Claimed

Chapter 26: Relief

Ben's POV:

Even when it was warm outside, I woke up with a chill. Maybe it was because the mental state I was in while asleep manifested physically. I wasn't sure what it was, but I never woke up warm. Buried under blankets, no matter the weather, even if Nessa was laying with me, I still always woke with a chill. I sometimes wondered if it was Krystal reaching out to me, setting her hand on my shoulder to remind me she wasn't gone, just somewhere else. Somewhere I couldn't be. Other times I considered it was the cold hand of death reminding me just because I was awake didn't mean I didn't have to live a nightmare. Every day I woke up without Krystal was a nightmare, so it was appropriate I always woke with an unsettling chill.

Except I didn't. My head was pounding and I was dying of thirst, but I wasn't cold. Not only did I feel warmth against my face and on my shoulder, I smelled warmth. The scent of cinnamon and cloves was a warm, relaxing scent that reminded me of autumn. My favorite time of year.

Wait. That was Red's scent.

No, not Red. Sophia.

Blinking my eyes open, I found my head on a lap, my eyes shielded from the sun by a blanket being held up by a hand I recognized. Her arm was over my shoulder, her hand holding the blanket away from my face and blocking the sun. Red. Sophia.

I groaned and sat up, glancing back at her. She offered a small smile. "Hey. I bet you could use some water."

I looked around, disoriented. Shit, did I sleep out here? On her lap? And she stayed with me? She had training to do.

"What are you doing here?" I frowned.

"Do you not remember last night?"

"I remember, but your training started a while ago," I said, looking up at the sky. Shit. The sun was higher than I should be. Kane was probably waiting for her and he hated when people were late. "Training needs to be your priority over everything else."

"I didn't want to leave you alone."

"Your trial is in six days," I said, frowning. It was soon and she needed every bit of help possible. Her life was on the line. "You need every second of training you can get."

A brief moment of emotion crossed her face but it was gone before I could register it, especially with my pounding headache. "I know. I just... Didn't think you should be alone," she said, rising from the ground. She was still in pajamas. She stayed with me all night and probably didn't get any good rest. She looked tired.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and crossed her arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, rising from the ground and groaning when the pain in my head got worse.

"You don't have to say that if it's not true."

I sighed, pressing my fingers to my temples. "You need to get to training. Kane is not patient when it comes to this kind of thing and you shouldn't be, either. This is important." You could die. "Your focus needs to be on that above anything else. I can be left alone, but you can't miss training."

Her brows furrowed but then she nodded and slowly turned around. "Okay, well... If you need anything, you know where to find me. Drink some water."

It occurred to me after she already started running that I sounded short. And ungrateful. I wasn't. I was...

Confused. The only person I'd spent a night with in recent memory was Nessa but it was different. Nessa was like a little sister. Red- Sophia- was... Well, I didn't know what she was. Sleeping with her was just different from sleeping with Nessa.