Minor

Chapter 16

I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I looked over my side to see Kyna fast asleep, her face resting on a closed book I didn't know she had brought with her. I smiled slightly and maneuvered myself out of the bed. I checked my phone to see it was 12:36 am. Great, I thought. I hadn't fallen asleep til 12:00 am. I padded out of the room and into the dim hallway. I leaned against the wall and took some deep breaths. "You can't sleep either?" Colson's voice was quiet as he spoke. I looked over at him. His eyes had dark circles under them and his blonde hair was disheveled and unruly. I shook my head as I tore my fingers through my short black hair. "Not a wink," I replied as I slid down the wall and into a sitting position. He sat down against the wall a couple of feet away as well. We were quiet for a bit. I fidgeted with a patch on my sigil covered leather jacket that I shrugged on. The jacket made me feel safe. I had sewn all the patches and created all the sigils and runes, it was familiar to me. "What are all those symbols?" Colson asked and he scooted closer to get a better look, I think that's why he moved closer. "They're runes and sigils," I held out my arm to show a couple of the patches and pins, "They mean different helpful things, like luck and protection," I explained. Colson's fingers grazed over a Norse protection rune I had adapted into a Greek format. There was a slight shock from his fingers and I jumped. "Sorry," He mumbled, "I do that sometimes." I smiled slightly and rubbed my hands against my arms where goosebumps had risen. I didn't know why though. I wasn't cold, and I didn't know if electric shocks caused them. I looked over to him again and realized we'd grown closer over the passing minutes. We could touch without reaching now. I put my hand on the ground and looked away. I thought I heard a soft chuckle as I felt Colson's fingers graze mine. My fingers reached out and I felt his. We scooted our hands closer to each other's and our fingers weaved together. I was looking away from him as we did this and I felt him grow closer. I turned my head finally to make eye contact with him. His eyes were sky blue. They reminded me of a sky with little tufts of clouds, he really was a demigod of the sky. "You're eyes are so different," He whispered, "It almost looks like you have bolts of lighting striking through them." Colson smiled at my surprise. I smiled fully revealing my sharp canine teeth and blushed. He shivered slightly at the sight of my Hecate inherited fangs but he smiled back a tinge of pink in his cheeks. "They glow too," He added still talking about my eyes. "Yours do too," I replied quietly. "They look like a summer day sky," I described and he blushed a deeper pink with a smile. He reached up and fiddled with a ring piercing in my upper cartilage on my right ear. "When did you do this?" He asked. "When I was fourteen, to spite my dad," I replied. "I like them," He said and our eyes met again. "What's this?" I asked and my thumb brushed up against a scar right underneath his right eye. He caught my hand and squeezed my fingers as he replied, "I was discovered by Chiron only because my family was attacked," His voice was quiet, "A rogue gorgon's hair used its fangs to give me a parting gift." He was now clutching to both of my hands and sympathy welled in my chest. "Sparky," I whispered sympathetically and he smiled slightly. I think he was growing on the nickname. I leaned in closer to him and we melted into each other. His arms wrapped around me and mine around him. My head rested against his shoulder as we leaned back into the wall and he held onto me tightly. We fell asleep like that in the hall. It was my first restful sleep since the beginning of this quest.

I jumped as a whistle echoed through the hallway and woke us up. "Wake up lovebirds!" Kyna laughed after Cas whistled us awake. I scrambled up and escaped into Kyna and my room. Kyna was cackling from where she was standing as I slammed the door on the boys' surprised faces. "You little," I didn't finish my sentence. She just laughed harder. I glared at her and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and ears. She kept laughing as we changed. We were going full armor today. Kyna had knives on her ankles not just her wrists today. My throwing knives were concealed in my vambraces and my top half was hidden by my Panic! at the disco hoodie once again. Kyna had her AJR one and the boys were boring and had GHS hoodies. "So where are we headed?" I asked as we met up in the common area of the hotel. "The Yellowstone Caldera," Colson replied. "Typhoon has been held there for years," Kyna added, "We just need to find an entrance that won't end in a very painful death." David scoffed sarcastically, "Great." I fidgeted with my chakram bracelet as we ate breakfast, fear was hanging over the table. It was understandable we were about to go fight one of the most powerful titans in the universe, and the most powerful one was rising again. "So David, what was the forge like?" Cas asked. David smiled brightly and we all tuned in onto him. "It was amazing!" David's eyes were shining as he spoke, "They had twice as many stations as GHS and it was full of friendly competition and masters. It was amazing Cas, I wish Father would have let you work in Poseidon's Palace too." David put a kind hand on Cas's shoulder and smiled sweetly. Cas returned the smile with sad eyes. Kyna tried to catch Cas's eye but he didn't give her the chance. "Alright!" Colson jumped up, his dog tag/sword clattering as he did. We all looked up to him, my eyes narrowed. "Let's go," He clarified, "Jesus judgy much?" He commented and we all laughed.