Chris was lost.

He tried to find his way back to the hut at the first sign of light, but he came to an opaque boundary, cloudy with pastel colors. He knew not to step through it or he might not be able to return. For a second, the thought appealed to him. He could find the twins and escape . . . be human again.

He retraced his steps, eventually heard the sound of falling water, and followed it to the lagoon. Covered in mud from head to toe, he decided to rinse off. He was also worried about his birthday present. The baseball bat might have fallen into the water when he fell in with Cassie. She had worked hard on it. The least he could do was look for it.

As he expected, it wasn't on the rock where they had been sitting the night before. So he dove into the water. He made a few attempts to find it in the grass and the muck, but he couldn't see very well. He decided to look another day, when the sun was out. After that, he had no more excuses. He had to stop stalling, return to the hut, and face what he had coming to him.

Chris held his breath for a moment, then exhaled as he pushed the door open.

Joe was the only one around.

Great. . .

He was browning toast over the fire and did not turn to look. Chris avoided eye contact as well. Just when Chris believed he might be able to go about his business without incident, Cassie popped out of her room and took a seat at the kitchen table.

She didn't say anything and only cast an occasional sad glance in his direction, but her presence set the mood—tense and instigative, worse than Chris ever remembered.

Joe set his toast down and spread his honey with exaggerated movements, suggesting to Chris that the silent treatment was about to end. Chris tried to brace himself for the worst.

"Hey, Chris. You might want to try sleeping sometime. You never know. It might grow on you."

Chris didn't acknowledge his brother in any way. A retort was not worth the brainpower. Instead, he grabbed a rucksack off a hook on the wall and dropped it in the empty corner by the front door.

He began to pack—a change of clothing, rain gear, and the necessities for building shelter. With a canteen in hand, he headed to the kitchen area. As much as he wanted to avoid it and them, he couldn't leave without food and water.

Joe clunked his plate on the table but never sat down. His prowling stance made it clear that eating a hot breakfast was not a priority. "You're such a mess sometimes, Chris, it's almost endearing."

Chris glanced down at himself. His clothes were still covered in mud and grass stains, and light brown water was running down his arms and legs, leaving little puddles everywhere he went.

He shrugged and kept moving. He's not worth it. Ignore. Avoid. You'll be out of here in ten minutes, so keep your cool.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cassie tap Joe on the arm. Then she shook her head and her eyes flared at him. It was a warning—leave Chris alone—and a smile started creeping in as Chris turned away.

Listen to her . . . for once.

Chris made the smile disappear as his face came back into view. Joe's scowl suggested he had seen it anyway.

He walked past Joe and slipped into the bathroom. He cleaned up, changed his clothes, and hoped that when he stepped out Joe would be exercising more restraint.

But Joe was there waiting for him, blocking his path. Chris shouldered him out of the way, hard enough for Joe to get the message.

Joe stumbled backward, more for dramatic effect than balance, and ricocheted off the flexible wall. Once that performance was through, he cleared his throat to deliver the line he was probably waiting for the opportunity to use. "It appears you want to pin everyone against the wall these days for one reason or another."

Chris swiveled around, grabbed Joe by his shirt. He pressed him into the grassy structure high enough so that his feet dangled and with enough force to partially embed Joe's body. "Yeah, including you, because you can't keep your filthy mouth shut!"

Cassie's chair fell when she stood with a gasp. At the same time, the front door opened and closed with a slam.

"Boys!" Scott yelled. "Could you act like adults for five consecutive minutes?"

Chris let Joe drop and walked away. "I have to get out of this place," he said to his father.

Joe straightened out his shirt in a huff.

"Where? Why?" Scott demanded. "There was more bloodshed in Nohea last night."

"I'll take my chances." Chris glared at Joe. "And besides, I'm going south. I need to get the kids. Simona can't watch them forever. And Kimo said yesterday I should get it done while everything is still quiet."

"It's not quiet anymore, Chris," Scott warned. "I just found out Mikala is dead. There was a skirmish in her room two nights ago. The attackers retreated, but your mother-in-law died a few hours later. It's true the Kanaloan Army is getting more aggressive all of a sudden, but we also have to consider Pyxis. Andromeda's forces may have followed you here."

Chris sighed. "Then I should hurry."

"Can you hold off for a day or two until we have a better idea of what's going on?"

"No," Chris replied flatly. He walked back over to the racks and added the two best swords to his belt. He was more determined than ever to leave—and by himself.

"Chris!" Scott gave him a disapproving headshake. Then he sighed, as if in surrender. "If I can't change your mind, then all I can say is that you and Joe should go together. You'll be safer, and you could spend the next couple of days working out your differences."

"I'm not going anywhere with him until he apologizes!" Chris said to Scott.

"For what?" Joe blurted defiantly.

Chris gestured toward Cassie.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Joe claimed.

Cassie shrank in her chair.

"Joe, you were never a very good liar."

"Fine. I'm sorry, Cassie, that Chris misinterpreted what I said."

"That was so heartfelt it almost brought tears to my eyes," Chris retaliated.

"I have an idea," Scott said to interrupt the painful scene. "Why don't you all go? Cassiopeia, you can make sure these two behave themselves. But before you go, Chris, can I talk to you for a second . . . alone . . . outside?"

After a moment of hesitation, wondering if there was anything he could say to get out of it, Chris followed his father out of the hut. The air was heavy and the misty drizzle wasn't at all inviting.

"What now?" he grumbled once they were out of eavesdropping range.

"Be careful out there."

"Is that why you brought me out here?" Chris asked. "I know it's dangerous to go anywhere around here. I'll be careful."

"And," Scott continued, "I don't know what exactly is going on, and I probably don't want to know, but don't let her come between you and your brother."

Too late, Chris thought. "Is that all?"

"No, there's more. Come here." Scott led Chris even farther away and lowered his voice. "I didn't want to say anything before. Now I feel I have to. You should be much more wary of the princess. Always watch your back."

Chris bit back a bitter laugh. "Wary? Are you sure we're talking about the same princess?"

"She's trouble, dangerous even. Look what she's already accomplished. You and Joe are about to rip each other's heads off."

"That somehow makes her dangerous?"

Scott scowled. "When Kimo had you on the floor the other day, did you see the way she looked at me? I feared for my life!"

"She was trying to protect me!" Chris was shouting now. He couldn't help it.

"Okay," Scott whispered, lifting his hands in reluctant surrender. "It's possible she was trying to protect you. But think about it. Could she be securing your trust for other reasons? Did you ever think she might be manipulating you? Her mother was sweet and innocent when she wanted something, too."

"I don't believe it! You don't know her or what she's been through!"

"I don't mean to upset you. I've just noticed that you've let your guard down with her, and that's uncharacteristic of you. Please employ some caution. And try to interpret her carefully delivered words and noble gestures from another perspective."

"Thanks, Dad. Great advice, as always," Chris replied curtly. "Is that all you need to say?"

"Yes. You can go now."

Chris walked back to the hut, and then paced in front of the doorway to collect his thoughts. At first, he intended to dismiss his father's warning. Cassie had never indicated that she had a deceitful bone in her body.

But then sharp pangs of suspicion started chipping away at his certainty. Both Chris and Joe had grown to trust her. As a result, she knew most of their family secrets. All things considered, wasn't their escape from Pyxis just a little too easy?

Chris tried to push the doubt from mind and blasted through the front door before he was successful. "So who's coming?" he said brusquely. "I'm leaving in two minutes with or without you."

Joe glanced at Cassie reproachfully. "We both are."

Chris didn't acknowledge the response and, once he'd finished gathering supplies, simply walked out the door. He wasn't going to wait or coddle anyone.

Cassie and Joe had caught up to him by the time Chris located the exact entrance to the tunnel. "Two, one, nineteen, fifty-four," Chris said clearly. It was an easy password for him to remember and would be for anyone else in hearing range as well.

The hole opened up. Chris stepped inside and charged forward. For a while, he was far enough ahead to feel alone. But soon, he heard light, rapid footsteps and uneven breathing.

"Chris?" Cassie called after him, panting slightly.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked as if nothing were amiss between them.

She jogged along at his heel. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Don't be. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"Then why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not."

"You won't even look at me!"

Chris paused and glanced at her over his shoulder. She was right and deserved an explanation. He wanted to put his arm around her and make an attempt to tell her what was going through his head. But Joe was gaining on them. "It's complicated. I think you realize that." He faced forward and resumed his pace.

"Yes, I do," she said, stumbling along. "But that doesn't change the way I feel about you," she replied, her voice trailing off to a doleful whisper.

Somehow, she knew exactly what to say to make him feel like a heartless jerk. Even if her words were as genuine as they sounded, he didn't know how to respond. And soon, she stopped racing to keep up with him.

Chris hated that he had to deny her like this after imagining what it would be like to love her, have her, be with her, always and completely. He had thought they could let pleasure triumph over the obstacles that lay ahead. The obstacles were daunting, however, and growing in number every time he tried counting. The warning from his father was the latest addition. He may have been able to dismiss his father's words had it not been for Andromeda's prediction.

She's dangerous . . . She'll unravel you. . . 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crossfade. Cold.

~

"I never really wanted you to go

So many things you should have known

I guess for me there's just no hope

I never meant to be so cold. . ."

https://youtu.be/Vrr3lRLjZ1Y