Chapter 6: Gathering

The morning light filtered weakly through the half-drawn curtains as Calen stirred in bed. For a moment, he lingered in the warm cocoon of sleep, letting his mind drift between the fragments of the previous night—Livra’s kiss, her soft touch, his dismissal, the overwhelming uncertainty of what came next. But when his eyes fluttered open, he found the bed empty, the room eerily quiet.

Livra was gone.

At first, the thought didn’t register. It was almost as if she had never been there, as if the whole thing had been a dream. But as his mind cleared, the reality settled in. She had left. And somehow, he didn’t mind.

There was no reason for her to stay. He had no idea what she expected from him, or what he expected from her. She’d been kind, comforting even, but what did that mean in the grand scheme of things?

After a few moments of lying there, his thoughts began to clear. The tension in his chest wasn’t from Livra’s departure; it was from the deeper, darker questions swirling around him. He couldn’t just move on. The sabotage was too big, too calculated. He hadn’t been the one to cause the problem, but someone had made sure he would be blamed for it.

Calen didn’t know where to begin. The guilt of losing his job felt almost secondary now. He needed answers. The sabotage, the water incident, the shifting political landscape—it all connected somehow. There was something far more sinister at play here, and he was determined to find out who was behind it.

Calen walked through the bustling streets of Aeris, his mind racing. The sleek glass buildings reflected the ever-present tirelessly rithm of the floating island. Aeris was a city of contradictions: glittering wealth and technological marvels coexisted with the growing cracks in its foundation. The Lower Islands were suffering, the droughts worsening, and now the political fallout from the sabotage threatened to widen the divide even further.

Despite the liveliness of the city, Calen felt like an outsider in his own home. The pulse of Aeris felt alien to him now, its beauty only masking the rot beneath the surface.

Calen made his way to a café, the quiet hum of conversation a welcome distraction from his racing thoughts. He needed a moment to clear his head. But when he stepped inside, his eyes immediately locked onto a familiar face: Sienna.

She was sitting at a corner table, her attention fixed on a man Calen didn’t recognize. The two were deep in conversation, and though they weren’t being overtly intimate, the way the man leaned in, the casualness in their posture—it hit Calen like a punch to the gut.

He stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. Should he approach her? Confront her? Or should he just let it go, pretend like nothing had happened?

Before he could make up his mind, Sienna’s eyes shifted toward him. She paused mid-sentence, her expression unreadable. For a split second, it seemed like a flicker of recognition passed over her face, but it was quickly replaced by something else—something distant.

She stood up, the man beside her following suit. They exchanged a few words, and Sienna walked toward the door. Calen watched her go, a mix of emotions swirling inside him. He wasn’t sure if he was angry, hurt, or just numb.

But before he could react, the man from the table lingered for a moment, giving Calen a brief, almost dismissive glance, as if to say this isn’t your place anymore. Calen felt a pang of something—jealousy, confusion—but mostly, a growing sense that the last thread of connection he had to Sienna was slipping away.

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That very same day, in a dimly lit room in a nondescript building on the lower levels of Aeris, the two hooded figures from night of the festival stood side by side. Their faces were hidden beneath their cloaks, but their body language betrayed a confidence, an assurance in the success of their mission.

“You did well,” one of the four men seated around the table said, his voice smooth, almost congratulatory. He was the one who had led the operation, a man with sharp, calculating eyes that seemed to see everything. “This was the first step in destabilizing the current power structure. Now we move forward.”

The other men nodded, their faces unreadable. But it was clear that the pieces were already falling into place. Aeris was ripe for change, and they were pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and a woman stepped inside, her silhouette dark against the glow of the monitors. She was tall and lean, her posture sharp and purposeful. Her voice cut through the air when she spoke.

“Am I free to go now?”

The man who had spoken earlier turned his head slightly, his lips curling into something like a smile, though his eyes remained cold. “Not yet. You still have more to do.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “More?”

“Yes. There are more pieces to move before we can proceed. Your role is far from over,” he replied, his tone final.

She bit back a retort, her fists clenching for a brief moment before she nodded, accepting her fate—for now.

The meeting continued, the plans unfolding behind closed doors, while outside the city of Aeris, the first tremors of a coming storm were already beginning to make themselves known.

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Calen stumbled into a dimly lit bar later that evening, his mind clouded from hours of aimless wandering around Aeris. He had been trying to piece together the sabotage, trying to make sense of the disaster and the political maneuvering at play, but the answers felt elusive. The weight of his recent dismissal weighed heavily on him, gnawing at the back of his mind, but it was the image of Sienna—Sienna with another man—that consumed him the most.

He couldn’t escape the thought of her, sitting across from someone else, laughing at jokes that weren’t his. The casual intimacy they shared—it ate at him. Why hadn’t she said something? Why had she avoided him? The pain of being ignored, of seeing her slip away from him in front of his eyes—it was suffocating.

He ordered another drink, the amber liquid burning as it slid down his throat. His hands shook as he took a deep gulp, needing the numbness it brought, but it didn’t work. Not entirely. His thoughts kept circling back to her.

More drinks followed, the world around him blurring, but still, he couldn’t escape the thoughts that plagued him. His vision swam as the alcohol took its toll. He thought about confronting her, demanding answers, but something kept him from doing so. Part of him didn’t want to hear what she had to say. Part of him was afraid it would push him further away.

Then, as if the universe had orchestrated it, the door to the bar swung open. A wave of cold air cut through the warmth of the dimly lit room. And there she was.

Sienna.

Her petite, slender figure silhouetted against the soft light of the doorway. Her skin, pale as moonlight, seemed to glow under the warm ambiance of the room. Her black hair, curly and perfectly styled, cascaded in soft waves over her shoulders, contrasting with the dimness of the space. Her green eyes, deep as emeralds, shone with an intensity that seemed to brighten everything around her, and her expression, though calm, carried a mix of determination and apprehension. Despite her small stature, she had a presence that was impossible to ignore, commanding attention from anyone nearby.

Her eyes immediately found him, and for a brief, fleeting moment, the world around him seemed to freeze. Her gaze locked onto his with a mix of surprise and relief, but there was something else too—something guarded.

“I knew you’d be here,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of a smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

Calen didn’t respond at first. He was still processing her presence, wondering why she had shown up, of all places, and why now.

She took a step closer, her eyes scanning him for a moment before settling on the empty glasses scattered around him. “I see you’ve been keeping busy,” she observed softly.

“I’ve been... thinking,” Calen said, his voice rough from the alcohol and frustration. “And not in a good way.” He gestured vaguely at his half-finished drink, the bitterness in his tone evident.

She took the half-finished-drink and drank it in an instant and in a blink of an eye, ordered two more. She was kind of the biggest drinker of the city.

Sienna sighed and sat down next to him, her posture a little stiff, like she wasn’t sure what to do. She glanced at him, her eyes softening slightly. “Look, I owe you an explanation,” she started, her voice low and hesitant.

Calen, his mind fogged by the alcohol but still sharp enough to catch the shift in her tone, raised an eyebrow. “An explanation?” he asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “For what? For ignoring me, for leaving me to watch you with someone else?”

Her eyes flashed with something—regret, maybe guilt—but she quickly masked it. “I had a reason,” she said. “I had to. The man I was with earlier? He’s a colleague. And his family... his family has business ties to mine.” She paused, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of the glass in front of her. “I couldn’t risk making him feel ignored. I couldn’t risk his family thinking badly of me.”

Calen narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of her words, trying to reconcile the woman he had been in love with for so long with the one sitting beside him now, someone who seemed to put family and business relationships above her personal feelings. “So, that’s it?” he asked, his voice cutting through the air. “You couldn’t even tell me what was going on? You couldn’t let me know you were seeing someone else?”

Sienna winced, her face flushing slightly. “I wasn’t seeing him. But I couldn’t risk the rumors, Calen. No one knows about us. No one knows that we... that we’ve been together. If anyone found out, it could cause problems.” Her gaze dropped to the table and downed his drink in one gulp. The glas was still touching her lips while with her fingers made a signal to order two more drinks.

Calen’s heart sank. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to shout, to demand she explain why she had done this. But all he could feel was a deep sense of betrayal.

“I don’t believe you,” he muttered, though part of him wanted to. It was easier to believe her if he could. “But I’ll try. I’ll try to understand.”

She looked at him, a small sigh escaping her lips. “I know this isn’t ideal,” she said, her voice quiet, almost apologetic. “But it’s the way things have to be for now. For you and me.”

He shook his head, frustration bubbling up again. “It’s not enough. You don’t get to just keep me in the dark. I can’t keep pretending like everything’s fine when I don’t even know where I stand with you.”

Sienna reached out, her hand gently resting on his arm. “I know. I know it’s hard,” she said, her voice more tender than before. “But I still care about you. You have to believe that.”

Calen stared at her hand for a moment before lifting his gaze to meet hers. Her eyes were earnest, and for a second, he saw a flicker of something—of vulnerability.

“I want to believe you,” he whispered, the words heavy with the weight of his own longing.

Sienna leaned closer, her breath against his ear. “Then believe me when I say that I want us to be together. I just need time.”

It was all too much—too complicated, too painful. He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. His heart still ached for her, and no matter how many drinks he had consumed, he couldn’t shake the desire to be close to her.

With a resigned look, he ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Fine. But we can’t keep hiding. Not from each other, not from anyone.”

Sienna’s smile was small but sincere. “I promise we won’t hide forever.”

She took a slow sip from her glass, her green eyes gleaming mischievously. “But tonight, let’s not think about it. Let’s just be together.”

Her tone was light, almost playful, and Calen couldn’t help but be drawn in by it. He hesitated, still caught in the mix of emotions swirling inside him, but there was something about her—something intoxicating.

“You want to go to my place?” he asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Sienna nodded, her curls bouncing slightly as she leaned forward, her voice soft and coaxing. “Yeah. I think we could both use a change of scenery. Plus, I know you’ll want to keep drinking, and I’m not stopping anytime soon.”

A sly grin spread across her lips, and Calen chuckled, despite the lingering weight in his chest. She was right. He knew that. Both of them had a talent for forgetting everything after a few too many drinks, and the idea of escaping the reality of the day with her seemed far too tempting.

“Alright,” Calen agreed with a nod, the exhaustion from his search for answers weighing heavily on him, but a new urgency rising in his chest. “Let’s go.”

As they stepped out into the cool night air, Sienna slid her arm through his with a familiarity that made his heart beat a little faster. The walk to his apartment was quiet, save for the occasional teasing comment from Sienna about the night’s events, but neither of them seemed to care much about conversation.

Once inside, Calen locked the door behind them and turned to find Sienna already making her way to the living room, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary. She was already pouring another drink before he even had time to sit down.

"You’ve been thinking too much today," Sienna said, her voice warm but knowing. She handed him a glass, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that made his pulse race. "You need to stop," she added, her tone a mix of teasing and concern.

Calen smiled faintly, accepting the drink. "You’ve never been one to shy away from a little thinking yourself."

Sienna laughed softly, her laughter ringing in the otherwise silent room. “Fair enough,” she said. “But tonight, let’s just focus on what’s right in front of us. No thinking. Just... enjoying.”

She took a swig from her own glass, her eyes never leaving his, as if silently daring him to accept her offer. And for all his doubts, for all the uncertainty that still hung in the air, Calen found himself nodding in agreement.

"Alright," he said quietly, taking a long sip from his drink, letting the warmth of the alcohol settle in his chest. "No thinking. Just... tonight."

Sienna’s smile returned, wide and full of mischief. "Good. Now, let’s have some fun."