Garthia: The Forgotten King

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

This is one of my favorite chapters that I've ever written. You'll see why soon. Hope you enjoy!! Remember to vote and comment!!!

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I march up the steps to apartment 190 and bang on the door, accidentally putting a good-sized hole in it in the process.

I slipped on my leather jacket, grabbed my bag, and rushed here as soon as I recognized the symbol. Aiden was surprised to see me at the Downtown Brewery, but he let me through to Garthia anyway. I ran blindly to Fera's apartment where she now opens the door, a look of annoyance on her face.

But she obviously knows why I'm here.

"What to you want, kid?" she asks, trying to play it cool.

"I want to know what this is." I lift up my shirt just enough to show the mark, which is stark black in the dim light coming from Fera's apartment.

She pretends to look confused but a look of automatic recognition passes across her face.

Suddenly, Cam comes to stand next to Fera out of the apartment entryway.

He doesn't look at me.

"Fera, Eve needs your help. Walker keeps trying to set stuff on fire, talking about how 'fun' it would be. She can barely put all the fires out and she needs you to knock him out."

Fera slouches like she's carrying a huge weight on her shoulders. I can tell that she hasn't gotten much sleep. "Fine," she sighs. "I have to talk to her anyway."

She nods at Cam and he nods back, determination in his face.

Then he turns to me and smiles with the same kindness that I've come to know him for. The same smile that he wore when I first met him.

But he has changed.

He looks stronger and more grown-up. Definitely unlike the energetic, naive child that he was all those weeks ago.

Cam moves to the peeling porch swing in the corner. He motions for me to sit next to him.

We sit in silence, the tension between us like opposite sides of magnets being pulled apart. I expected it to be awkward after the intimate moment we shared in the hospital, that I rudely interrupted by asking where the others were when I should have been more concerned with Cam.

"Things are about to change, Hayden," Cam says abruptly, his violet eyes shining in the light from the street lamps as he looks at me. "Not just a small change, though. A monumental one. And I'm still trying to decide if it's good or bad."

The planes of his face stand out: his cheekbones and jawline, the microscopic dip of the scar on his chin that only someone who's studied his face up close would notice.

"What do you mean?" He averts his eyes to the castle shining magnificently over the rows of buildings like the sun over the horizon. "Cam, what happened while I was gone?"

He stifles a laugh, still without looking at me. "Can you really read me that easily?"

I shrug. "It wasn't hard. But really, Cam, what happened?"

He looks back at me now. I can tell that he wants to tell me so much, but there's something holding him back.

"I know what that symbol means." he blurts out, then looks around as if to see if anyone's watching. Once he's scanned the area he turns back to me and explains, his voice almost a whisper, the words tumbling out. "IsawyoushowittoFeraIknowIshould'nthavebeenspyingonyoubutIheardyoutalkingandIhadtoseeyouIhavn'tseenyouinsolongandIjust-"

He stops to take a breath and I take the opportunity to move closer to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "You can stop now. You don't have to explain why you were eavesdropping, I just need to know what that symbol means."

I had moved closer than I intended to. We were inches apart. He lifts his hand to hesitantly tuck my hair behind my ear. The gesture sends a chill down my spine. When had we gotten close like this? And why do I want to kiss him, my close friend? And does he feel the same way?

His hand drops back into his lap. "I can't," he whispers, his breath rustling my hair.

"Can't what?" I whisper back, my lips suddenly dry.

"I can't tell you."

All the hope flees my body in one breath. I drop my hand from his shoulder, but something catches my eye. Without waiting for permission I lift the sleeve of his T-shirt.

And I freeze with shock.

Under his sleeve is a mark. The same mark imprinted on my hip.

I look at him for an explanation but instead I get a smile. A smile full of longing and sadness.

And love.

"Cameron," Fera barks from the doorway. We both turn to see her, framed in the light of the apartment. And for the first time since I met her, she doesn't look tired and deshelved. She looks like an angel. "Come in. Hayden, you should get going. But be careful. Dangerous people roam these streets at nights."

Cam gets up to leave, but he quickly leans over to whisper in my ear. "I'll give you all the answers you want later." He flashes a smile before he walks inside after Fera, leaving me on the porch by myself.