Forty-Five ◑ The Night

"Why are you asking me?" Keiran demanded. "I didn't take us here!"

"Well, you're the God of Life and Fate!" Lucille's face was hot. "You knew about the candle, even though you didn't make the rules."

"Yeah, I was amazing until that wanker took my powers," he said bitterly. "Now I'm stuck here, chased by Ancient Greeks, with my Armani turned into bandages—"

"Enough," Dimitri interjected, pointing at Keiran. "Shut up and go to sleep." He turned to Lucille and offered her his coat. "Take this and please rest now. Keiran won't shut up if you're still awake."

Keiran was the one who snatched the coat, draped it on himself, and plopped on the moss bed without another word.

Dimitri sighed and put out half of the fire with a splash of water. The clearing was now bathed in dim orange light, making the atmosphere calmer. Lucille was still anxious, though.

"You're the one who should rest," she said. "I'll take the first watch. You look really tired."

"Ha," Keiran mumbled.

Dimitri chucked a stone at Keiran's back. His face had gone visibly pink when he faced her again. "Okay, I'll let you take first watch. Wake me up if something happens."

She nodded, picking up the sharp end of the spear before sitting on the spot that Keiran had just occupied.

Meanwhile, he curled up under a tree in the corner, his hand poised over the hilt of the sword like he's ready to jump into action at the slightest provocation.

The sight of him unable to relax made her feel more terrible than ever.

Lucille bit her lip to stop the onslaught of tears. She'd have to hold it in until she was sure the twins were really asleep.

But Dimitri kept tossing and turning. Left to right, face-up then face-down. He did this for about half an hour.

"You can't sleep?" Lucille cautioned. "Come here."

To her surprise, he got up and walked towards her, rubbing his half-closed eyes. As soon as he sat next to her, she gently angled his body and guided his head to her lap.

The action seemed to shock him, but he was so tired that he didn't protest. He just adjusted himself and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, stroking his hair as he snuggled closer to her.

"This is nicer than the moss pillow," he said after a moment, making her laugh. "Tell me if you get numb. I've been told I have a huge, heavy head. You're the one who said that, by the way."

Lucille smiled, but the effort made her heart ache. "How are you so cool with me? Are you not mad?"

Dimitri hesitated. "Not at you, no, but I can't say I'm cool either. I don't understand what I feel, to be honest."

"I understand." She tried to sound causal. Failed. "Dimitri, I'm so sorry. About everything—"

"I don't want to hear that from you again," he said, looking up at her. "I like that you're taking responsibility, but don't do that for the things you can't control."

"But I could've avoided it. The signs were—"

"Easy to miss because there was no way you could've seen it," he finished for her. "Seriously. Don't punish yourself."

Even with his eyes barely open, Dimitri still managed to convey enough sternness that she ended up nodding. "I'm so sorry—"

"Hey, what did I say?"

Lucille stopped herself from apologizing again. "Okay, I won't say it anymore." She paused. "At least not when you're listening."

He let out a soft laugh with his eyes closed. She continued to stroke his hair, but he took her hand and cradled it under his chin. The slightest touch made her breath stop. He was so warm. Not only in the literal sense. Everything about him felt like their little bonfire—a sign of life in the middle of nowhere.

His body began to relax, his breathing growing deeper and more even. She could feel his weight on her thigh, but it didn't bother her one bit. She liked the sensation of someone leaning against her, or someone taking comfort from her.

Lucille rested her palm against his forehead, her thumb circling his thick eyebrows. In a quiet voice that only she was supposed to hear, she whispered, "Why are you so good?"

It was a rhetorical question, aimed for herself rather than him, but to her surprise, he replied, "Because I love you."

He was awake all this time? Now her whole body was numb with panic. She wasn't even sure she saw his lips move. Had she been tripping? Was she so battered that she was imagining things?

But no. She'd heard that clearly.

Now she was flustered to the point that she couldn't see properly. The world had been blurred. All she could see was his peaceful, angelic face on her lap.

"What do you mean?" Lucille asked, her voice shaking. "As a sister? A friend? Or a . . . ?"

She faltered. Did she really want to find out? Was she prepared to hear the answer that she didn't want? More importantly, was she prepared to hear the answer that she did want?

Yes to all of those, apparently, because by the time daybreak came, she was still expecting him to snap awake and carry on with the conversation.

Unfortunately for her, that didn't happen. The god just cuddled up, moved around, and slept all the way.

It was Keiran who woke first, stretching under the coat with a couple of low groans before finally sitting up with a gigantic frown. His sour expression only intensified when his gaze fell on Lucille and Dimitri.

"Getting comfortable, huh?" he grouched, twisting the coat as he got to his feet. Lucille was about to explain, but he stopped her by whipping the coat on his brother's back. "Wake up, Death Breath."

Dimitri jolted awake immediately, but he didn't rise. "Mind your own business."

"He couldn't sleep," Lucille put in stupidly.

Keiran huffed. "You didn't offer that to me when I couldn't sleep."

"You started snoring the moment you lied down," Dimitri said. "Also, you slept on her spot and took the coat I was offering to her. You don't deserve anything more."

"Why, you little—"

"Enough!" Lucille interrupted, raising her palms as Dimitri got to his feet and helped her up. They'd been in that position for so long that she could still feel his head on her thigh. "How about we clean this place up and keep moving?"

"Yes." Dimitri ruffled his hair, his ears red, and began to pick up the things they'd littered last night. "Those men might come back to scour the place since it's daytime."

Keiran didn't move. He just stood in his spot, still clutching the coat, watching them with a bored expression as they began to fill up the fire pit. "I'm hungry."

"And?" Dimitri said dryly. "We're all hungry. Now move."

"Here's an idea," the God of Fate said, picking up a random stick and waving it around. "Why don't we follow the stream and fins civilization?"

"Yeah, because that worked before," Dimitri mumbled.

Keiran ignored him. "Let's go!"

Lucille exchanged looks with Dimitri. While she wasn't able to keep the connection going for too long, they still managed to show the same kind of consideration regarding Keiran's idea.

This consideration turned into agreement, and soon they found themselves walking upstream.

It was hotter than yesterday, and Lucille felt icky. Her hands were slick against the golden box of the candle, which she didn't want to open. She purposefully waded into the water and let herself get drenched, while the brothers went on the lookout for houses or any sign of civilization.

The farther they went, the more she realized how both familiar and unfamiliar the landscape was. There were certain elements that tugged at the memory she'd recovered at Cade's apartment, but there were aspects that didn't belong there at all.

One of that was a single house in the forest, made of mud bricks and dried leaves. Stiff linen clothing were hung on lines under the sun, and weaving long leaves into baskets was an elderly man with his back turned to them.

Keiran looked pleased with himself. "Well, what do you know? Clothes and a person. Why don't we say hi?"

"Keiran," Dimitri warned, but the God of Fate wasn't listening.

He climbed from the stream and picked up a particularly thick branch from the ground, holding it over his head to strike the elderly man.