Together, Kieran and Sebastian echoed, “Deal.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
That night, as the poison worked its way out of Kieran’s system, he found himself lying in bed in a cold sweat.Something told him he just needed to get through this like a bad hangover, except instead of a headache, it was a full-body ache, as if he’d been rattled around in a cocktail shaker like a loose ice cube.If he could sweat it out, he’d be fine.
He did, however, really need something to quiet the grumbling in his stomach.
With an exaggerated moan, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way down to the kitchen.It wasn’t terribly late—most of the other crew members were still awake—but after the day they’d had, everyone had squirreled away in their separate corners of the ship in anticipation of tomorrow.
Kieran shuffled into the kitchen, yawning, and went to the pantry.There were plenty of ingredients, but he didn’t know much about cooking.He’d learned some basics—making toastand pasta—since leaving his family’s estate, but for the most part he just leeched off whatever Delilah prepared back at their apartment.They’d made a deal early on that if he took on some of her cleaning duties, she’d cook for all three of them.It had worked swimmingly.
Kieran’s chest ached.We’ll get her back.We have to.
Ultimately, he elected to throw together a sandwich, which he wrapped in cloth to take back to his room.He took a few bites as he made his way down the hall.
As he was passing the study, though, he heard the phone start to ring.
He let it go for two rings.Who could possibly be calling them?Could it be Elias, hoping to discuss the hostage exchange?Something personal for Ariel or Santiago?
It rang again, and no one was rushing to pick it up.Realizing he was the only one hearing it, Kieran swallowed the bite of sandwich he’d just taken and went inside.He took the phone off the receiver, uncoiling the cord as he did.
“Hello?”he said.
The voice that responded felt like a punch to the stomach.
“Kieran?”Ash asked, his voice as clear as it had been that day back in the noodle shop.“H-hey, um.It’s me.I was hoping you’d pick up.”
“Ash?Wait—can youhear me?”
“I can.”Ash paused for a moment.“Loud and clear.”
Kieran’s heart felt as if it was about to beat out of his chest.How in the world could Ash hear him?Hadn’t the curse made it so Kieran was completely imperceptible to him?Using a phone wouldn’t get around that, unless…
There’s no way.I haven’t even gotten the panacea yet.How could it have…?Maybe the phone is a loophole?
Unsure of what else to say, he whispered, “Wow, um.Huh.It’s…been a while.”
Sounding a bit unsure, Ash said, “I tried phoning your apartment a few times.When no one answered, I figured I should make sure you were all okay.Klaus was the only person I could think of who might know where you were, so I tracked him down.He let me know you were back on the aeroship doing your Calling with everyone.”
“Y-yeah, I am.”Kieran felt like he was about to throw up.How was this even possible?“Did he mention the, um…the goal of my Calling?”
“He did,” Ash said.“You’re finding a panacea, right?”
Kieran opened his mouth to confirm when Ash added, “I assume you wanted it to break the curse you put on me.”
Kieran froze.Time seemed to slow to a crawl as his heart hammered in his ears.Over and over, he’d told himself that Ash had no way of knowing he’d been cursed.The only thing it impacted was his ability to perceive Kieran, so theoretically, he never had to know what Kieran had done.Kieran had hoped that it was a secret he could keep longer, only admitting to the shame of it when he had a solution.He’d spent nights turning over in his head how Ash would react, and every option had been terrible.The fear and guilt around it had felt like an infection he couldn’t shake, always there lingering bitterly in the back of his throat.
It occurred to Kieran, as the seconds ticked by, that Ash was waiting for him to speak.
All he could think to say then was “I’m so sorry, Ash.Truly.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”Ash asked.Kieran had expected him to be more accusatory, but really he just sounded…hurt.Kieran couldn’t blame him.
“The curse made it so you couldn’t perceive me.I tried to find you at the library the day after I accidentally cast it, but no matter how hard I tried, you couldn’t hear me.I—”
“So that’s what it was,” Ash said, mostly to himself.
“Yeah,” Kieran said, wincing as he admitted it.“It was an accident, I swear.After you said we should take a break, I went home and wrote a poem about it.I wound up accidentally channeling magic into it, and the next day I went to find you and…Well.You get the picture.”
