Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Eight

WATER

We all woke up early and went for our morning run like it was scheduled. She didn't show up. By the time we finished and got ready for breakfast, we all expected her to be there.

But Aileen didn't show up for breakfast either and that's when I began to worry. Well, that wasn't entirely true. I was worried, but I was also angry. She couldn't keep avoiding us forever and why did she only seem to want to talk to Noah. We only knew she was eating because he took food to her. No one had seen her since the day before.

Alex was the one who was the most worried of all. She didn't admit it out loud but her face said it all. As soon as we finished our breakfast, she disappeared after saying she was going to go looking for Aileen even if Noah didn't want to tell her where her friend was. I could understand her worry, we were all worried, but we thought it was best for Alex to talk to Aileen first. 

So the rest of us headed to the library and continued our day as if everything were normal.

...

By the time lunch was upon us, we were all tired and feeling low, no one said anything as we reached the dining room, and surprisingly, Aileen was there. She was talking to Alex and Noah and she looked calm and normal as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't disappeared for hours.

I stiffened when I saw Noah sitting on one side of Aileen and Alex on the other. Mason made his way to sit next to his girlfriend and Kalani took a seat where she usually sat. Noah was the one who was taking my spot. 

Trying to pretend that didn't irk me, I made my way to sit next to Mason and I thought I saw Noah looking pleased by it. But maybe I was just imagining things. 

"Hey, where were you? How are you feeling?" Mason asked his cousin as he met her stare.

Aileen smiled and waved him off. "I was feeling a bit sick yesterday so I stayed in and this morning I woke up very early so I went on a run by myself but after that, I fell asleep. If it weren't for Noah, I probably wouldn't have had any breakfast. And after that, I went for a ride with Alex. Why did you need me for anything?" She asked with her eyebrow raised and Mason shook his head.

"No, we were just worried. And I couldn't reach you through our bond," he responded to which Aileen only nodded in acknowledgment.

Alessandro then walked out of the kitchen towards Aileen and he bowed slightly when he reached her. "Your Majesty, would you like anything special to eat today?" He asked with his notorious Italian accent. 

Aileen smiled and looked at Alex and Noah before turning to face the chef. "We were thinking we would like some pizza. Do you guys want anything different?" She asked as she turned to Mason and didn't look at Kalani and me. That hurt more than I cared to admit.

"I'm fine with that," Mason said with a shrug and Kalani nodded her head.

"Me too," she said and I agreed.

"Any special toppings, Princess?" Alessandro asked as he placed his hands behind his back.

Aileen smiled and shook her head, "surprise us, Alessandro." 

Alessandro smiled and nodded his head as he made his way back to the kitchen. 

I cleared my throat and she hesitated for a moment before looking at me. Her gaze held nothing but hostility in it. "Are you going to join us for today's training session? Today we're going to train hand-to-hand combat," I said and Aileen stiffened slightly as her gaze moved to Kalani nervously and it was so brief that no one but me noticed. 

Slowly, she shook her head and pointed to Noah. "Noah offered to show me more around the Underworld. I said yes because, for one, I will have duties here at some point and two, he said he could take me to where the Oneiroi are."

I stiffened and my eyes widened, but this time it wasn't because of Noah. "Wait, you shouldn't go alone to see them. We don't know them and they can be... unpredictable."

Aileen nodded her head, "I know. You can relax, I'm not going alone and besides, he's only going to show me the way. I'm not planning on going inside to talk to them. We said we would all go together and that's what we'll do." She said with a shrug and Noah nodded his head.

I didn't like the way he was slowly creeping into our group. It wasn't like I wouldn't let anyone else in, it was just that I didn't trust him and I still didn't know why. 

"Fine, just be careful," I said and she nodded her head.

"Will do."

...

So after lunch, we all went our separate ways. I went to the training room with Kalani, Mason, and Alex while Aileen left with Noah. As we walked up the steps, I could hear her laughing all the way to the door and the hairs in my back stood uncomfortably. I really needed to get a hold of my emotions before I did anything I would regret.

The training session went by without any tension. I taught them a couple of defense moves and we worked on their speed. By the time we were done, I realized we still had a bit less than an hour to spare but no one looked eager to continue. Not even me. 

With a sigh, I clapped my hands together to get their attention and said, "let's wrap it up here. We can continue tomorrow. I know none of us are in the actual mood to continue and I think we're all tired. So why don't we just go freshen up and meet in the common room?" 

Everyone looked relieved to hear me say that and Mason and Alex were the first to walk out and I followed behind with Kalani next to me. "I'm going to talk to Aileen when she comes back. I think that's what's best for everyone, that we just settle our misunderstandings before we affect anyone else," Kalani said, breaking the silence but without looking at me.

I stiffened but I didn't say anything. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe she was right. 

"Okay, I think that's a good idea," was all I said.

"Also, I'm going to keep digging around to find out more about Noah. Rubie seemed uncomfortable when I asked her more about him and since then, I haven't seen her at the library. I don't know if she's avoiding me, or if something happened. After I take a shower, I'm going to go looking for her and ask her more questions," she said and I nodded my head. 

"Alright, just be careful. Something about all this feels off and I don't think we should mention it to Aileen just yet. Not until we have any actual proof or she'll get defensive and say that we don't know how to trust others," I said, already hearing Aileen in my mind saying that.

Kalani chuckled and nodded her head, "Okay then. See you later," she said before quickening her pace and reaching her room before Alex or Mason. 

I sighed and rubbed my temples. My head was beginning to pound and I thought it was best just to lay down for a while. So when I went inside my room, I didn't get into the shower first. I felt too dizzy to do so. Instead, I headed over to my bed and let my body fall. I shut my eyes tightly as the headache intensified and then... I dozed off.