Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
The ship had been bitterly cold, but now I wonder if it was actually blessed with a magical heated bubble because Thrace’s chill bites into my bones.
A cloak? That’s all Aphrodite thought I’d need here?
It’s fucking snowing! And not just like it has a few times on our journey.
No, it’s coming down hard. Not quite a blizzard, but not far from that either. I’m from Atlanta, not the North Pole!
It’s late afternoon, too, which means soon it will be dark and therefore even colder.
That’s why I’m grateful when Sylvia suggests we camp for the night.
Now that we’re off the ship, we can finally call on our camp, and all our creature comforts are back, including mountains of blankets and the means to make a nice campfire.
With every awful thing that’s happened since we ran into the dracaenae, we don’t dare all sleep at the same time.
We make the choice to pair up and rest in shifts.
Joshua and Miko will go first. After that will be Cait and Guy, followed by Sylvia and me.
And Alexander has stated he’ll be nearby with his Benelli whenever we need him.
Sylvia was the one to come up with the pairings.
Guy had been really obvious with his sulking, but she put her foot down.
She believes we’ll be too busy making out to pay attention.
Plus, it’s not a good idea to isolate the two low-strength party members.
Honestly, she probably made the right move.
I just wish she hadn’t stuck Cait and Guy together.
But what argument can I make against that?
It would be awkward if the two people I’m romantically interested in spent time alone together?
While Sylvia cooks up a savory soup over the campfire, the rest of us set up our camp in the best defensive position we can.
We figure we can back it up against the tall hill we spotted near the road.
The campfire is set on the hill’s flat top, so whoever is on watch will be warm and have an excellent view all around.
I really hope we’re going overboard with these protective measures, but something tells me that even this might not be enough.
Aphrodite told me she won’t let me die, though.
I wonder if she knew Cetus was going to be much tougher than usual.
Why else would she give Alexander a shotgun right in the nick of time?
Except for Miko, my friends are all around level thirty.
What level did that make Cetus? Even if they were matched in level, it shouldn’t have been such a close call.
We shouldn’t have needed an NPC to plant bullets in its brain.
So he would have had to be at least close to a level forty, and most players who take that ship are level four or five.
I shiver, and it’s not just because of the drifting snow stinging my bare cheek.
What if he respawns and is still that OP’d when newbies travel on the Argo?
I’m testing the tentpoles near the hillside when Cait approaches me. Despite being clad in heavy leather armor, the cold air turns her pale skin and pink lips nearly purple. I must look even worse with only my flimsy chiton and cloak to keep me warm.
As uncomfortable as Cait must be, she still has a smile for me when she reaches my side.
“Hey,” she says. “Is the Heart of Ares helping you out?” She points at the locket clasped around my neck, the one she gave me out of the kindness of her heart.
I touch it, feeling its eternal heat beneath my fingers. “Honestly, it’s probably the only reason I don’t have frostbite.”
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that,” she says. “I know healers are only supposed to wear cloth only and any other armor class might hamper your energy levels, but you could actually die of exposure. Let me help you try on some of my lower-level leather stuff I haven’t sold off.”
Laughing, I say, “Something tells me we’re not the same size.” I gesture at her tall, slender frame and then my short, curvy one.
Cait rolls her eyes. “C’mon, a gamer like you knows armor is one size fits all.”
She’s right. This isn’t like real life where I need to be concerned about what size I am.
“Okay, thanks,” I say. “Show me the way.”
Cait takes me by the hand. It’s meant to be innocent, what an excited friend would do when giddily leading you to a fun surprise.
But the moment our fingers touch, a pleasant, thrumming heat flows through me.
She must feel it, too, because her smile softens, and she looks at me with half-lidded eyes.
It’s fucking cold. I’d love nothing more than to rush into our magically warm tent and put on real clothes, but we’re alone in this spot. Everyone else is on the other side of the tent. Once we’re inside, we may not get another moment like this for at least a day.
I grip Cait’s hand in mine and tug her toward me, not enough to actually move her. I’m not strong enough to do that. It’s just a message, really. I want her closer. Cait closes the distance between us, standing no more than a foot away, so that I have to tilt my head to look up at her.
“What’s up?” she asks, like she doesn’t know.
Maybe she doesn’t. Maybe this is all in my head, but…No, I see the tenderness in her eyes and feel the brief and subtle stroke of her thumb across my knuckles.
“You were dead,” I say. “And then with Cetus, you were almost dead. I can’t tell you how much that scared me, how that…broke my heart.”
Cait’s throat bobs. “It did?”
I nod. “Remember how you said you dreamed I kissed you?”
Her eyes widen. “I said that? Out loud?”
Ignoring her panic, I continue, “Well, I did kiss you. You were very, very dead, and I thought maybe if I just kissed you, it would bring you back. But it didn’t. It took that Cleric of Zeus to do it.”
“But you tried,” she says. “That means a lot to me.”
“Aphrodite has granted me a spell called the Kiss of Life,” I tell her. “I only get to use it three times, and then it’s gone for good. But still, that’s three times I’ll be able to bring someone back with a kiss.”
Cait gasps. “Oh my God, really?!”
“Total game changer, right?”
I sigh, knowing that I can’t beat around the bush any longer. I have to tell her how I feel, even if I don’t know how it will pan out in the end for her, me, and Guy. Because not being honest might hurt us all more in the end.
Swallowing down my anxiety, I say, “The thing is, if I kiss you again, I don’t want it to be because you’re dead. I want it to be reciprocal, a real kiss.”
Cait stares at me, stunned as a doe facing a semi. Her hand slips from mine.
I’ve just fucked up big time. I must have misread all the signs. She’s little Miss Prim and Proper. What I took for attraction could have simply been friendly affection on her part.
Despite the freezing weather, my face feels like an oven, and I turn to hide my blush from her. “Um, I think I heard Sylvia say dinner is ready.”
When I take a step away, Cait reaches out and grabs me by the wrist. “Wait!” she cries out. Her eyes are wild, shining with confusion and the promise of tears. “But you’re with Guy.”
“I am,” I say.
“Are you saying you want to break up with him?”
Oof, now there’s a question.
Things are going really well with him now, much better than I ever expected them to. There’s nothing in me that wants to leave Guy, but I also can’t deny my feelings for Cait.
“No, I don’t,” I answer truthfully.
“You want to cheat on him?” she asks. There’s a hint of accusation in her tone, and I get it. Guy was her friend long before I ever entered the picture.
“I would never cheat on him,” I tell her. “Just because I want to kiss you doesn’t mean I would betray either of you. I told you how I feel because I want to be honest. Guy already knows.”
“But…the two of you…” Cait shakes her head, mystified. “I mean, you’ve both been pretty obvious lately. Your kisses aren’t as secret as you think.”
That’s a little embarrassing, but it’s not the point. I don’t know exactly how to describe what’s going on between Guy and me. Still, I’m going to try my best.
“I feel myself growing closer to the both of you the more I get to know you,” I say. “And he said he wants to get whatever time he can with me in case I decide I only want to be with you.”
“In case you decide you only want to be with me?” she asks. “What does that mean?”
“He’s open to me being with both of you,” I answer.
“I…I…” Cait can’t seem to form any other words. Pain contorts her features, and her tears fall at last. “All three of us could…?” She shakes her head and then looks at me with pleading eyes. “No, I’m being—”
She can’t seem to complete her thoughts out loud. She’s clearly not ready for this conversation.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I understand. I won’t push you into—”
Cait lets go of my wrist but not to walk away.
She grabs my face with both her hands, and her lips crash into mine.
Her kiss is as fiery as her temper and just as deep as her heart.
I lose all sense of where and when we are.
There is no snow or winter wind, just the heat of our bodies pressed together.
Then, just as suddenly as the kiss began, it ends. Cait parts from me, gasping from arousal, her features twisted with confusion.
Eventually, her expression settles into a cool but friendly mask and, in a tone that implies nothing at all passed between us, she says, “You’re going to freeze to death. Let’s go get you into some of my old clothes.”
Cait walks to the other side of the tent, not waiting for me to follow.
The ping of a notification prompts me to bring up my quest log.
“Kiss Her” is crossed out and “Patience” is added.
No explanation needed. I’ll give her all the time she needs and respect whatever decision she makes.
I just hope I didn’t fuck everything up.