[Legacy of a Martyr #2] Liberation from the Masquerades (A Key Keepers novel)

Episode 17: Cold

I woke up around five or six. The repair guy had fixed our A/C, but I was cold now. I had T next to me and she was warm and all those other warm and fuzzy things, but it wasn't enough for me. I was still cold.

Still, I managed to stay under the covers for another hour or two. I didn't wanna disturb T when she was laying there so peacefully. Eight was a reasonable hour to be up, so that was when I got out of bed.

The second I got up, T opened her eyes. "Morning, Little Brother."

"Morning, Kaze."

She jumped in the shower. It was like she hadn't just gotten up a minute earlier. Was this her body getting confused? Thinking it was still seven? Young children loved being up at the crack of dawn.

I didn't feel like eating, so I grabbed a granola bar out of the pantry.

When I went to grab my phone off the charger, Kaze came out of the shower with her hair wrapped in a towel. "Where are you off to?"

"Elsewhere..." My flames pooled in my cheeks. "I'm cold."

Her eyes lit up. "Can I come?"

"Are you sure?" I smirked. "Most girls wouldn't be caught dead in public without their hair and make-up done."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I am." She put her hands on her hips. "I'm just supposed to be a regular girl. Not the future queen of another realm that I truly am."

"Tiana..." I kissed her hand. "You'll always be my queen."

"Whatever...!" My sister blushed, a laugh escaping her lips. "I really wanna tag along, okay?"

We slipped out of the house like mice.

"How was it yesterday?" I asked.

"It was nice." It was her turn to smirk. "I bet you're relieved you didn't have to stay."

My flames pooled in my cheeks. "Water is wet."

A breeze blew past. The neighbors' sprinklers went off in the background.

"How did Eni do yesterday?"

"He did great." T smiled. "He doesn't have an aversion to water like you do. He doesn't love it, but I didn't really expect him to when he has power over fire and hasn't been near a pool or ocean before."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, he doesn't know how to swim?"

She shook her head. "Alastair has a big family, doesn't he?"

"Sounds like it the way he was talking to his brother about their stash of swim trunks."

"Noah stayed with us. He was helping out. Phoenix wasn't sure about it, but Noah knew how to make it into a game. Honestly, I'm not sure how Phoenix would've handled things if he hadn't been there. It was like he knew a lot of people like our brother or something."