Echoed Lullabies (Lunar Chronicles x Reader)

Chapter 30

Night had fallen. The moon had returned, larger than the night before and surrounded by a sea of stars that winked and glittered from above.

I groggily peeled my eyelids open and was met with the sight of Thorne's arms wrapped tight around Cress.

I grit my teeth and rolled over.

I heard shifting and Thorne briefly groaned.

"Cress?"

Silence.

"Cress. Cress, wake up."

More shifting.

"You're running a fever."

"I'm cold," Cress croaked.

Shit. This wasn't good. If Cress got sick...I don't know. I could carry her, I suppose. But it would make our journey significantly longer.

I sat up and faced the pair. Thorne was doing his best to rub her arms, giving the illusion of warmth.

"I'm sorry. I know you're not going to like this, but we need to get up. We need to keep moving."

Her eyelids fluttered. I wasn't sure if she'd heard him or not.

"Cress, are you still with me?" He cupped her cheeks in both hands.

"I can't," she rasped.

"Yes, you can. It will be better to walk at night when it's cool than to try and move during the day. You understand that, right?"

"My feet hurt ... and I'm so dizzy..."

Thorne grimaced. "I know you don't want to keep going," he said. "I know you deserve a rest. But if we just lie here, you might never get up."

She looked so thin, so fragile, as if one gentle desert breeze would carry her off into the night sky. She pressed a hand against Thorne's chest.

"Captain," she murmured. "I think I'm in love with you."

Both his and my eyebrows shot up. I counted six heartbeats until, suddenly, Thorne laughed.

"Don't tell me it took you two whole days to realize that. I must be losing my touch."

"You knew?"

"That you're lonely, and I'm irresistible? Yeah. I knew. Come on, Cress, you're getting up."

Despite what he said, her head dropped into the sand.

"Cress—hey, no more sleeping. I need you. Remember the vultures, Cress. Vultures."

"You don't need me. You wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for me."

"Not true. Well ... only kind of true. We've already been over this."

She shuddered. "Do you hate me?"

"Of course not. And you should stop wasting your energy talking about stupid things." Scooping an arm beneath her shoulders, he forced her to sit up.

She gripped his wrist. "Do you think you could ever love me back?"

"Stars," I muttered, shaking my head.

"Cress, this is sweet, but aren't I the first guy you've ever met? Come on, up you go."

She turned her head away, and for a moment I was worried that she might collapse again.

"Oh, spades and aces and stars." He groaned. "You're not crying again, are you?"

"N-no."

Thorne pulled a hand through his hair, knocking away a cloud of sand. "Yes," he said firmly. "We are obviously soul mates. Now please, stand up."