Chapter 26: Good Things Are Made Up of Time

Now Is Forever, Eiffel 65

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“Somehow, I was expecting this to be easier,” Caleb was saying, pacing around the apartment he shared with Lilith. Across the hall, somewhere, Morgyn was spending time with Ezio, and Caleb wouldn’t ever dream of interrupting something like that. Right now, at any rate, he needed to vent to someone else, and perhaps venting at Morgyn about Morgyn wasn’t a good idea. “We’ve known each other forever, Lilith, I can’t believe this is still so difficult. And I don’t even know what I want!”

Lilith, pulling their dishes out of their boxes, washing and drying them, and then putting them in the cabinets, released a sigh. Her hair was much shorter, now, and had been for some time. It was less annoying to deal with, so she’d been keeping it cut. It kept it out of her eyes.

“You know,” Lilith said, sliding a plate into the cabinet, “I don’t think I can give you an answer here.”

Caleb unleashed a squawk of indignant frustration. “I know!” he said, falling over onto the couch. “I know. I’m just trying to figure this out, mostly, and nothing makes sense in my head.”

“Well, it certainly doesn’t help that you spent a long time trying to ignore your own feelings,” Lilith said, one eyebrow arching upward. She wasn’t entirely certain why he did that, but she did know Morgyn – well, both of the Embers – could be awfully jumpy and touchy sometimes. It was difficult to say, how Morgyn would react or not react to something. Lilith certainly didn’t know the blond that well. Maybe only Ezio had the answers to that, but even he seemed undeniably perplexed at times. “You could talk to Ezio, I guess,” Lilith said. “Or you could do the easy thing.”

Caleb’s hand rose up to rest on the back of the couch, and he sat up slightly. “And what’s the easy thing?” he asked.

Lilith snorted, putting another plate in the cabinet. “Ask Morgyn out,” she said.

“What like on a date?” Caleb asked, sounding scandalised.

“Yes,” Lilith answered. “What else would I mean? You’ve been good friends for a long time now, Morgyn obviously doesn’t dislike you, maybe it’s time one of you made the first move, and something tells me it won’t be Morgyn doing it.”

Caleb groaned and fell back down on the couch. “I’m not an outgoing person, okay, I don’t really do assertion! That’s Morgyn’s thing! And – and maybe Morgyn doesn’t like me that way. Maybe. Probably even. I’m not terribly great.”

Lilith rolled her eyes, throwing the hand towel onto the counter. One hand rested against the counter, the other propping up against her hip.

“That’s the, ‘Shut up before I smack you, Caleb,’ look,” Caleb said.

“I won’t smack you,” Lilith answered. “You anyway. I make no promises as to the relative safety of the punching bags at the gym. Look, Caleb, I think Morgyn likes you. I really do. I just also think that Morgyn has other things on the brain than you. Maybe dating’s just not a priority for Morgyn. There are probably a dozen other things Morgyn’s got to think about, between being untamed sage, to making sure Ezio doesn’t keel over and die, and -“

“I’m being weirdly selfish, aren’t i?” Caleb asked, peeking over the back of the couch again.

“I wouldn’t really put it that way,” Lilith answered, “but, yes, that is the technical explanation of this behaviour. But it’s easy to get caught up in your personal problems and forget that other people have problems, too, or at least, other things on their mind. It doesn’t really make you a bad person or anything. I think everyone does it from time to time. The problem is when your personal goals and wants continually supercede others’, and you never consider other people when making decisions or working things out that affect them.”

Caleb released a sigh, propping his head up against his arm. “This is why I ask you about stuff all the time,” he said. “You always have answers.”

“Not always,” Lilith corrected, reaching over to take the hand towel back off the counter and return to working on cleaning the dishes and putting them in the cabinets. Their manor in Forgotten Hollow had a rather old-fashioned and neglected kitchen. It was no one’s fault, it simply was, they didn’t have mortal humans over very much, and neither of them had any need to pretend to be normal. After a while, Caleb got interested in Morgyn, and Morgyn was notoriously bad at self-care, so Caleb started to learn how to cook. It was mostly because Morgyn in a kitchen tended to end up a nice sizzly event, one that Caleb had gotten quite fond of skipping. Lilith couldn’t say she was complaining, either. Caleb had set their kitchen on fire a few times, merely because there were spider webs all over it. Apparently, it hadn’t occurred to him to do something with those first. Lilith couldn’t call herself surprised.

“Often enough for me to keep asking, I guess,” Caleb answered. “At least you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better about it.”

“You seemed pretty scandalised a minute ago,” Lilith pointed out, washing the plate in her hands.

“And in hindsight, now I’m not,” Caleb answered. “It just took me a minute to get used to the idea.” The two went quiet, for a moment, and then Caleb asked, “You think Morgyn will say yes?”

Lilith snorted. “I think Morgyn might wonder what took you so long to ask, but, yes, I think Morgyn will say yes. Just do the dating thing right, understand? I don’t want to have to kick you because you upset one of my friends. Be the one Morgyn can’t forget about.”

Caleb looked a bit uncertain. “I don’t know how,” he admitted.

“Just be you,” Lilith answered, smiling softly, as she dried off the plate she held. “You’ve always been good enough for Morgyn before just as you are, I have no reason to think that’s changed. Don’t rush things. Let it happen as it wants to. And remember that people aren’t just end-goals.”

* * *

It was rare that Lilith got to stretch her legs. Most of the time, she spent all her time holed up somewhere. Before, she spent all her time in Wolfsbane unless she had somewhere to go, namely Britechester for class. Now, she spent all her time in the apartment she shared with Caleb, and some might find this a terrible outcome, but Lilith didn’t mind. She was outgoing, and had a need for social interaction, but she talked with Caleb, Ezio and Drake. Lilith wasn’t very fond of the Rasoyas, but they weren’t annoying to talk to, at least.

Ever since they were kids, Lilith had slowly been trying to become someone she wasn’t, because Caleb didn’t need the person she was. It wasn’t his fault. She tried to tell herself that, more than once, over the years, tried to convince herself that it didn’t bother her that it was always her being someone she wasn’t so that Caleb could keep living the way he did. And then the voice in the back of her mind whispered that even when she’d needed him, it wasn’t like he did anything, back then. Maybe he didn’t contribute, but neither did he try to stop it. Lilith remembered, then, when she heard that voice in the back of her head, so angry at him for things that happened when the world was younger, that none of it was his fault, and she tried to let it go.

Given the voice kept coming back, clearly, she wasn’t doing a good job of letting anything go.

She stood outside the apartment building, her eyes on the bridge, watching the lights race down the supports. So many things about the world had changed, and so many other things hadn’t changed at all. The every day challenge of keeping up with those changes, Lilith was better at them than Caleb was. Then, he didn’t necessarily try, either. He spent a lot of time hibernating off and on, trying to pretend that nothing had to change because Caleb didn’t take change very well. And then he had a reason to stay in Morgyn, and it was never a fight to keep him out and present again.

That, too, sometimes she was angry at him for. Lilith only ever fought for him, but when it came down to it, Caleb barely had it in him to stay awake for her. No, that wasn’t fair, either, was it? Maybe it didn’t matter. Very little in the world was, after all.

Lilith took a breath in, enjoying the cool, crisp winter air, and then turned and walked down the street. The place she was going was only a few blocks down the street from Culpepper, and was the closest bar, and the closest vampire bar in the area, too. Unlike Caleb, Lilith took being a vampire much better. If she had to guess, it helped that she’d chosen it. For a weak reason, but she’d still chosen it. Caleb had just made friends with the wrong crowd, if one could call that mess being friends.

As she wandered into the Desert Rose, the soft music gently thumping in the background, the first thing she noted was the wide array of languages being spoken in hushed tones. Lilith didn’t understand them all, but she caught snatches and pieces, words that she recognised, but then she lost the rest of the sentence. The blond settled down at the bar. “Plasma Jane, please,” she said.

“Sure,” the bartender answered, setting to making her drink. “You haven’t been by in a while. Doing alright then?”

“Yeah,” Lilith answered, her head tilting slightly as she sat up a bit straighter. “I’m in university now,” she said.

The bartender laughed, a smooth and higher pitched tone than it seemed like should come out of him. But then, he was a bit effeminate looking anyway. He sat the Plasma Jane down in front of Lilith. “I’m not sure how you younger ones handle university,” he said, icy blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “I don’t have the patience anymore.”

Lilith snorted. “I figure I’ve got forever,” she said, taking the glass. “No sense in being impatient. Eternity isn’t going to move any faster on account of me and my stupid temper.”

The man laughed again, flicking his head to one side to move pale blond hair out of his eyes. “I can’t argue with that,” he said.

Lilith knew his name was Kassander, but that was about it. He reeked of old. Lilith imagined he was one of the ancients, and for some reason, his presence was calming, the way she just barely remembered her parents’ presences were. She’d asked him why that was, once. He’d smiled, and told her not to worry about it, and it was just a deliberate calming effect he exuded on purpose. She had no proof of it, but she was quite sure he was lying.

Just under his skin, she’d learnt a long time ago, was the buzz of magic. Whatever and whoever he was, he was powerful, and apparently, always had been.

“I hear Miss Hell’s around,” Kassander said, leaning over to rest his arms against the bar.

“Is she?” Lilith asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“I figured you’d be interested in hearing about that,” Kassander said. “You may not ever catch her.”

“The point by now isn’t catching her anymore,” Lilith said, drinking some of the Plasma Jane and setting it down on the bar with a soft tap. “If I always have something to chase, I won’t stop moving.”

Kassander smiled, that smile that he got when he thought something was right. “Sarnai’s awake, as well,” he said. “I don’t think the two are related, but I’m not stupid enough to think they’re not.”

Lilith frowned, but she merely nodded once, took another drink of the Plasma Jane, and set it back down. “How’s life besides?”

“Interesting enough,” Kassander answered. “Sandalio’s still always busy, and so is Hasan. I’m on my own a lot more now, more than I like anyway. It’s no one’s fault, it just is.”

“Maybe you three should spend some time together just you,” Lilith suggested.

“Yeah, probably,” Kassander agreed. “Getting Sandalio and Hasan to take time off work, though…” Kassander loosed a low whistle. “I love them, but they’re both terrible about breaks.”

Lilith laughed. “You’re just as bad,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kassander asked.

“You’re supposed to be off work this late,” Lilith said. “And here you are, tending someone else’s bar.”

Kassander looked like he wanted to argue, and then closed his mouth. “Point well made. I think I’ll go dance or something.”

Lilith snorted, as Kassander wandered off into the back. “See ya,” she said as he went along. Then, her thoughts inevitably turned back to what he’d said. Miss Hell was around now, and Lilith had only been waiting for her to show her ugly mug around here again. But Sarnai was awake, too.

Now what exactly would Sarnai be awake for?

* * *

Campus hadn’t changed much. It was probably one of the most consistent constants in Lilith’s life (aside from Caleb always being in some sort of state of conflict over Morgyn, at least), and she could appreciate it. Things seemed somehow much simpler when she was on campus. That was probably how she managed to find the patience for university shenanigans. When you were twenty something, and had your whole life ahead of you, you did silly things and thought about things in a bit more naive way.

Lilith missed that kind of naivety. Yet, she also didn’t miss it at all. Such a conflicting feeling that was, but that was to be expected. Lilith’s early years weren’t exactly the greatest.

As Lilith made her way across campus, probably to hang around in the centre courtyard until it was time for her next class, she sensed Ezio nearby. She hadn’t spoken to him in a while, and if she was guessing right, he was probably presently being near driven nuts by Morgyn and Morgyn’s unending energy stores. Lilith wasn’t sure how the blond hit the ground running that way, but it seemed like it came as the dolt’s second nature. Morgyn hit the ground running, and tended to keep running, and that seemed like a bad thing but somehow Morgyn managed it fine.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Morgyn seemed to manage fine. Maybe the truth was that Morgyn lived on potions or something. That sounded like something Morgyn would do. Maybe Ezio knew about it. Ezio seemed to know everything about Morgyn. Probably, he knew Morgyn better than he knew himself.

Lilith closed the book she’d been vaguely leafing through, and redirected herself to end up near Ezio, instead. He was already seated on a bench, watching the clouds. He seemed in a decent mood, and a quick sniff at the air told her he was doing alright, physically, too. He also didn’t smell emotionally distressed, so Morgyn hadn’t utterly exasperated him yet. That was a good sign.

Lilith settled down next to him, her eyes turning up to the sky to watch the clouds. Ezio shifted to look at her, and then returned to watching the sky.

“How’s life with Morgyn around?” Lilith asked.

Ezio snorted softly. “Never very boring, at least. The only bright side, I suppose, is I’m not as easily tired out as I was a few decades ago. Takes a bit longer to knock me out of the running, but I still can’t quite keep up with Morgyn.”

Yes, Lilith remembered. His stamina had been a much different situation a few decades ago, before he’d come here for medical care, and discovered martial arts. From time to time, he danced now, too, but not often, and not for long. Ezio only pushed it that much because he loved to dance. Lilith had figured that out a long time ago.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Lilith said, “I don’t think even Caleb can really keep up with Morgyn.” For the most part, it seemed like Caleb was merely very good at pretending he could keep up.

Ezio laughed. “That sounds about right,” he said. “Morgyn runs at a tempo most can’t reach.”

For some reason, yes. Lilith couldn’t say she understood, but it seemed like Morgyn slowed down from time to time. It could be a very lonely existence, no one ever being able to keep up with you, but Morgyn’s decisions to slow down for certain people made it less so. Or at least, Lilith imagined it did. She wouldn’t pretend to understand Morgyn. She barely understood herself much of the time.

For instance, why was she still angry with Caleb for things outside of his control? She had no answer.

“Hey,” Ezio said, turning to look at her, “Mayor Whiskers doesn’t bother you guys, right?”

Lilith looked confused. “No?” she asked. “Is he supposed to be bothering us?”

Ezio shrugged, and turned back to look at the sky. “The Rasoyas keep making a big fuss over him, that’s all,” he answered. “I know he likes to yowl at just about anything, but he doesn’t really do it loudly, I didn’t think.”

“Not really,” Lilith agreed. “You know the Rasoyas are ridiculously picky about noise levels, especially given they’re the loudest ones on our floor. I wouldn’t pay it any mind.”

Ezio sighed, sliding down in his seat on the bench. Lilith smiled a little, reaching over and patting his arm.

“I don’t handle confrontation very well,” Ezio said.

“That’s funny,” Lilith answered. “You seem to manage fighting just fine. That counts as confrontation.”

“That’s a little bit different,” Ezio said.

Lilith shrugged. “I don’t think it is,” she said. “Just give her a look like she’s lost her shit. She probably did a long time ago, and maybe the looks will make her start thinking about her senseless diatribe before she spits it out.”

“Somehow,” Ezio said, “I really doubt that one. She doesn’t seem like the type to be easily affected by things like that.”

“Psh, you’re older than her anyway,” Lilith said. “And truthfully, she’s probably on her way out. Her blood’s still tasty, though.”

Ezio gave her a look. “You don’t, do you?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Lilith answered. “I might be why she’s always cranky.”

“Lilith, honestly,” Ezio replied, looking a bit admonishing.

Lilith snorted. “It keeps her out of the way for an hour or so while she sleeps the blood loss off.”

Ezio sighed. “That fails to be the point,” he said, standing. “At any rate, I’d better go. I still have a little more of my presentation to work on, and Morgyn’s probably going to want to go out again later today.”

“You could always get Caleb to entertain Morgyn for a night or two,” Lilith said, sitting up.

“Psh, are you kidding?” Ezio asked. “If I even suggested it, I think Caleb would have a heart attack over it.”

Lilith raised her eyebrows, her head tilting to the side. Well, he was probably right about that one. “I suppose,” she said.

“Anyway, I’ll see you later,” he said. “And good luck listening to Caleb whinge.”

Lilith loosed a sigh, watching Ezio go. Great. And now the neighbours knew Caleb was whinging. Or maybe it was just Ezio.

* * *

Kassander hadn’t given her as much information about Sarnai and Miss Hell’s movements as she had been hoping. He seemed to be of the belief she should let this one go, focus more on her own life, and truthfully, he was right. Lilith had a lot going on, between adjusting to living in San Myshuno, helping Caleb with whatever it was that Caleb needed help with, and figuring out what she wanted. Maybe the truth was, Lilith was so used to having to put her life on hold for Caleb, that she’d forgotten how to want things. It was just as well. Caleb always needed something.

And with Miss Hell slinking around again, Lilith knew better than to leave her alone and expect everything to be fine. There were times Caleb went outside her influence, and if Miss Hell happened to get to him during those times, there was almost nothing Lilith could do to save him from his own naivety and tendency to believe the best in people. There was a reason Lilith was the hard-ass of the two of them. He’d fallen for Miss Hell’s charming lies before, and he’d do it again.

Unfortunately, for some god awful fucking reason, Caleb still liked her, and the problem was, Miss Hell knew that. Lilith really wanted to wipe that smug little smirk right off her face, but Caleb still wanted to believe the best in her. It was another reason Lilith hoped Caleb asked Morgyn out, and they started being more than just friends. Because Caleb didn’t have enough fight in him unless he had something to fight for. Lilith didn’t need it, could handle herself, but Morgyn didn’t know Miss Hell the same way. She could be a real threat to the sage. Caleb would know that.

That was probably a bad reason to hope Caleb got the nerve to ask Morgyn out, but for now, it was something. Lilith would accept it, even if only in her head. Caleb didn’t need to know the specifics, she supposed.

As it was, with Miss Hell on the move in San My, it’d take a little time for Lilith to figure out where the hell she was hiding this time. Miss Hell’s tastes in living space were beyond Lilith’s comprehension. She was hoping to be able to find her more or less on accident, if that was possible, and she supposed it was. If Miss Hell made the right moves and said the right things to the right people, of course. It was hard for her to imagine that Miss Hell and Sarnai being around at the same time wasn’t coincidental, even if Kassander made it sound like the two events were somehow related. Miss Hell hated Sarnai, because Vladislaus seemed to like Sarnai and tended to pass Miss Hell up for things he’d turn around and give to Sarnai.

If she’d use her brain, Miss Hell would know that was because Sarnai was a thousand times stronger than her, but what the fuck did Lilith know?

On the other hand, Sarnai was a thousand times stronger than Miss Hell, and it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to manipulate Miss Hell into doing things one wanted her to if they knew how. Lilith had no reason to believe that Sarnai didn’t. What exactly that would get her, that Lilith didn’t know, but it could easily be something so simple as keeping Miss Hell out of her way until the main event. That certainly sounded quite plausible.

Lilith took a breath in, tucked out of the way behind some brush and trees in Forgotten Hollow. Somewhere out here was probably the answers she needed. If nothing else, maybe Vladislaus had seen or heard something. His presence was still notable, though it seemed weaker to her. She decided not to think about it too much, instead focusing on trying to figure out what she’d came for.

It was Vladislaus’ idea that she and Caleb move to San Myshuno. Now she had to wonder if he knew something was going on, and had sent them away to spare them the brunt of whatever it was. Caleb wasn’t the fighter she was. Depending on how things turned out, he may or may not actually make it through whatever it was, though Lilith likely would. She so far always had, after all.

Lilith took a step outside of the brush. The sun had begun to set, and the light was fading, had been ever since the sun had vanished behind the mountains. Forgotten Hollow was one of the best places for vampires to live. Between the frequent cloud cover, and how little time the sun had in the sky as opposed to being covered by the high mountain peaks around the Hollow, it was easy enough to stay out of the sun’s reach. Idly, she held one of her hands up, the other hand gripping her wrist and moving it slightly. The joint cracked a few times, loosening it. She flicked her other hand at the air, popping that wrist joint as well. It was hard to say what she’d run into, and she didn’t need her muscles tight or her joints cramping on her.

Across the street from Wolfsbane Manor, where she and Caleb used to live, there was another manor. Lilith didn’t know when that was built, but she thought she sensed Elle, Inna, and Vlad. The other Vlad, of course. The house beside it also seemed to be occupied, and Lilith wasn’t sure who that was, aside from they seemed to have a cat, and smelled just slightly of – ah. Magic. Sarnai had a spellcaster sister. Perhaps the cat was her familiar.

As soon as Lilith started to make her way around the central courtyard, she noticed something else moving around in the brush across the street. Lilith stopped, ducking down into the brush she was standing in, and waited. Then, who should pop out from between the trees but Markus Crow? That was interesting enough, but he looked around like he was trying not to get caught, too, and then scurried up towards one of the abandoned mines. If she remembered right, the Embers had a serious issue with Kat Cave. Kat and Markus were close friends of Miss Hell’s, and by friends, Lilith really meant lackeys. Maybe he was finishing whatever Kat had failed to do.

With that in mind, Lilith attempted to suppress her scent, and followed.

* * *

Lilith was probably right. Caleb should just ask Morgyn out or something, it wasn’t like he’d ever been terribly overt about his feelings. Of course, Caleb was also very aware he wasn’t the only person in the world with a crush on Morgyn. Maybe his ran a little deeper than most crushes, but then heck if he knew anything about how everyone else felt. Was it egotistical to think that somehow your crush was better and more important? Maybe it was. It probably was.

It wasn’t like Morgyn hadn’t seemed interested in him. Probably, Morgyn wouldn’t spend so much time around him if the blond wasn’t at least kind of interested, in something. Caleb released another sigh, turning around, shuffling across the hallway, and stuffing some of the envelopes in his hand down the trash chute. He turned around, shuffled back to the mailbox. Off-hand, he didn’t know where Lilith had gone. If he had to guess, she was probably at class. Caleb frowned, moving one arm to check the time. His watch read 4:40. She should’ve been back by now. Well, Lilith had friends. Caleb didn’t have many of those.

As he shuffled through the envelopes, the elevator dinged behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, catching Ezio trudging out of the elevator. “Oh, hey, Ezio,” Caleb said, stuffing the envelopes in his pocket, closing the mailbox, and turning around.

“Hey Caleb,” Ezio greeted, a slight smile on his face. He looked so much like Morgyn, but he also didn’t look anything like Morgyn. It was hard to explain, something Caleb hadn’t tried sorting out even in his own head for how ridiculous it was.

“Hey,” Caleb answered. “Sorry to bother you, but do you got a minute?”

Ezio turned around to face him the rest of the way, and smiled wider, more knowingly. “Morgyn, yeah?”

“Is it that obvious?” Caleb asked.

“Either that or I just know that look really well by now,” Ezio answered, lightly shrugging one shoulder.

Caleb sighed. “I just… don’t really know what to do with all this,” he said. “I don’t even know if Morgyn likes me.”

Ezio’s face scrunched up. “Trust me,” Ezio said, “if Morgyn didn’t like you, you’d know it.”

Logically, Caleb knew that. Morgyn didn’t tend to tolerate things and people that Morgyn didn’t like in some capacity. But what if it wasn’t a like like that? Then maybe Caleb was just wasting his time. And what was he doing anyway, waiting for Morgyn to be ready? And how exactly did Caleb figure he’d know when Morgyn was ready, if he didn’t ask? Or read Morgyn’s mind, and something told him that was a very bad idea.

Caleb just loosed a groan, hands raising to press his fingers against the sides of his head.

Ezio smiled, loosing a quiet breath. “You’re doing a lot better than you think you are, promise.”

“I’m just sick of feeling like Morgyn’s ignoring my feelings,” Caleb said. “By now, Morgyn has to know. I’m kind of really obvious.”

Ezio made a face, but he didn’t say anything to that specifically. “Maybe you should tell Morgyn that, then,” he said instead. “Morgyn’s good, but, the dolt’s not really a mind reader. It’s not like Morgyn has any idea what you want until you say it, right? You can’t read Morgyn’s mind either. … well, you can, but I should hope you would know better than to do that.”

Yeah, something told Caleb Morgyn wouldn’t take that one terribly well. He supposed Ezio was right, in this case. Talking to everyone but Morgyn wouldn’t generally solve anything, probably, it just felt like it should somehow. Like maybe the problem was him, and not their lacking communication. Or perhaps, Caleb didn’t like anything that insinuated that the problem might lie with Morgyn, in any capacity.

And what was he thinking, anyway, falling for Morgyn, knowing that there’d always be a life Morgyn had to live that Caleb had no part in? The question of whether Caleb could deal with that was still in the air. Asking Morgyn to stop being the sage of untamed magic was, to say the least of it, high on the list of selfish things Caleb had thought. Morgyn had a job to do, and so what if Caleb didn’t have a part of that job? It was more likely borne of the feeling Morgyn was ignoring him, not the thing itself. It was hard to remember that, sometimes.

“I just -” He just what? That was the hard part, wasn’t it, figuring out what Caleb was thinking when, truthfully, Caleb had been ignoring his feelings, too. “I think I don’t want to push Morgyn into anything.” Yes. That sounded right.

Ezio looked surprised, but then tilted his head to the side slightly. “You know,” he said, “it sounds like you’ve decided Morgyn’s more important than your feelings.”

Come to think of it, maybe, yeah. Caleb could admit that.

“I think you first ought to figure out if your feelings are as strong as you think they are,” Ezio said. “Because maybe you don’t feel what you think you do as strongly as you believe. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You two make really good friends, at the very least, and I don’t think there’ll ever come a time you don’t have a place in Morgyn’s life. It’s just that, I think maybe what you think Morgyn’s place in your life is, might be a little different in reality.”

“You think so?” Caleb asked. He didn’t want to admit that maybe they weren’t meant to be. He’d held on for so long, though, Caleb could admit that there was a high possibility that he simply didn’t want to let go. Given how long he’d been focused on Morgyn, it was hard to say, I’m done, and walk away from that. And the idea of walking away, it didn’t sting as much as Caleb had expected it would.

Maybe Ezio was right. Maybe Caleb didn’t feel how he thought he did. But that was for him to figure out. Unfortunately, Ezio couldn’t tell him that.

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