"..."
"..."
"..."
'WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY TO THAT?'
Ezra's face stayed calm. Or at least, he hoped it did.
He had been calm this entire time. He had done so well holding it together, breathing evenly, thinking rationally.
And then Helios went and said that.
His heart was pounding far too fast, loud enough that Ezra was half convinced Helios could hear it.
Heat crept up his neck, threatening to betray him, and suddenly he felt thirteen again instead of a grown man who had survived wars and raised a child.
He hated it.
He hated feeling like this.
And yet, he couldn't fully blame himself, because this was Helios's fault. Helios, with his terrible habit of saying things without realizing what they did to people.
Helios, who never seemed to notice when his words landed a little too deep.
Or maybe he did notice.
