Keeper of the Lost Cities Story; The Lost Secret

Chapter 35

The next night, Fitz and Sophie had gone to walk in the hallway. It was their first time walking in almost 3 weeks. Kai was able to go if she wanted to, but she decided against it. Plus she felt like the two needed some alone time. 

"Nice, good job," Elwin said as Kai hobbled. She thankfully was able to get away without the crutches, which looked like murder devices to Kai.  

Her ankle wasn't as bad as Sophie and Fitz's injuries so she only needed a few days of bed rest before her bone and muscle began to heal. 

Unfortunately, right as Kai fell over, Asher walked into the room. She felt her face heat up when he laughed and helped her stand. 

"You good?" He asked. 

Kai nodded. She was mad at him for not visiting her at all yesterday. She had to watch Sophie and Fitz stare at each other all day. 

"Sorry I didn't come yesterday," Asher said as if he could read her mind. "I was watching Zayne." 

Kai sighs, "You don't trust him?" 

Asher laughed. "He lied to us for years. Do you?"

Kai frowned. Maybe he didn't actually lie to them, he just didn't tell the whole truth. 

"I guess not," Kai said instead. She didn't want to argue over their friend. 

"Asher, you take her. Make sure she doesn't fall okay?" Elwin said and quickly left the room. Kai wondered if he ever got any downtime. 

Asher grabbed Kai's hands again and helped her walk. They took a few steps around the room until Kai realized that she needed air. The room was closing in on her and it felt like she couldn't breathe. 

"Could we walk the halls?" Kai asked softly. 

Asher grinned, "I'm down." 

They told Elwin their plan, and he agreed, as long as they were careful. 

Hand in hand they headed somewhere down the hallway. Kai was letting Asher lead them, and she just focused on standing straight. 

"So are you feeling better?" Asher asked. 

"Yes, definitely." 

"That's good." 

Asher's smile seemed to brighten the hallway and it made her glad that the darkness could hide her blush. 

They continued in silence until Asher turned them down another hallway and let go of her hands. 

"Ah," Kai cried out in surprise. She thought she was going to fall but she caught herself right before it happened. 

She laughed and slapped Asher's arm when he came back over. 

"I knew you could do it on your own!" He said laughing. 

Kai giggled and grabbed his hand for support. Butterflies burst in her stomach as he grabbed her waist to help her get back into the rhythm of walking. 

"Maybe, I don't want to do this on my own," Kai whispered. 

She felt Asher's arm stiffen around her, but he said nothing.

As they headed back to the healing center, was mostly walking on her own. And she beamed to Elwin when she walked into the healing center on her own. 

Elwin told her that she was doing great on her progress, but she could tell that he was worried about Fitz and Sophie, who were still gone. 

Elwin ran out of the room to go find them, which left Kai and Asher alone to hang out. 

"Oo let's get snacks," Kai said snapping her fingers. 

A butterblast appeared from Elwin's snacks and she began to eat it. She didn't realize how hungry she was. She snapped her fingers and conjured a prattles box over to Asher, they were his favorite. 

"Thanks," He said. He seemed off, but Kai was too hungry to figure out why. 

"Mhh this is the best butter blast I've ever had," Kai said. Of course, it probably just tasted like that because she hadn't eaten all day. 

"You've got some..." Asher laughed and softly dragged his finger across her face. 

His smile faded and Kai stared at him. She was hyper-focused on his finger on her cheek. 

She'd never wanted to kiss him so much. Right then seemed like the perfect moment, she wanted to lean in, but the door slammed open once she started. 

Kai and Asher practically flew away from each other and she saw Fitz and Sophie come into the healing center with Elwin behind them. 

Sophie was grinning and held a bright pink and sparkly tunic. Kai wasn't sure what was up with that, but she was mostly focused on whether her face was on fire or not. 

"Oh uh, hi," Asher said.

Kai wanted to slap her face, but that would look weird so she resisted. 

"Ho-how was your walk?" Kai asked while she smoothed her tunic. 

Sophie grinned and hobbled over to the curtain area. She came out wearing the tunic, which said Happy Shadow Thoughts. Kai wasn't sure what it meant, but it sure did make Sophie extra happy. 

She began to explain the joke of the words, but Kai tuned her out. She couldn't believe that she'd almost kissed Asher. Mostly she couldn't believe how much she wanted to, she knew she liked him, but now she thought it was more than just a simple crush. 

Asher listened to Sophie talk for a while before he left. He said an awkward goodbye to Kai and promised to visit tomorrow. 

"So is that the one that Keefe was talking about?" Fitz asked. 

Sophie laughed and Kai just rolled her eyes. In her head, she couldn't shake the fact that she almost kissed Asher.