s n-n-not your f-fault.” Gilly nudged her. “Y-y-you’re not th-the only monster m-m-magnet.”
She was just the biggest.
~*~
She could feel Reed’s piercing gaze through the windshield as Felix guided the Delphi Strawberries truck up the path to the Oracle’s house, where he and Chiron waited on the porch. The weight of it made her drag her feet.
“Gilbert informed me that there were no concerning injuries, Kiara, but I am glad to see you are unscathed,” the centaur commented, offering her a soothing smile.
The reminder that Gilly had been the only one hurt stung. She pulled the straps of her backpack tighter across her chest. Reed was standing in the shade of the porch roof, his arms folded over his chest. The hours of inner chastisement she’d inflicted upon herself felt like a mockery of what awaited her. Her fists clenched.
“Unless the wounds you bear are not physical?” Chiron prodded, a slight frown furrowing his brow.
The thought of one of his therapy sessions made her head buzz. She didn’t want to think up a cover at the moment for how so many of the birds had vanished, or how she’d managed to be unharmed. It made her brain throb.
“I’m fine, sir, just tired,” she assured him, avoiding Reed’s eyes. “Can I go to the cabin?”
His face softened. “Of course you may. Remember, both the infirmary and my office are open if you find there were undiscovered effects.”
She made a small noise of understanding before she turned away.
It took Reed about seven of his giant steps from the porch to her side, not bothering to say goodbye to the activities director. They started down the path to the cabins, the muted noise of the forest and their footfalls the only sounds as the tension grew.
Kiara was starting to think she’d avoided the third degree when they reached their empty quarters. But in typical Reed fashion, he was only lying in wait to pounce.
“You were supposed to stay at camp,” he hissed accusatorily, rounding on her. As they had in the months since the quest, her shadows stretched toward him. “Of all the careless, reckless things to do, just because you were lonely –“
Like a tightly strung violin, Kiara’s anger snapped, roaring to life inside of her.
“So I’m supposed to sit here while you go wherever you want?” She spat, dropping her backpack on the ground with a thud. “That’s all you do, Reed. You give me rule after rule and then you ignore them, because its not convenient for you.”
Her brother’s lips twisted into a scowl. The cabin darkened, but Kiara refused to be cowed.
“All I wanted was to see my friend. One of the few people who wants to talk about Lexie and who can relate to how much I miss her – because you turn into an angry lion any time I mention her,” she growled, closing the distance between them. Reed still towered over her and she could feel her shadows shiver with rage, but they stayed at his side, so she jabbed her finger into his chest. “You tell me to leave her alone, and its stupid to send her letters, that I don’t know the danger I’m putting her in –“
The air left her lungs as it felt like her shadows severed their connection to her, pooling around her brother like a cloak.
“And you’re so blind that you think this weekend isn’t evidence of that?” He snarled, a shadow lashing out to fracture the glass in a lantern. “You weren’t hurt, but was Mead so lucky?”
A lump caught in her throat. “It – it wasn’t that bad,” she said, a mantra she’d repeated many times since she saw the gash on his arm.
As always, Reed found a gap in the armor and attacked.
“And before you started visiting, how many times was Mead targeted? He has a sister, yes? Do you even care that you put her in danger?” He circled her, the darkness wrapping around them – humming with hostility. “Of course you don’t. Because you only care about what you want. That’s why Alexa is gone, Kiara, because you couldn’t leave it alone and we have to pay for it.”
Kiara felt the tears on her face and she dashed at them angrily, refusing to look away from her brother’s identical steel gaze. “Is it just me?” she pushed. “LiLi didn’t blame me for being chosen to go on that quest, Reed.”
Reed could blame her all he wanted, but Kiara remembered the rage, the pain, the utter defeat of that encounter, before Ren announced her companions, before LiLi had promised she’d come back.
She knew what fury felt like. She knew how guilt felt.
Her brother glared, practically vibrating with emotions. With a curse, he disappeared into the shadows.
Kiara felt like her body had been using the adrenaline of the conflict as a battery pack, feeding her the energy she needed, but now the juice was gone, leaving only the emotions to flood her veins. With a sob, she threw her backpack to the foot of her bed. Her body trembled as she curled under the blanket and let the guilt and rage seep out through her tears.
Gilly couldn’t stop the grin that stretched across his face as the lights dimmed, drawing his eyes to the chocolate-frosted cake Mom carried and the candles that adorned it. “Happy birthday” filled the air, familiar voices raised in song – and Kiara’s eager notes were a welcome addition.
“I’ve never been to a birthday party before,” she said when he mentioned it to her at the end of her last visit. She raised her gaze to meet his, just a gleam of tears in her eyes before she threw her arms around his neck and laughed giddily. “Thank you!”
Her embrace was strong enough to hurt but Gilly didn’t mind as he returned the hug. “I-it’s not much of a p-p-party,” he said sheepishly, not wanting to get her hopes up. “Just y-you and my family at the science m-m-museum.”
The news didn’t diminish her excitement as she pulled away, spinning away and skipping among the falling leaves.
“Doesn’t matter!” she crowed, grabbing his hands. She spun, her eagerness coaxing a laugh out of him as they whirled through the backyard between the house and the tree fort in the sturdy, ancient oak. “Gilly, I am going to get you the perfect gift!”
He inhaled deeply while Mom set the cake in front of him, screwing his eyes shut as he thought of his wish. Holding it in his mind, he blew out the candles and matched Kiara’s smile.
Her gift was at the top of the small pile at the other end of table, each parcel brightly wrapped.
“You can open them while Mom cuts the cake,” Dad said, pushing them toward Gilly. “Guests first. Kiara, if you want to do the honors?”
He had barely finished the sentence before the demigoddess was pressing the present into Gilly’s hands.
He tore the wrapping away, a small gasp escaping his lips at the framed art. Lilian, leaning against her silver spear, with her hip cocked to emphasize the curves of her body. Her lips curled into a small smile and her sapphire eyes were the most vibrant hue on the page. Kiara’s sketches were normally simple lines, devoid of color, but the soft watercolors made the subject appear more dreamlike, like she was there but untouchable.
“Oooh, who is she?” Sera teased lightly, craning her neck to see the gift.
“Gilly’s muse,” the younger girl explained, her voice just a little shaky with sadness.
“That’s Alexa?!”
He pressed his fingers to the glass, as if it was the only thing separating him from touching the actual subject.
“It’s b-b-beautiful, Kiara –“
Kiara was on her feet the second the windows broke, a stench filling the air. Gilly right beside her, his eyes wide as the metal-winged monster awkwardly climbed through the broken glass, its size hindering its entrance.
“Gilbert?” His mother asked sharply, eyes focused on the window but not seeing the threat. She had shifted her body so she shielded Sera and Dad from the unknown, the cake knife gripped tightly in her hand.
They couldn’t see through the Mist.
Panic warred with planning, his racing heart distracting from his thoughts until he met Kiara’s eyes. They were bright with fear, but he had never seen them so hard – like the steel swords they wielded at camp.
“Run,” she ordered, a pleading note in her voice that shook him.
He didn’t hesitate, herding his family toward the basement as more windows shattered and terrible shrieks filled the air. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Kiara was behind him, but she had disappeared. Something lashed out, breaking the bulbs and pitching the room in darkness. Only the glow from the porch lights filtered in.
If they were out of the way, he and Kiara could distract the Stymphalian birds and lure them away from the house so his family was safe. He didn’t know how to drive exactly but he was sure he could figure it out enough to give them some protection until they could come up with a plan.
“What is it?” Sera demanded as they ran down the stairs.
“Stymphalian b-birds,” he answered hurriedly. His gaze darted around the room, looking for somewhere he could hide them.
He caught the flash of fear on Sera’s face as the painful memory surfaced, but she quickly schooled her features. He would make sure she was safe. He would protect her.
Dad pulled a folding table away from the stairwell, revealing the little nook. Mom joined him, pushing the paint cans and toolboxes out of the way to clear space until she could tuck Sera into the furthest space and crouch beside her, just enough room for Dad to squeeze in.
He could hear the crashes from upstairs, the bone-chilling cries of the monsters. If he could get to the kitchen, he could bang together pots to disorient them – it wasn’t like the rattle Heracles had been gifted, but it could give Kiara and him enough time to get to the garage.
Gilly gestured for Dad to follow the others, but he shook his head, grabbing a shovel. “I’m not leaving two children alone to face monsters, even if I can’t see them,” he insisted. “I can help –“
“No!” the now-12-year-old interrupted. “Dad, w-w-we have this.”
Mom grabbed Dad’s wrist, only her eyes betraying how worried she was. “They’ll be fine, honey. We’ll call Chiron – that’s the best thing we can do for them.”
Gilly didn’t know how much Chiron could do to help, but the notion was a balm to his worried thoughts. Dad met his gaze and offered the shovel, trading it for Kiara’s gift.
“We’ll have to hurry and finish that forge so you can have some proper weapons at the house,” he muttered before he folded his frame to join Mom and Sera.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Sera ordered before Gilly moved the folding table to shield them. He could hear Mom shifting to get to her phone,
He crept up the stairs, shovel clenched tightly in his hand and opened the door slightly to peer through the crack. He frowned, peering out into the darkness that had descended upon the house.
The basement door was directly across from the garage access and he stared at it. His brow furrowed as he remembered what he had learned at camp – and what he had brought back from it.
The house was filled with a cacophony of screams as three – four – birds took flight, crashing into walls. He could see metal feathers gleaming from where they’d lodged in cabinets and furniture.
His body tensed as a bird screamed and flew through the hall in front of him. Something coiled around its leg, binding it to some unseen point and dragging it back toward the dining room. He could see it struggling in darkness under the table, inky blackness consuming it. Black spikes stretched across the room, radiating from the table as they created flight obstacles and forced the creatures to the ground.
Gilbert knew science. He knew there was no way rational way that darkness was sentient. But he was the son of Hephaestus … there was nothing he could say except that the shadows were alive, imprisoning the threat before it could spread.
He pushed the door open a little wider and started to squeeze out into the hallway. He froze as more glass shattered, away from the chaos in the front of the house. He could hear talons and metal wings scraping the ground.
He glanced toward the dining room, completely certain that even if he couldn’t see her, Kiara was there. With a fortifying breath, he left the basement and raced toward the garage.
Gilly felt a rush of air push by him, followed by a deadly feather whizzing by his ear. His socked feet slipped slightly on the wood floor but he used the shovel handle to steady himself. He winced at the shriek that filled the house and grabbed the car keys off the catchall dish by the door.
“Kiara! Get them to the garage,” he shouted, calling their attention to him as he threw open the door.
He could hear a bird chase him, unable to fly through the door frame and awkwardly hopping on the ground with an angry screech. With a triumphant noise, he climbed into Mom’s car and started the engine. He frantically pressed the volume button as his eyes scanned the space he and Dad had been transforming into a workshop for him. His gaze lit on the bow he had finished weeks ago and the arrows he’d made at camp and smuggled home.
The car rocked as a monster landed on the hood and he grimaced, seeing talons pierce the roof as a second bird followed it. He hit the programming button, pressing until he found the heavy metal station.
His ears hurt as the screaming vocals and electric guitars filled the vehicle and he rolled down the window, letting the noise fill the garage. The bird on the hood shrieked in pain, wings flapping frantically as it took flight and crashed to the ground.
Gilly scrambled out of the car and grabbed his weapon, fingers shaking slightly as he set the arrow.
The shout of warning was lost in the music, his name barely audible in the clamor, but he hissed as a metal feather grazed his arm, breaking the skin.
He whirled, raising his bow just as the monster on the roof of the car was about to launch another volley of feathers before something – a dark rope that seemed to stretch out of nowhere – tethered it to the vehicle. He saw a flash of blonde hair before Kiara leapt onto the trunk, swinging the shovel he’d abandoned at the garage door. The clang of shovel head meeting the bird’s beak added to the chorus, its scream reverberating in the notes.
“I got this one!” Kiara shouted before she jerked her head toward the front of the car, where the other bird was struggling on the ground in a net of dark tendrils while it squawked in fury. He switched his aim, the arrow burying itself in the beast’s breast.
Kiara pummeled the monster with barely contained fury. The darkness in the garage seemed to stretch toward her, black tendrils curling up her legs to anchor her.
Gilly’s fingers shook less as he readied his second arrow, launching it as the bird writhed in pain. It stilled, the arrow through its eye.
His friend, blood sprinkled across her face and torso, sank to her butt, her legs dangling off the trunk and her chest heaving as the adrenaline faded. “Others … flew off,” she hollered over the music.
He ignored the noise and hurried to her side. His eyes scanned her body, looking for any wounds under the carnage.
“Are y-you OK?” he demanded, not finding any obvious marks. He frowned slightly at the thin dark veins that stretched between her and the car before they retreated from his sight.
Kiara nodded and made a small noise of concern while she reached for his arm, gingerly lifting it so she could examine the gash.
She reached for her shirt, tugging at the hem as if to tear it before her brain processed the blood and gore spattered across the fabric. Her hands shook slightly before she balled them into fists and inhaled deeply.
“Gonna have to find a cleaner bandage,” she joked wryly, giving him a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She nodded toward the house. “I’d hate for your family to think I didn’t take care of you.”
~*~
Gilly never had hands meant for sports, when he was at school, and even if it was easier than the balls at PE, the heavy hammer his siblings wielded wasn’t as natural for him. No, his fingers were quick and nimble, meant for fitting cogs and screws inside smaller projects. Or for braiding leather.
The silk threads he started with reminded him of the tiny veins that had stretched toward Kiara on the trunk of Mom’s car, fighting against a force that tried to restrain them but couldn’t quite manage. His multitudes were more vibrant, but more pliable with a deliberate turn of his fingers, adding to the weft.
He sent his first completed braid to Kiara, the steely blue threads woven with a sapphire vein that reminded him of Alexa and Kiara’s eyes. It felt right, to gift her the foundations of his grand design. He’d grinned at her response – the letter gushing about how happy she was to receive it and a drawing of the bracelet adorning a wrist as the hand it was attached to was poised over a sketch book, layering the image over and over as the scale reduced. A week later, her letter included a bracelet – a hazel core threading through a dominant sapphire weave.
It had barely left his wrist since, only carefully removed when it was at risk of getting wet.
He’d tried to cajole Kiara into coming to visit, but he could feel the guilt in her denials, joking about how his parents had probably just finished fixing the windows from her last sleepover.
“Reed ‘s probably right about the danger of two demigods hanging out together outside of camp. Wouldn’t want to stink up your house.”
He wasn’t normally one for insults, but some uncomplimentary terms had been thought about the older Scuro that night. Kiara was feeling bad enough after the summer, she didn’t need any more grief over something she couldn’t control.
Before Christmas, he’d graduated to adding dimension to his braids, no longer just a flat plait, and using leather cords. He’d shown Kiara the technique on thread when Mom had driven him to camp for a weekend while the rest of the family enjoyed a musical and some holiday shopping. He’d left with a bracelet that matched the newest one tied around the demigoddess’s wrist – and a bag surreptitiously heavy with some of the more unusual materials he would need for the project.
The leather strips reminded him of Kiara, in some ways. Stubborn and unyielding until they were properly treated. It took him weeks to perfect the technique.
“Are you going to cosplay as Indiana Jones at some convention I don’t know about?” Sera teased as she wrapped the bullwhip he’d made in a neat circle between her elbow and thumb. The braids were too loose to be a decent whip.
He gave a small chuff, distracted by trying to fix the leather core to the steel spike of his next attempt. A dull crack snapped him out of his reverie and he twisted to glare at Sera over his shoulder.
She grinned. “Can I have this? I could be Catwoman for Halloween.”
He didn’t have to make much of an argument to convince Mom to let him go to camp in March, especially after she’d watched him hone his craft to be worthy of a gift and she felt her own measure of guilt about not being able to convince Kiara that she was welcome.
In the end, only Chiron and Mr. D – who had grumbled about it being his vacation – knew he was coming for the weekend. He’d contemplated asking Mom if she could grease Mr. D’s palm a little bit with a bottle of wine as a ‘gift’ before he’d decided that it wasn’t worth drawing Zeus’ ire.
Now he climbed out of the car as soon as Mom put it in park, waving over his shoulder to acknowledge her words about speaking with Chiron before she left while he followed the footpath to the training arena.
Camp felt quiet and unnatural when demigods weren’t there to fill it with sound. As if summoned by the memory of a divine farewell, he stifled a yawn. He half expected to crest the hill and see bodies sprawled on the ground, their chests rising and falling with even, peaceful breaths. Instead, the sound of metal clashing greeted him and he found the Scuros circling each other.
He stilled, caught up in the frustration and tension the pair radiated.
When he had first come to camp and realized what Kiara and Reed were – true sibling, an uncommon feat even among the full gods – he’d been struck by how close they were. Kiara had clung to her brother like a shadow, enveloped in the aura of protection and aggression he exuded. It wasn’t until the quest that she’d tugged at the reins he held until his absence had unleashed her.
Ever since, it felt like Reed was struggling and desperate for the control he once had. He barked at her, their matched tempers clashing until one of them stormed off.
Reed Scuro liked secrets. He guarded them, clutched them to his chest – the entire camp knew that he ventured beyond the limits regularly, trading errands for favors and knowledge. They just didn’t know how. If he was Hermes’ son, had he inherited his father’s speed to carry him past threats so fast they never even registered his presence? If he were Ares’, did his father’s rage embolden him to strike first and mercilessly?
Reed wouldn’t like to hear it, but he’d been just a responsible for Gilly’s realization as Kiara was. The dark tendrils that had snaked their way through Gilbert’s house in October felt like the aura that had clung to the brother as they hurried to the beach near the end of camp. It screamed protection, danger and rage.
Looking down at the sparring siblings, Gilly could see the traces of his power. Small cracks that leaked through his frustration, that tugged Kiara’s natural shadows minutely toward him.
Reed’s eyes flicked toward him and there was a slight snarl that curled at his lip before he schooled his features and attacked. His sword flew through the air, moving as easily as if it were attached to him.
Kiara didn’t back down, raising her shield to block the blow. He bore down, forcing her toward the ground before she rolled away. Reed shifted flawlessly to strike again, aiming for her right side so she had no choice but to parry and he struck, twisted his weapon to dislodge hers from her grip. It clattered to the ground and Kiara lowered her torso, guarding herself with her shield as she barreled toward Reed.
“Enough,” Reed snapped as he stepped out of her path. He nodded toward Gilly. “You’ve got a visitor.”
The younger one whirled, her face splitting into a grin as she caught sight of him.
“Gilly!” She struggled to unarm herself as he closed the distance between them. “You didn’t tell me you were coming!”
Finally unencumbered, she threw her arms around him and squeezed him close.
He shifted so his present wouldn’t get damaged in the embrace and returned the hug. “Th-that would ruin the s-s-surprise.”
With a laugh, she tugged him to the trees so they could sit in the shade. There were patches of wildflowers littered around the arena, their grass making a soft cushion to rest.
The tension that had coiled around her during the fight had dissipated, her muscles as loose as her smile.
“M-mom brought me for the w-weekend,” he explained cheerily. “B-birthday visits should be a t-t-tradition. We c-can have a h-h-halloween party w-when you come for m-mine.”
Her joy dimmed slightly, her smile wavered, but he set the brightly adorned gift in her lap before she could protest. He’d persuade her to return eventually.
“H-happy birthday!” he announced, gesturing for her to open it.
The happiness returned as she peeled the curly ribbon off the top and stuck it on his head with a laugh. She tore off the wrapping and lifted the lid of the watch giftbox he’d recycled from Dad’s Christmas present. With an awed gasp, she lifted the braided leather bracelet from its cotton nest.
“Gilly – this is beautiful!” she gushed as she gushed as she admired the strip of sapphire that served as the center, a straight line with almost black cords twisting around it. She wrapped it around her wrist, settled below the thread bracelets he’d started with.
“T-that’s not all.” He helped her adjust the steel bead to close it, the excess leather extending to her palm. He gestured to the strands. “P-p-pull those twice.”
It had been easier to make than Alexa’s spear, simply because the material hadn’t had to make as much of a transformation to become the whip’s 8-foot length instead of the spear’s solid core.
Kiara’s eyes were wide and gleaming with unshed tears as she examined the gift. “Y-you made this for me?! Gilly, I –“
He grinned excitedly and gestured toward the archery dummies on the other side of the arena.
“Try it!” he urged, eager to see her reaction to its use. He trailed after her as she ran toward the new opponent, the whip curled in her palm.
She adjusted her stance, her center solid and firm as she raised her arm. The whip flowed naturally, an extension of her reach as it snapped out and struck the dummy’s torso – not as forcefully as it could have, but she pulled it back and tried again, bits of straw flying into the air.
Gilly beamed as she turned toward him, her smile wide and her eyes wet with tears.
“Gilbert Mead, you are fantastic,” she told him solemnly before she laughed and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
Kiara didn’t know how long she had been waiting in the clearing, just knew that Reed was back, felt the tug in her heart that promised her reunion.
She launched herself at him the second appeared, wrapping her arms around his waist. She didn’t try to stop the sobs that tore at her, her tears staining Reed’s shirt.
“Y-you were gone –“ she cried.
Three weeks. Three weeks of knowing LiLi was alive, that Reed was alive, but nothing to prove it but the meager clues Gilly helped her find.
He cut her off with a hug, the tightest one she could remember. “I promised I’d come back.”
She refused to release him, forcing him to sink down to the ground with her still in his arms as she shook. His fingers carded through her hair, a gesture she recalled but had forgotten in the years since she had last felt it.
“Kiara, I – I saw Mom.” The words tumbled from his lips excitedly and from where Kiara’s head rested on his shoulder, she could faintly hear his heart beat against his ribs. “I- Hades sent me to Elysium and she was there.”
The girl craned her head back to look at him, her eyes wide. “She was there?! Did LiLi meet her?”
Silence.
“Reed?”
She felt his body tense. Saw a barrier build itself in his gaze as he sighed. “LiLi fell into the river Lethe bef-“
“No.” Kiara scrambled out of his embrace, standing while he stayed seated, the only way she could tower over him. Her body shook with anger. “You promised you’d bring her back!”
There was a darkness that surrounded her as her rage built, but it seemed to seep into Reed, whispering things she couldn’t understand. It only incensed her further.
“You said you would bring her back. You liar!” She cried, ignoring his sharp rebuke at her volume. “You promised!”
Reed stood, his eyes just as stormy as she guessed hers to be. “She didn’t want to come back. What was I supposed to do? Drag her back to the land of the living?!”
Kiara knew people were scared of Reed, especially when he behaved as he did now – defiant, challenging and unmovable. She’d been trailing after him for weeks, watching as campers shrank back when he leveled a glare at them or flinched at his sharp tongue. But he was her brother.
“There’s no way LiLi wouldn’t come back with you, Reed. Not when she belongs here, where people LOVE her. She wouldn’t – she wouldn’t leave without telling me goodbye! She promised when I gave her -”
Her words caught in her throat when Reed held the compact out wordlessly.
Kiara didn’t carry much.
She hadn’t left home with much, just a backpack with some essentials and a few other things. Her sketchbook. Some markers. Mom’s compact. A letter from Reed. She’d relied on the supplies Reed had left her on the trail.
At camp, she kept most things at her cot, hidden away and ready to go in case they needed to run.
But her pockets were almost always full. The smaller sketchbook Reed gave her shortly after she arrived, and a miniature pencil. Mom’s compact, as deep as she could shove it in her shallow pocket. But lately …
“We’re not staying long, I just need to grab a few things –“ Kiara pushed past Daddy the second the key turned in the lock. “What are you –“
She ran through the living room, her feet carrying her to the door she’d been kept out of for so long, even before last month. She shoved it open. She cried when she saw the emptiness, the shelves with the books gone. The Lego sets missing from his desk.
“Kiara, you aren’t supposed to go in –“ Dad yelled at her, his hand on the blonde’s shoulder for a second before she broke free.
Kiara ran into Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom, confused for a second by the blank spaces left where things should have been – a bedframe, a dresser – but the stack of boxes in varying states of fullness drew her to the closet
Daddy didn’t think she saw the boxes and bags piled in the trunk of the car when he drove her to school or their absence when she climbed back in after classes.
Her face crumpled when she opened Mom’s closet, a wail escaping her lips when she saw how much was gone, down to just a few coats and dresses and a metal rack of handbags. Her cries grew when Daddy’s arms wrapped around her waist and she lunged forward, pulling it out as he tried to lift her kicking and screaming. Her struggles knocked a purse off the shelf and things spilled out. She screamed as her grip weakened on the rack, her sobs making her protests a garbled mess.
“Goddamnit, Kiara, that’s enough!” Daddy shouted as he pulled her loose.
With one last frantic grab, she pulled a small round object from the mess and clutched it to her chest before Daddy’s arms trapped her against him. His shirt muffled her wails while he carried her out to the living room and sat there, rocking back and forth.
“Minemineminemine,” she sobbed, her fingers barely able to wrap around her trophy.
She felt Daddy’s chest heave as he inhaled, his breath rattling in his lungs, and a tear on her hair.
“I can’t … I can’t keep seeing her wherever I look, honey,” he tried to explain, her cries drowning out his words. “She’s gone. We have to move on.”
“N-no, no no …” she snatched it from his hand, pressing it against her heart. “SHE was supposed to bring this back. Not you! You should have made her bring it back! You shouldn’t have left. Her. There!”
Reed’s jaw tightened, the darkness coalescing around him – even Kiara’s shadow reached toward him, stretching across the gap she’d put between them.
Kiara’s mind raced, trying to fit together pieces of a puzzle she had no idea she’d been missing parts of. She’d thought they were together, that it was taking so long because some part of the quest – not the River Lethe, but another task bestowed upon them – needed to be resolved.
“She’s not there,” the blonde whispered, her eyes widening as she met Reed’s. “She got out, Reed! We found proof – we found her backpack and her spear! In Vegas!”
The lip of the compact dug into the flesh of her hand as she squeezed it tightly, excited to share the news with Reed. “Gilly has them! He thinks he can use Ryan’s powers –“
She gasped as her shadows jerked her toward her brother, a crack in his defiant mask showing something dark for moment before he regained control and the black tendrils eased their pull. She stumbled before Reed’s hands on her shoulders steadied her.
“You told them about Lilian,” he scolded slightly. “And you left camp. After you promised me.”
Anger boiled in her gut and she lifted her chin.
“You were gone for weeks, Reed,” she snapped, putting the compact safely in her pocket. “I didn’t even get a letter this time –“
“I didn’t have a choice, Kiara!” He flinched slightly, his fingers digging into her skin.
She covered his hand with hers. “Neither did I! You wouldn’t have waited either, if it was me!”
The truth struck him and she could see the way his body sagged slightly, a hint of exhaustion showing in his eyes.
“I didn’t have to tell Gilly and Ryan about LiLi – they knew,” Kiara told him, her tone filled with conviction and steel. “When the entire camp said all of them were dead, they didn’t. So we used Gilly’s compass and found what clues we could, but we didn’t find her – just her spear and her backpack. But Gilly’s got an idea for how we can use Ryan’s power to make his compass work and we can finally bring her home.”
~*~
WEEKS LATER
Kiara’s feet were heavy as she trudged to the mess hall, her eyes darting around until she found LiLi. The Athena cabin wasn’t the most boisterous – unless somebody started a debate – but the brunette stood out among her half siblings with her stillness. She flinched slightly before she glared at Kiara.
She felt a flutter of hope in her heart under the sapphire gaze but it soured quickly with each second before the amnesiac turned to focus on her food.
The seat beside her felt painfully empty as she scowled and stood, making her offering with a particularly antagonistic scrape. Nobody asked her about Reed’s absence, too used to his disappearances and too scared to inquire.
Kiara picked through the rest of her food, paying more attention to LiLi than she was to her bites. When the daughter of Athena rose, Kiara did too, trailing behind her to deposit their dishes in the bins and then leaving the mess hall.
LiLi veered away from the path to their first lessons, whirling on the blonde when they were farther from the trails that people might stumble upon them.
“I don’t need a shadow,” she growled as she folded her arms and glared at Kiara. “Whether its you or your brother.”
Kiara’s mind flicked to Reed, off on a journey he barely told her about, and Lilian’s face spasmed slightly as she tried to hide her pain. Worried, Kiara stepped closer, her hands outstretched.
“Stop.” The brunette ordered sharply, recoiling. “Just – stay there.”
Kiara faltered, the demand stinging. Her hands didn’t drop, but pulled back slightly, ready to offer comfort or support. “I’m trying to help,” she explained plaintively.
“You aren’t!” Lilian snapped with a scowl. “You’d help most if you left me alone, but you can’t seem to realize that I don’t want to be your friend, I barely want to be here!”
She took advantage of Kiara’s stunned silence to flee, stomping back to the safe trails that headed to her first session.
~*~
“Wh-what do you think?” Gilly asked her as he tilted his graph paper tablet toward her, revealing the plans for some sort of gadget that Kiara didn’t understand completely – a small mechanical owl he said he was trying to build to work like a walkie talkie.
She could see the mechanisms, didn’t comprehend them, but she admired the way the cogs and coils fit together. How they twisted and spun like moving art.
She tapped the end of her pencil against the overall design, where the owl’s eye sockets were panes of glass that Gilly had noted would be illuminated.
“If you’re trying to hide, would these give you away?” she asked. She imagined Gilly in the woods, this automaton owl on his shoulder, its bright eyes creating a beacon for hunters. She suppressed a shudder quickly, staving off the shiver of fear at the thought of her friend in danger. “It would be good sometimes, like if you’re trying to see, but could you turn them off?”
The son of Hephaestus’s brow furrowed, and he scribbled something in the margins. “Th-that’d be smart.”
Gilly didn’t stammer with her as much as he did when Reed and Ryan and most definitely LiLi was near. He’d been the one to find her in the three weeks, when she told the camp that LiLi wasn’t dead, even as they forged their statues and mourned.
“I’m not crazy,” Kiara insisted, lifting her chin defiantly as the boy inched closer, stepping further from the din of the mess hall and the demigods who refused to believe her.
“LiLi is alive. Reed is –“ she stopped herself from saying more, Reed’s voice in her head warning caution. “She’s going to come back.”
“I kn-know,” he assured her quickly, shoving his hand in his pocket. He held out a small tile, blank, but obviously deceptive. “I-I-I gave her a b-blessing bef-fo-before she-she left. I-It feels …”
Kiara took the tile, her absence in her pocket painful, and ran her thumb over the surface. “Like you’re waiting for her.”
“M-m-may I?” He nodded at her sketchbook, barely bigger than the palm of her hand. For a brief moment, she fought the urge to snap it shut and hide it away from prying eyes as she had in the past but it faded fast. Instead, she tilted it in his direction so he could see the teenager laughing, her sketched eyes sparkling. A sight she hadn’t seen in weeks.
She glanced up at her subject, her and Gilly’s perch on the hill a good vantage point over the arena where she could see LiLi spar with the daughters of Ares.
She heard the sharp intake of breath and she hastily closed her sketchbook, shoving it in her pocket.
“K-K-Kiara, i-i-it’s going to b-buh-b-be fine,” the boy promised, the confidence in his voice at odds with the stammer. “S-she’ll come around. I-it-it’s gotten b-buh-better.”
The girl scowled. “For Ryan. For Reed. I just make it worse.”
Reed’s recent words stung, the knowledge that, as terrified as she had seemed of Reed when they found her at the apartment, he could still talk to her. LiLi had glared at her across the mess hall this morning, warning her away.
“There’s a possibility this could lead to some memory recovery.”
He was supposed to come back tonight, to check in, may be he had found something to help.
She felt Gilly’s eyes on her, considering her. It wasn’t like LiLi or Reed, whose scrutiny she squirmed under, it was more gentle and warm.
“I-if-if it makes you f-f-feel better, I-I-I haven’t t-talked to her y-y-yet,” he said with a small self-deprecating smile.
Kiara couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face, playfully bumping her shoulder against his. “That’s ‘cause you’re scared to blow her away with how awesome you are.”
He ducked his head shyly, not really bothering to hide his grin, but unused to the compliment. “I b-b-better get to the forge.”
She waved goodbye as he picked his way over the tree roots and rocks, his departure barely warranting a glance from the daughters of Ares and the sole Athenian. With a huff, Kiara drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on the apex – her attention fixed entirely on LiLi below.
How could she not remember anything when her body clearly did? LiLi dodged and weaved the blows as effortlessly as a leaf drifted on the breeze, her speed forcing the daughter of Ares’ to speed up her attacks – only occasionally nicking LiLi’s body where the training armor bared skin.
Reed had warned her about the Ares Cabin, when she’d first arrived. They had their uses, he said, but they were as ruthless as they were skilled. Better to improve first and then test her mettle against them when she was more confident. The teen facing LiLi now was ferocious and more skilled than her half-siblings.
The Athenian’s blade clashed with the scaled teen’s weapon, a rare move in any clash against her, and the Ares’ child bore down on LiLi, their position forcing the brunette to remain engaged unless she wanted to be caught under the sword or on the ground.
Kiara’s breath caught in her throat as her heart raced, leaping to her feet. Her eyes were riveted to the way LiLi refused to cave to the force. Her back was to Kiara, but she could see LiLi’s opponent say something with an almost feral grin. In response, Lilian dropped to the ground, just barely moving before a blade struck the ground where she’d been. In an instant, she was on her feet, her blade positioned so it would pierce her gut if she were to press forward.
“I yield, before your little shadow intervenes, Alexa,” the scaled teen cackled, her hands up in defeat. Her amber gaze met Kiara’s, challenging and sharp. “Want to spar, small Scuro?”
Kiara glared at the warrior, her fists balled at her side as her muscles tensed. Sitting in the shade of the tree, the way the shadows gathered wouldn’t be visible from the arena, but Kiara felt them, itching at the insult. “I’m not sma-“
“You have better things to do than fight children, Valerie,” Alexa interjected, glaring at Kiara. Her sapphire eyes were hard, practically shining with anger. “Even one this annoying.”
Kiara flinched at the remark before she drew herself up. Do what you do best, Reed had said, and this was what Kiara knew. She knew LiLi’s greatest weapons were her barbs, had watched her words cut as sharp as a knife, but it didn’t scare it off, it never had.
“You’re annoying,” she retorted childishly, folding her arms over her chest.
Valerie chuckled before she sheathed her sword, but there was no mistaking the brutal ease in which she moved as she strode closer to Kiara.
“Some other time, then, Scuro,” the daughter of Ares promised with a smile that showed too many teeth. She glanced over at the Athenian before she stalked out of the arena.
The brunette grabbed her fallen shield, her sword still loose in her hand as if she were willing to use it. “Do all the Scuros have a hard time listening or is that a blessing conveyed only to you and your brother?”
Kiara huffed, her hands sliding into her pockets as she sought the comfort hidden there.
“I just want to help,” the blonde offered.
Lilian’s chuckle was dark and acerbic.
“Liar, liar, liar,” she answered, her gaze hard as it landed on Kiara.
The darkness around Kiara hissed at the allegation, indignant and frustrated as the blonde straightened.
“I –“
“You don’t want to help me, Scuro, you want your precious Lilian back,” The Athenian snapped. She spread her arms wide, inviting the girl to see all that she was. “I’m not herhhher – It hurts when I think about her and when you look at me like Alexa isn’t real. You’re waiting for a ghost and you’re lying to yourself if you think that it’s helpful.”
Something hurt and angry seeped into Kiara’s bones and the tenuous control she had snapped. She ignored the way the darkness clung to her as she stepped closer to the brunette.
“I’m waiting for LiLi because you promised me that you’d come back.” The compact was cool against Kiara’s palm as she pulled it out, the lip digging into the pads of her fingers. “You took my blessing and you promised that you’d bring it back to me.”
Lilian’s eyes flitted to the object before she tore them away, determinedly meeting Kiara’s own stormy gaze. “You got it back.”
Kiara didn’t know how she got it back or why. Reed didn’t tell her anything more than the bare minimum and only when she pried it out of him. He said it was to help her but it hurt so much more – how could not knowing not be worse?
“That wasn’t the promise,” Kiara snarled, closing the distance between them. Something dark – oh would Reed be mad when he found out – lashed out with her hand, curling around LiLi’s wrist as the blonde shoved the compact into the brunette’s grasp. The Athenian flinched and tried to recoil with a sharp intake of breath but Kiara held it there, sandwiched between her hands. “YOU promised that YOU would bring it back – and then YOU didn’t.”
The shadows purred in satisfaction, at finally breaking the dam she’d been forced to build since Lilian had come back to camp, at telling somebody why it hurt so much to look at Lilian and be told that it was Alexa when it couldn’t be. Because LiLi would never break a promise to Kiara.
And then Kiara looked up, wanting to see Lilian’s sapphire eyes and craving understanding there. But all she saw was pain.
Lilian’s breaths were short, desperate gasps, like her lungs refused to accept air, and she started to shake, violently, the quivers radiating through their clasped hands. Thin whisps of darkness seemed to stretch up LiLi’s arms, like corrupted veins.
“L-LiLi?” Kiara whispered, horrified, as she dropped her hands.
No longer held, the brunette’s tremors intensified, and her knees started to buckle. Her eyes rolled toward the back of her head. The compact clattered to the ground as Kiara lunged forward to catch the Athenian. “LiLi – I’m sorry! I didn’t – I didn’t mean to!”
