Sebastian’s angular eyebrows shot up.Kieran wasn’t sure, but it seemed as if he’d gone a little pink in the cheeks beneath the hangover pallor.“Really?I— Sorry, didn’t expect that.That’s…good to know.”
“Of course.”Kieran stood, reaching out to let his fingers brush Sebastian’s arm as he did.“I should probably let you get some rest.But…my door’s always open.”
“Likewise.”Sebastian smiled again.It was a subtle grin, not overly toothy or manufactured.Kieran decided he liked it.“I’ll see you later, Kieran.”
Kieran’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest.Because if he knew one thing, it was what a promise sounded like.
And that was definitely a promise.
Chapter Eighteen
Over the next week, Kieran fell into a routine on the ship.It almost felt like a return to normalcy.Even if the ship was far from his permanent home, between this adventure and Delilah’s last spring, there was a familiarity to it that he hadn’t realized he’d missed, living in Gellingham.He enjoyed getting to bug Ariel in the control room and help Santiago with meal prep in the kitchen.He spent afternoons reading with Briar and Delilah in the study, Seaweed snoozing in his lap like a cat.All in all, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed having the people he cared about the most all in one place.
Plus, it didn’t hurt that he and Sebastian suddenly had plenty of opportunities to steal away whenever they desired.While Kieran had been nervous at first about the concept of kissing Sebastian again, it turned out to be incredibly easy.The first night after Sebastian had recovered from his terrible hangover, he’d casually asked Kieran if he’d be willing to help him with something on theobservation deck after dinner.When Kieran had arrived—half believing that there was, in fact, some task Sebastian had needed him for—Sebastian had run his fingers through Kieran’s hair before kissing him, slowly and gently.Kieran’s breath had caught as he pressed closer to Sebastian, the feeling of his body enough to make Kieran’s heart rate skyrocket.That gentle kiss had quickly ramped up to Kieran straddling Sebastian on the couch as he went back for more and more of his lips, feeling uncharacteristically bold.
The following week, they repeated the same thing: soft touches while passing in the halls and meaningful eye contact when they wanted to sneak away for a little privacy.Kieran felt downright giddy about the whole thing.Each night, he found himself with a pen in his hand, writing romantic passages that quickly turned into spells that sparked feelings of desire.He hadn’t intended for that necessarily, but considering the way those thoughts tended to creep in as he wrote his spells, it wasn’t a surprise.The more he wrote, the easier it became to cast.It seemed magic and words came to him easily these days.
It helped that Sebastian offered to give revisions on each new spell.Every night, Kieran would give him a new one to read.And every night, the two of them got too distracted to work as the warmth of Kieran’s magic filled the room, lending a silver glow to them both.The feeling of it was overwhelming, as if Kieran might actually have a chance at calling himself a real witch.Especially because, inevitably, after a few minutes of reading, the journal wound up on a side table each night as Sebastian fell into Kieran’s arms.
It was almost enough to help snuff out some of the crushingguilt he felt anytime he thought about what Ash might say if he knew what Kieran was doing.But then again, as Sebastian had put it, Kieran and Ash were on a break.Even if they did somehow work things out when this was all over, Ash couldn’t blame Kieran for stealing a few casual kisses from someone else while they were apart, right?
On the eighth day, however, fate decided to throw another curveball at the crew.
“I don’t mean to scare anyone with this,” Ariel announced at the breakfast table, “but I think you all should know: I heard on the radio that there’s a blizzard heading for us.”Everyone immediately sat up straighter as Ariel continued: “With hurricane-force winds.Which means that we won’t be able to make the supply stop I had planned for this evening.We’re safer flying over it instead of trying to weather it on the ground.”
Instantly, Kieran noticed the color drain from Sebastian’s face.
“Do we have enough fuel to stay aloft another day?”Delilah asked.
Ariel nodded.“We should be fine.So long as everything goes smoothly in avoiding the storm tonight, we can stop in Yarrowport in the morning.Easy.”
Kieran, however, had been unable to take his eyes off Sebastian.The other boy seemed to be steeling his expression, staring intently at the untouched food on his plate.He pushed a clump of scrambled eggs to one side, a nauseated look crossing his face.Despite his best efforts, Kieran couldn’t get a read on him as to why.Maybe he’s afraid of storms?I guess they are hard to stab, which seems like his general method of dealing with scary things.
“But tell them the good news,” Santiago pushed as he returned from the kitchen with a jar of honey to add to his tea.He dropped into his chair.“It’s not all doom and gloom.”
“Right!Yarrowport will be our last stop before the Slicetooth Mountains and the Iceweave Coven.”Ariel nodded.“Which should get us there a day early.For once, I don’t have to force this ship to tear itself apart to race across the country.”
“Oh!That is great news.”Kieran took a sip of his coffee, which tasted faintly of toffee and hazelnuts.“With any luck, we can be in and out quickly, then focus on how to reforge the scepter and get back to Verbena.”
And figure out if I want to use that panacea on Ash or Sebastian,his brain reminded him.
He cringed.
At that moment, Sebastian stood, his breakfast plate mostly untouched.“I…need to attend to something.I’ll be up in my room if anyone needs me.”
He quickly rushed out of the room, dropped his dirty plate in the kitchen, then vanished up the stairs.As the sound of his footsteps faded, everyone at the table exchanged looks.
Briar cocked an eyebrow at Kieran.“What’s his problem?”
“No idea.”Kieran chewed his lower lip.“But…I’ll see if I can find out.”
When Kieran knocked on Sebastian’s door later, he didn’t respond.
Kieran lingered for a bit before he returned to his room andcollapsed on the bed.He picked at his fingernails.He told himself Sebastian had fallen asleep.But as the day wore on and the clouds below the ship grew darker, swirling like a gyre of shadows and sea-foam, his worry began to spike.Sebastian hadn’t so much as shown his face since breakfast.And with the daylight seeping away with the thick swath of clouds beneath them, it was beginning to seem more suspect.
“He just needs time, right?”Kieran asked Seaweed as she stood on her hind legs to look out the window, staring at the darkening clouds.“I’m sure he’s fine.”
The muffled squeak Seaweed let out did little to calm his racing mind.
