𝕺𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝕬𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙 - 𝕱𝖊𝖒𝕺𝕮 𝖃 𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖟

Leo

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My eyes snapped open and I took a sharp breath.

I wasn't at the Wilderness School? Where was—oh, never mind. The whole demigod thing.

My arms were around Kiera's waist, and her head was resting on my chest. One of her arms was lightly fisting my shirt, the other was buried under her. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her eyebrows furrowed.

I was in Kiera's cabin, and as I shut the alarm clock off with my free hand, I saw the time was four in the morning. Why the hell was Kiera getting up at four anyways—

Kiera sat up gasping for air, eyes wide.

"Woah," I said softly, putting a hand on her back. "You alright?"

She cleared her throat and controlled her breathing, just nodding. "Just a dream."

That didn't sound right. In the Wilderness she never had problems sleeping. I'd stay in her and Piper's dorm till she fell asleep, then I'd sneak out a few hours later, before everyone woke up. She always slept perfectly asleep.

Kiera's sea green eyes were pale again, almost gray. She put a hand on her forehead before laying back in bed.

"Why do you get up at four?" I asked.

"I do early morning training." Kiera said.

She pulled the covers off and got out of bed. Kiera started cracking her fingers, wrists, back, neck, and even toes. After her morning ritual, she then opened her closet.

It only took a few minutes for her to find what she was looking for. A white T-shirt that said Camp Half-Blood on it with an insignia of a trident on the back. She also grabbed a pair of black athletic shorts. Keira walked into the bathroom and I heard the sink run.

I sat in her bed for a few minutes, waiting for her to finish getting ready. I had no reason to be up this early. What was the day? December twenty-third. . .Christmas was two days away.

I guess I could start working on gifts. I ran a hand through my hair. It got stuck halfway through and I winced. I really needed to get a hair comb. Maybe I could just steal Kiera's.

As if on cue, Kiera walked out of the bathroom. Her black hair was up in a middle-pony. There were so many bumps, but I guess Kiera didn't care enough to fix them. She grabbed her running shoes out of a compartment under her bed, and then just stared at me.

Her eyes were beautiful. Now, they looked more green than grey, and they had tiny speckles of blue. She raised an eyebrow at me.

I was suddenly reminded of how close we had come to kissing last night. Gods, if only Harley hadn't interrupted us. 

"Hello?" Kiera waved a hand.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Are you gonna go back to bed, or are you gonna come train with me?" Kiera jutted a hip out and crossed her arms. She could really be sassy at times.

"Nah, I'm gonna go work on something, probably." I said, hesitating. 

She sensed my hesitation and sighed. "You're thinking about something else, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Can we tell the others? About—"

"Bunker Nine?" 

How can she read me that well? 

"Yeah. . ." I said quietly.

Kiera seemed to think about it. She sighed again and took a deep breath. "Listen, Leo. Charlie—Beckendorf. . .he didn't want me showing anyone. But he said, 'when the time is right, you'll know.' And he said something about someone coming along."