This is the second half of the same story! If you haven't read it yet, you can find Part 1 here. Enjoy...
The time passes so quickly, Mina doesn’t even realize it’s been hours since they arrived at the hidden bar. People had slowly trickled in over that time, and now it feels well and truly packed. Fin’s still drinking. She’s going to have to bring up his alcoholism at some point, it’s getting concerning. It doesn’t help that he keeps using his magic to get free drinks. If prohibition does pass, it may very well be the best thing to ever happen to her brother, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Still, watching him interact with the other people in the bar, he seems happier now than he did in their kitchen.
Of course, Fin had eventually moved on to more interesting company than his little sister and the friend he couldn’t seem to stop arguing with, leaving Lucian and Mina alone together at the bar. Lucian had turned around to face the room, evidently uncomfortable with having his back to so many people. It felt weird to be facing opposite directions, so Mina turned to face outward too. They’d spent the last hour or so commenting on the other patrons together. Lucian is ridiculously perceptive, pointing out things Mina hasn’t even considered yet. It’s fascinating to see the Moon Level through his eyes. When Mina first stepped off the elevator from the Sun Level, she’d been afraid of the people here. She’d always been told that the Moon Level was dangerous and its people weren’t to be trusted. She supposes that’s probably true for some, but over the last hour, Lucian’s comments have pointed out how mistaken she was. Looking at them milling about now, Mina can see a warmth and camaraderie among these people; an honest kinship she rarely sees in the Sun Level.
Speaking of warmth, Mina thinks she feels her fever returning. She’s starting to feel light-headed. She turns to Lucian and… He’s asleep.
When did that happen? she wonders, surprised.
She could have sworn he was awake only a minute ago. But now his chin is tucked to his chest, shielding half of his face behind his coat collar. It’s kind of cute. She watches him for a moment, considering waking him, but she thinks better of it.
Mina slowly gets to her feet, careful not to bump Lucian, and looks around for Fin. He’s busy talking to someone she doesn’t recognize. It doesn’t seem right to interrupt. Mina digs in her pockets for a moment and slides a wad of cash across the bar to the bartender. She gestures to Fin.
“For his tab,” she says.
The bartender looks at her in confusion. Of course. Fin’s magic would have made him believe that Fin didn’t need to pay for drinks. But the bartender scoops up the cash with a shrug anyway, pocketing it. Mina gives him a smile, then steps away.
Her head’s still spinning as she weaves her way through the crowd. Everything feels too hot and too close. She bumps into someone and apologizes, but they don’t even notice her. Mina slips into the hallway, past a couple she wishes she hadn’t seen, and opens the door out into the alley.
The rush of cold air brings her back to herself.
Mina steps further away from the door that disappears into the wall and takes a moment to just breathe. The air out here feels wet and heavy, like it’s going to rain. She watches the mist curl and dance under the blue street lights, its tendrils stretching out like beckoning fingers.
“Glad I’m not the only one tired of things in there…”
Mina turns to see Lucian looking at her, hands in his pockets, head tilted. Mina smiles at him wanly. She still doesn’t feel well yet.
“You were definitely tired, yes,” she says, amused.
Lucian looks at the ground and purses his lips, kicking a pebble. It skitters across the cobblestones.
“How long was I out?” he asks.
“Only a few minutes.”
Lucian looks up at the sky and sighs.
“Sorry,” he says. “It’s not you, I just…”
“It’s fine, Lucian, I understand. It’s not something you can really control, right?”
Lucian steps up beside her, his voice flat with irritation.
“No. Unfortunately.”
Mina tries to think of something to say in response, but the words slip away from her grasp like the mist. Lucian looks at her then, his face concerned.
“Are you alright?”
Mina hesitates. She should probably tell him about her blood sickness. She absently rubs at the scars on her upper arm. It’s embarrassing though. She doesn’t want to explain her failed demigod tests to him of all people.
“I just… Needed some fresh air,” is all she says.
Lucian looks at her critically.
“You’re shivering.”
Mina looks down at herself. So she is. Damn fever. Mina smiles.
“I’ll be-”
Lucian’s already taking off his coat.
“... Fine.”
Lucian hands her the coat, and Mina stares at it like an idiot. She looks at his face. He seems dead serious.
“No, really,” she says, “I don’t need it.”
“Just take it.”
Mina pauses. She accepts his coat. He’s decently taller than her, and his shoulders are broader, so she feels like she’s swimming in it when she puts it on. The bottom of it drags in the puddles.
“I’m going to get it all dirty,” she mumbles.
Lucian doesn’t reply, so Mina looks up. He’s giving her a strange look. He glances away when she meets his eyes.
“What?” Mina asks.
“Nothing,” he says. “You’re fine.”
Is he… Blushing? The blue light makes it hard to tell. Mina pulls the coat a little closer around herself and looks at the mist again.
“Fin warned me that I should bring a coat,” she sighs. “It was so nice up in the Sun Level. Does it usually rain down here?”
Lucian looks down at the puddles thoughtfully.
“Well, it’s not technically rain. Not like your Sun Level rain, anyway.”
He says it so dismissively. Mina looks at him, her curiosity sparked.
“Really? How’s it different?”
Lucian looks surprised for a moment, like he isn’t expecting her to actually be interested in the subject.
“It’s… Like condensation on a glass. The rain from the Sun Level comes directly from the clouds, but in the Moon Level, most fresh rain doesn’t reach us.”
Lucian pauses, as though waiting for her to interrupt. When she doesn’t, his eyes brighten. He gestures to the mist, more animated now.
“So when it ‘rains’ in the Moon Level, it’s not actually coming from the clouds. It’s a combination of the humidity from the Twilight River and steam rising from the factories. The water droplets rise as a vapor,”
Lucian illustrates a rising motion with his hands.
“And accumulates on the bottom of the Sun Level platforms. When too much water accumulates, it trickles down again,”
He illustrates that too.
“Much like rain.”
Mina tilts her head curiously.
“Like its own ecosystem?”
“Yes! Exactly!”
The building excitement coming from Lucian is infectious, and Mina can’t help but smile at it. She gets the impression that she’s the first person he’s talked about any of this with in a long time. Mina looks at the mist again.
“It’s amazing,” she says.
Lucian looks at her, then shifts on his feet awkwardly, like he wants to say something, but doesn’t allow himself to. Mina gives him a sideways glance. Apparently that’s all he needs.
“Can I show you something?” he says.
It’s impossible to say no to that face. She hasn’t seen him so excited before. Mina grins.
“Of course!”
Lucian smiles back.
“Follow me,” he says, leading the way out of the alley.
Mina trails after him, her curiosity getting the best of her, as always. Lucian pauses a moment.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” he asks.
“No,” Mina lies.
“Good.”
She shouldn’t have lied. Mina balks at the wrought-iron ladder Lucian brought her to. It seems to stretch upward for an eternity.
He can’t be serious…
Lucian launches himself onto the ladder with all the grace and agility of a cat. He’s already about ten rungs up before he pauses and looks down at her expectantly. Mina swallows.
Logos smite me for the idiocy I’m about to perform.
Mina steps onto the ladder and begins to climb. The iron bars are cool beneath her hands, the mist clinging to them and making them slick. This would have been a dangerous activity even if she weren’t afraid of heights and currently dealing with residual blood sickness. What was she thinking?
Mina looks up at Lucian, who seems to have slowed his climbing for her sake.
Well, she wasn’t thinking with her head, that’s for sure.
Normally, she’d engage in conversation with him for this part, but she’s so focused on moving up the rungs that the only words going through her head at the moment are:
Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down…
Lucian doesn’t seem to mind the silence though, because he doesn’t speak either.
The lapse in her thoughts moving to Lucian instead of the ladder causes Mina to look down. It’s a mistake. The ground and rooftops below have disappeared, replaced with rippling fog. She has no idea how high up she is now. If she slips…
Mina freezes, her hands in a death grip on the ladder. The slightest motion could cause her to fall. She closes her eyes and holds herself closer to the ladder. Panic bubbles up in her belly, and she can’t breathe. Suddenly, the ladder jolts, and Mina yelps.
“I thought you said you weren’t afraid of heights?”
Mina cracks her eyes open and sees Lucian’s face just inches from her own. He’s perched himself on the back side of the ladder, hanging on with only one arm hooked through the rung directly above her own. His other arm hangs relaxed at his side. He’s completely in his element.
Mina shrinks into the coat collar, ashamed. If she has any words, they refuse to come out. Lucian looks at her sympathetically.
“Well, we’re closer to the top than the bottom now,” he says, “so you’re better off finishing the climb than trying to descend.”
Mina glances up. She doesn’t see the top yet. But she looks back at Lucian and gives him a mute nod. Lucian looks at her a moment longer, as if deciding something.
“Look, I’m going to move beneath you on the ladder. That way if you slip, I’ll catch you. Okay?”
“Okay,” Mina breathes out.
She closes her eyes when Lucian starts climbing down, carefully avoiding stepping on the same rungs as her. The ladder jolts again as he swings himself around to the same side as her.
“You’ll be fine, Mina. I won’t let you fall.”
His soft voice calms her slightly. She opens her eyes again.
He’ll catch me, she reminds herself.
Mina takes a deep breath to steady her shaking nerves and slowly begins to climb again.
It feels like a lifetime, but finally Mina places her hand on the last rung and crawls onto the top of the platform. The scaffolding platform has holes that allow her to see straight through to the fog below. The sight makes her nauseous, so she lays down on her back and stares up instead. Above her is what she assumes is the bottom of the Sun Level. Scaffolding cascades down from the massive platforms overhead and pipes snake across every inch of it like a steely jungle. A drop of water slowly slides off one of the pipes and splashes onto her face. Mina releases a long breath. She did it. She doesn’t want to think about how she’ll get down again.
Lucian moves so quietly, she doesn’t even notice when he climbs up too until he crouches next to her. He looks guilty.
“I’m sorry,” he says “If I had known…”
“It’s my fault,” Mina says. “I shouldn’t have lied when you asked.”
Lucian gives a half smile.
“I’m the last person who can judge you for not being forthcoming.”
“That’s true,” Mina says dryly, “you should have warned me that you were taking me hundreds of feet in the air.”
Lucian raises an eyebrow at her.
“No, you said it was your fault. You don’t get to blame me now.”
“Fine,” Mina sighs, “You’re right.”
“I usually am,” Lucian says simply.
Mina sits up and scowls at him. Bastard.
“I should push you off,” she says.
Lucian looks at her, amused.
“You’re welcome to try, but I’m curious what your plan is to get down again by yourself.”
He shifts himself so he can sit on the edge of the platform, resting his feet on the ladder rungs below. Mina notes that he left space beside himself in case she wants to sit closer to the edge too.
“Anyway,” he says, “this is what I wanted to show you…”
Mina slowly scoots closer to the edge, trying not to look down in the process. She can’t bring herself to dangle her legs off the edge like Lucian, so she sits cross-legged beside him instead. She hooks her fingers through the holes in the platform, her knuckles turning white from the tension. Lucian glances down at her hands. Mina half expects him to mock her for her fear, but he doesn’t say anything about it and turns his attention back to the horizon.
“What I was telling you about rain in the Moon Level? You can see it in action from here,” he says.
Mina shifts her gaze from Lucian’s face to the horizon in front of her. The fog ripples across the Moon Level like a gray ocean, blue light glowing from beneath at random intervals. The buildings rise up out of the fog like stepping stones. If she was a giant, she could glide across them like a dancer. Wherever there’s a gap in the Sun Level platforms, sunlight cuts through the fog, making little windows of warm light where she can see the Moon Level streets. Further out, she can see the rain starting to fall in gentle sheets, mixing with the mist. He’s right, the rain only falls from the platforms, not the sky.
“It’s beautiful,” Mina whispers.
Lucian grins at her.
“You should see it when it’s clear,” he says.
Mina looks into his eyes. She’d thought they were gray before, but now that she’s closer, she can see that they’re actually more of a lavender. She could get lost in them.
“Why’s that?” she asks.
Lucian blinks, then glances away, suddenly shy. He must have only just realized how romantic the setting is. Mina smiles at it. It’s cute when he gets flustered.
Lucian takes a breath and the awkwardness slips away, but he makes a point of looking outward instead of at her.
“I read in a book once that in ancient times, before the marriage of Sol and Luna, the sky used to turn dark once a day. In the darkness, there was the moon surrounded by smaller lights, which they called ‘stars.’”
Lucian smiles softly, thinking about it.
“The stars disappeared when the darkness did, but I like to imagine that looking down on the Moon Level on a clear day looks the same as their stars did.”
“I’d love to see it…” Mina says.
Lucian looks back at her at that. Mina laughs awkwardly.
“... But I don’t know if I could bring myself to climb up here again,” she admits.
Lucian glances at her hands, her fingers still clinging to the platform for dear life. He exhales a little laugh.
“Don’t worry, I know a better way down than the ladder again.”
Lucian moves to stand up, but Mina interrupts.
“Or…”
Lucian pauses, looking at her curiously. Mina leans closer.
“... We could stay here and wait for it to clear.”
“It won’t, it’s too cold.”
“Then, we could stay here until I’m brave enough to stand up again.”
“... Ah.”
Lucian sits down again.
“When you’re ready, then,” he says.
“It’ll be a bit.”
Lucian props his chin on his hand and looks at her, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“I can wait.”
Lucian paces around the platform, keeping his footsteps light so he doesn’t rattle the scaffolding too much while Mina tries to get her bearings.
Mina has returned to the safety of the center of their platform, still sitting with her fingers laced through the grating. She watches with amusement as Lucian skirts around her to close his circle.
“Is it that boring to wait for me?” she asks.
Lucian skirts around her other side as he starts another round.
“It’s not boredom,” he says, defensiveness creeping into his tone.
“What is it then?”
“If I sit still for too long, I feel like falling asleep…” Lucian watches where he places his feet, aware of her eyes following his movements. “And I’d really rather not be asleep right now.”
“You’re welcome to take a nap, Lucian. I won’t stop you,” Mina says.
Lucian pauses and looks at her.
“Why would I want to escape into a dream when what’s in front of me is more interesting?”
Mina’s cheeks suddenly flush and she looks at him wide-eyed. Oh shit. That sounded like flirting, didn’t it?
Lucian coughs and returns to his pacing.
“I mean if you’d rather me be asleep so you’d have more privacy, I’m sure if I lay down-”
“No!” Mina says, a little too quickly. “I prefer you.”
She pauses, and Lucian looks at her in blank shock. Mina’s eyes widen, and her blush intensifies,
“Awake! I prefer you awake,” she says, “Gods, I didn’t mean…” Mina retreats behind his coat collar, as though it’ll hide the blush spreading across her whole face.
Lucian’s a little better at hiding it, though he can feel warmth on his own face as well. He skirts past Mina again on his circle.
“Let’s change the subject,” he says tightly.
Mina gives an embarrassed laugh.
“Right,” she says. “Sorry.”
But Lucian can’t think of anything else to say. It’s strange, around Mina he seems to fluctuate between not being able to shut himself up and being completely tongue-tied, two things which would ordinarily not be a problem for him. Lucian prides himself on being able to measure his words better than most. Mina turns all of that on its head.
“Tell me about your magic,” Mina says.
“I thought we were changing the subject?”
“I am!” Mina says, defensively.
Lucian gives Mina a deadpan look. She’s undeterred.
“Look, I already know you’re a Demigod of Sleep. I’m just curious what that looks like for your abilities. It must be a completely different kind of magic than Fin’s.”
Lucian stops pacing and leans against the railing, regarding Mina. It seems to be an innocent question. And she’s right, she already knows he’s a demi, so there isn’t much reason to keep the details from her now. Hell, why not? It’s better than her asking questions about the Moon Temple.
“My magic isn’t so flashy,” he says.
“I heard that demigod magic often aligns with the demi’s personality,” Mina says.
“That’s just a rumor,” Lucian says dismissively. “It’s a science, not a philosophy. Don’t confuse them.”
Mina leans forward, completely enraptured. He’s noticed that she gets that look whenever she’s learning something new, whatever the subject. Seeing her like that makes him feel warm inside. He usually doesn’t like to be the center of anyone’s attention. But it’s nice to feel like someone cares what he has to say. He laughs softly at her expression, though she doesn’t seem to understand why.
“I only have one ability right now. It’s nothing special,” Lucian says.
“What is it?” Mina asks, excited.
“When I sleep I can heal most injuries I receive.”
“Most injuries? How far does that extend? Could you regrow a limb if you lost it?”
“I… Would rather not find myself in a position where I have to test that theory,” Lucian says awkwardly.
Mina blinks, as though only just realizing how inappropriate the question is. “Right. Of course. Sorry.”
Lucian looks at her with amusement. “It mainly heals smaller things. Cuts. Bruises. The occasional bullet wound or broken bone.”
“Do you… Get those a lot?”
Lucian blinks.
“No,” he lies. “Not… More than most.”
“I don’t know many people who’ve been shot, let alone more than once,” Mina says, raising an eyebrow.
“You also don’t know many people who live in the Moon Level,” he says.
Mina studies his face closely. He sees that same wariness in her expression that he saw earlier during his argument with Fin.
“Right,” she says flatly.
Perfect, he thinks. That was a stupid thing to say.
Lucian glances away, hoping she’ll let it slide without asking more questions about how he gains his various injuries.
“Anyway,” he says, “the severity of the injury determines how long I have to sleep for.”
“I imagine that’s handy when you get sick too,” Mina muses.
“I rarely get sick, so probably,” Lucian agrees.
“Does it work on blood sickness?” She asks suddenly.
Lucian looks at Mina curiously. Blood sickness is largely considered a “demigod illness,” as they’re the most likely to get it through unsafe experimentation with their magic. It’s strange that a non-demi would ask about it.
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never gotten blood sickness,” he says.
“Oh.”
They fall into an awkward silence. Lucian can tell there’s something Mina isn’t saying. Apparently, she’s hiding something too. He’s tempted to ask, but Mina speaks first.
“You said you only have one ability ‘right now.’ Does that mean you think you’ll activate another one soon?”
“I hope so. I think one more tattoo will uncover one,” he says.
“How can you tell?”
Lucian considers the question. He could always tell that there’s a deep magical well in his blood; inert, but waiting to be activated. When he got his first tattoo, it was like opening the floodgate to the magic, but only an inch. But once cracked open, the rest of the magic presses against the gate, begging to be released as well. He knows that if he opens it just a little wider, another ability will slip through. He’s dying to know what it might be.
“It’s… More of a feeling. I’m not sure how to describe it to you. But I know there’s magic there,” he says. “And my tattoo is large enough that it should have activated more than one ability. The fact that it didn’t, tells me it’s close.”
Or it’s an exceptionally powerful ability, Lucian thinks to himself. Once he gets his Luna’s Blades tattoo, he’ll find out. He already has plans for his own take on the design, one that would maximize his chances of finally activating his next ability. Aaron already has two. Lucian’s getting tired of feeling like his magic is useless in comparison.
“I only got the tiniest glimpse of your tattoo when we first met,” Mina admits.
Lucian subconsciously tugs on the sleeve that covers it.
“I remember,” he says.
Mina looks at him as though she wants to say something. Lucian sighs.
“You want to see it.”
Mina’s eyes brighten, and her grip on the platform loosens.
“Can I?”
Lucian considers her for a moment. She seems more relaxed now, less afraid of the height and the wind gently weaving between the scaffolding. He can’t see any harm in showing her his tattoo. And it seems to set her at ease.
Without a word, he steps forward and sits down in front of her, matching her cross-legged stance. He rolls up his sleeves to the elbows and presents his arm to her. Technically, his tattoo stretches all the way up to his shoulder, but it doesn’t seem necessary to show its entirety.
Mina looks at the silver-tinted, interlocking circles and lines with fascination. She takes his hand in hers and gently rotates his wrist so she can see the way it wraps around.
“It’s beautiful,” she says.
Mina’s eyes flick up to his for a moment, and his breath stops.
Yes, you are, he wants to say. At that moment, he’s glad he can’t speak. His teal coat brings out the color in her eyes perfectly.
She looks down at his tattoo again.
“Is it your design?” she asks.
Lucian forgets to answer for a moment, too distracted by the feeling of his hand in hers.
“Um. No. Not exactly. It’s from a book.”
“Oh? What book?”
“A History of Alchemy and Celestial Bodies, by-”
“- by the man simply known as ‘The Philosopher?” she finishes. “I’ve read that one. But your tattoo looks different from his alchemical illustrations.”
“Most people say that alchemy is a dead form of magic, that the sigils don’t do anything when written down. I didn’t want to take any chances. I removed anything that might activate when infused with magic. They’re not actual symbols anymore,” Lucian explains.
Mina looks at him with amusement.
“I didn’t take you to be the superstitious type.”
“Our world is dripping with magic, Mina. It’s foolish to assume that one form would simply disappear just because it’s not used anymore. Like I said before, it’s still a science, if an ancient one.”
“But written by a philosopher.” Mina grins. “And you said they weren’t the same thing.”
“It’s-” Lucian cuts off. She has a point. “They might be related,” he says begrudgingly. “But that’s ancient magic. It’s different.”
Mina looks at his arm thoughtfully.
“‘What’s modern magic, if not an adaptation of its predecessor?’”
“I know that quote,” Lucian says. “I never agreed with that particular author’s take.”
“I thought he seemed insightful,” Mina says.
“He’s not a demigod. How could he possibly explain magic in all its facets without knowing what it feels like personally?”
Mina flinches at that, pulling back her hand from his. Lucian isn’t sure what he said that provoked that reaction, but he can’t ignore the hurt in her expression. He hesitates before throwing out more words, not wanting to say the wrong thing again.
“I… Just think that demigod magic and alchemical magic are two separate things. One, born from bloodline. The other, born from…”
Lucian tilts his head to Mina and gives her a sly look, “...Philosophy.”
Mina laughs a little at that. Lucian takes her hands in both of his and interlaces his fingers with hers.
“But both of them are fascinating,” he says.
Lucian slowly stands up, drawing Mina up with him.
“Don’t you think?” he asks.
Mina looks at him with a tilt of her head, a smile playing on her lips.
“I think you are, certainly,” she says.
Lucian snorts at that.
“If you say so.”
Lucian looks at her hands clasped in his.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re feeling a little braver, Mina,” he says.
Mina looks down, as if only just now realizing that she’s standing. She closes her fingers over his a little more tightly.
“You might be onto something. What’s your plan for getting down?”
Mina allows Lucian to lead her by the hand across the scaffolding. He’s moving them at a quick pace, but not quite fast enough to wind her. She could swear he’s doing it on purpose, so she doesn’t have a chance to overthink things. She still doesn’t understand how he’s able to keep his steps so light. He barely shakes the platforms at all when he moves, something she’s extremely grateful for.
The platforms start to slant upward, and Mina raises her eyebrows in confusion.
“I could be wrong, but I think we’re going in the wrong direction,” she says.
“I’m a little offended that you think I’d get lost up here, Mina,” Lucian says wryly.
“Are you taking us up to the Sun Level? I’m pretty sure these platforms attach to the maintenance hatches.”
“They do. But no. I don’t think your brother would forgive me if I stole you away and left him behind completely,” he says.
“He’d get over it,” Mina scoffs.
“Maybe…”
Lucian slows as two large, horizontal pipes block their way, stretching across their platform. He releases her hand and quirks a smile at her.
“But just returning you to the Sun Level isn’t as fun,” he says.
Then he slips between the two pipes and pops up on the other side. He does it so quickly, Mina barely registers what he’s doing until he peers over the pipes at her expectantly. Mina frowns. She didn’t think his plan involved running an obstacle course. This just keeps getting better and better for her blood sickness, doesn’t it?
Mina scrambles over the bottom pipe and manages to avoid hitting her head on the upper one, but her legs get a little tangled in Lucian’s coat, leaving her stuck. Then Lucian grabs her arm and heaves her out the other side. Once her feet are on the platform again, Mina spits her hair out of her mouth and brushes it out of her face. Then she goes to brush off the coat… And finds it covered in black grease.
“Ah. Sorry,” she says.
“It’s been through worse,” Lucian says, but his voice sounds funny.
Mina looks up at him to find him stifling a laugh. He doesn’t have any grease on him at all. Of course he doesn’t.
“Stop laughing at me,” she says with a glare.
He cracks a grin.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Lucian holds out his hand to her again, but Mina bristles at what he says.
“Have you always been so clumsy?”
Mina snubs his outstretched hand and continues past him.
“Have you always been an asshole?”
Lucian smirks.
“I think you know the answer to that,” he says, trailing after her.
It takes her a moment to realize that she doesn’t know where she’s going, so she pauses to let Lucian pass her. He gives her a smug look as he does, and Mina rolls her eyes.
They continue on for another few minutes, and the platforms slowly but surely start slanting downward again. Then it seems that the platforms stop altogether. They’re significantly closer to the ground in this section, some of the tallest Moon Level buildings are within reach now, but a fall from this height would still mean death, so it’s not much consolation to Mina. Lucian comes to a stop at the edge of the final platform and peers over the side. Lucian sighs.
“You’re really going to hate me for this, but just trust me that it’s safer than trying to get you down the ladder again,” he says.
Mina cautiously walks up behind him to see what he’s looking at. There’s a building about twelve feet below them and about ten feet away. Mina looks at him in horror.
“No,” she says. “I’m not doing that.”
“It’s perfectly safe.”
“I’m not jumping down there.”
“You’re more capable than you think you are, Mina,” he says.
She looks at Lucian with wide eyes.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Mina takes a step back and grabs the railing.
“Maybe, if I was in peak condition, but I- I can’t make a jump like that right now…”
Lucian hesitates and looks at her with suspicion.
“What do you mean, ‘if you were in peak condition?’”
Mina stares at the jump, struggling to bring the words to her mouth. She can’t bring herself to tell him. If he knows about her blood sickness, he’ll know that she tried, and failed, to test if she was a demigod. It’s pathetic. She’s pathetic. She should have listened to Fin and never performed the test. She should have known better than to think she was a demigod.
Mina looks at Lucian and she feels sick to her stomach. If she has to hear those words come out of his mouth…
Lucian’s expression shifts to one of concern then, realizing that she’s not telling him something. He moves a little closer to her.
“Mina-” he says gently.
“I have blood sickness,” she whispers.
Lucian looks startled.
“You… You what?”
Mina dashes away the tears that had started to form in her eyes, embarrassed of them. And embarrassed with herself. She glances away.
Lucian tilts his head back and presses his lips together in frustration.
“What the hell, Mina? And you didn’t think to tell me that earlier?”
“I’m sorry… The demigod tests-”
“I don’t care about that. You let me take you up here when you're sick? What were you thinking? You could have slipped, or fallen, or… And it would be my fault.”
“I wanted to spend more time with you.”
Lucian looks at her like she’s an absolute idiot. To be fair, she is.
“We could have done that on the ground,” he says in disbelief.
Mina looks down at herself, ashamed.
“I… I think I wanted to impress you,” she says softly.
Lucian doesn’t have a response for that. He puts a hand over his face and looks at the jump again.
“Gods, and I almost made you…”
He sighs, then runs his fingers through his hair. His voice comes out calm again.
“We’ll go back up, and I’ll take you up to the Sun Level. I’ll get a message to Fin afterward-”
“It’s just the one jump, right?” Mina says suddenly.
Lucian pauses.
“Yes…?” he says hesitantly.
“I’ll do it.”
“You’re sick.”
“I know.”
“You could fall.”
“You could catch me.”
They stare at each other tensely for a moment. Mina’s eyes flick to the building again.
“You said it was safe,” she says.
“That was before I knew you weren’t feeling well,” Lucian mutters.
“I’m feeling better now,” she says.
Lucian raises an eyebrow at her. Mina clenches her hands at her sides.
“I just… Feel a little bit like throwing up,” she adds.
Lucian opens his mouth to say something, but Mina continues.
“But that’s not from the blood sickness.”
Lucian looks between her and the building, considering.
“It is faster,” he admits.
Mina takes a deep breath and gives him a curt nod.
“Show me how,” she says.
Mina can see the indecision warring on Lucian’s face. Then he gives her a nod back and leads her farther back on the platform.
“You’ll want a running start,” he says.
“Okay.”
“Don’t lock your legs when you land, try to keep them loose. Imagine like you’re landing on a spring.”
“Got it.”
“And… try not to panic,” he adds.
Mina looks at the edge. This far back, she can’t see where she’s going to land anymore. She steadies her breath.
“I’ll do my best,” she says.
Lucian looks at her one last time.
“I’ll see you down there,” he says.
He makes the jump beautifully. She wishes she could see how he takes the landing, but she’s too far back from the edge.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he calls up to her.
Mina closes her eyes and tries to calm herself.
Just don’t think about it…
What if I miss?
He’ll catch you.
She holds that thought in her mind as she takes another step back. Then she dashes down the platform as fast as her legs will carry her, pushing herself off the last step. For a moment, Mina feels like she’s floating, surrounded by swirling mist and the smallest of raindrops. It’s a heartbeat of wonder. Then she remembers she’s falling.
It’s only at the last second she remembers what Lucian said about landing on a spring. She forces herself to take the landing in a stride. Though, she might have taken the instruction too literally. She lands, but instead of stopping there, the momentum keeps her going, and for a moment, Mina feels like she’s about to go careening right off the edge.
Then Lucian hooks her with his arm and allows her momentum to carry both of them around in a circle. She ends up slamming into his chest, which knocks the air out of him. Going purely off instinct and panic, she wraps her arms around him tightly, only needing something stable to hold onto. Lucian tenses up for a second. Then he gently wraps his arms around her in return.
“You don’t still feel like throwing up, do you?” Lucian asks, sounding ill himself.
“No,” Mina says shakily, “but I feel like my heart’s about to beat out of my chest.”
Lucian holds her a little more tightly.
“Me too,” he says softly.
They stay like that until the trembling in Mina’s limbs gradually stills. Mina takes a deep breath and releases it as a sigh. Lucian’s arms loosen, as do hers, but neither of them quite removes them from each other.
“You know,” Lucian says, “you don’t need to try to impress me.”
Mina looks up at him, cheeks hot. She’d like to think she feels so warm because her fever is acting up again, but she knows that’s wishful thinking. Lucian looks back at her softly, and carefully shifts her hair out of her face, a disaster from the jump.
“You’ve… Already done that,” he says.
Mina feels a wave of emotion at his words, and she can’t tell if she wants to laugh, or kiss him, or break down and cry. She didn’t realize after her demigod tests that those were the only words she wanted to hear from anyone. It just means that much more to her that they came from Lucian.
Unsure of how to cope with the feelings, she settles for the neutral act of tucking her head again, hiding her face. Lucian doesn’t seem to mind that she didn’t respond. She speaks again after she has a moment to steady herself.
“For what it’s worth,” Mina says, “you impress me too.”
“I think I put that much together,” he says wryly. “If you were trying to hide your interest, you failed miserably.”
Mina looks up at him again, a challenge in her eyes.
“What makes you think I want to hide it?”
Lucian looks back at her, and so many different emotions flicker in his eyes that she can’t even track them all. He slowly removes his hands from her and takes a step back, causing her own hands to slip away. It’s subtle, but she thinks he might be shaking, ever-so-slightly.
“Fin’s probably waiting for you by now,” is all he says, now avoiding her eyes.
Mina wants to press. She wants to demand an answer from him. He feels something for her too, she knows he does. For some reason he’s scared to voice it. But he was willing to wait for her to conquer her fears on the platforms. Whatever he’s dealing with… She’d wait for him too.
Mina sheds Lucian’s coat and hands it back to him. She smiles at him.
“Then let’s see just how drunk Fin’s gotten himself in the meantime,” she says.
Lucian puts his coat back on, ignoring the grease stains Mina decorated it with.
“I’d wager he can’t stand up anymore,” he says.
Mina looks thoughtful.
“Mmm… I think it’s the opposite. He’s probably on the roof again.”
Lucian leads her over to the edge of the roof where a spiral staircase leads down to the ground. Thank Sol it’s not another ladder.
“I’ll take that bet,” Lucian says, giving her a sideways glance.
Lucian won the bet. After helping Mina pack Fin into an elevator back up to the Sun Level, he turns around and starts heading back to the Moon Temple.
Vaughn is going to kick his ass for being gone so long. Though, Aaron said he would cover for him. At the time, they both thought Lucian was only going to be gone for an hour or two, but it’s twilight now.
He’d completely lost track of time.
Lucian side-steps a puddle, though there’s no point. His coat’s already a mess after lending it to Mina. That’s not the part that bothers him though. It’s the fact that everyone in the Moon Temple is going to ask what happened…
As he looks down to avoid the puddle, he notices that his coat now smells like her. Lucian slows his steps.
It’s finally started to rain in this section of the Moon Level now, and Lucian watches as it makes the mist dance in response.
What did happen?
Lucian plays through the day again in his mind, his memories lingering on the last few with Mina. He’d tried to be so careful. He knew Fin wanted to set him up with Mina for some reason, so he’d been on guard for anything, if for no other reason than to prove Fin wrong. But Mina had completely disarmed him for the second time.
No…
That wasn’t entirely true.
Going up to the Twilight Level had been his idea. Talking to her, sharing with her, holding her… Almost kissing her… That was him.
Whatever happened was something in him.
Which was…?
Lucian splashes through the growing puddles, not caring anymore. The water ripples with swirling light and shadows to match his own heart.
I fell.
Lucian sees the top of the Moon Temple cresting the fog, the rain making its silver accents gleam with unearthly light.
It won’t happen again.
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