Souls Below - Rebellion

Chapter Twenty-Four.

We ended up at our usual spot—sitting on the edge of the old warehouse roof, the city sprawling beneath us like a half-forgotten dream. We hadn’t said a word since arriving. Just sat in silence, like nothing had changed. I hadn’t realized I was leaning toward him until our shoulders brushed. I looked up, startled, and caught the faintest smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“I thought you were angry at me,” I confessed quietly.

“I was.” His voice was flat, but not cold. Still, the words hit harder than I expected. “I felt… betrayed,” he continued. “We promised not to keep secrets. Tell each other everything.”

“I was trying to fix my mistake,” I explained, fingers twisting in my lap. “It was my fault Calian ran at the market. I thought if I helped him leave before anyone noticed, it’d all be over—no one would know, and the people I care about would be safe.” He was quiet. The silence stretched, heavy and uncertain.

“I figured that was it,” Krane finally said. “Didn’t take long to guess. But at the time… I was too hurt to care. I just… felt like you chose him over me.” He slid his hand into mine, fingers threading with mine like they belonged there. My breath caught, my feelings for him building. I tried to act normal, but my heart refused to calm down.

“But I realized,” he continued softly, “I probably would’ve done the same. If it meant keeping you safe.” another stretch of silence, his tumbs gently rubbing the back of my hand.

“I sent messages,” I whispered.

“I got them,” he nodded. “I was stuck between wanting to stay mad… and needing to be near you.” His voice lowered, rougher now. “Not seeing you—not talking to you—it was worse than being angry. I felt sick. Like my chest was too heavy to breathe.” I chewed my bottom lip, adrenaline buzzing under my skin.

“You’re not actually… sick, are you?”Krane barked out a laugh, the sound cutting through the tension.

“Oh Mira. If I had a ration for every time you misunderstood something heartfelt, I’d be filthy rich.”

I scowled. “If that’s your way of calling me stupid, I will kick your ass into next week.” His laughter doubled, and despite myself, I joined in. He gave my hand a squeeze as our chuckles faded into a more comfortable quiet.

“I don’t like the Upper,” he confessed after a pause, I stiffened. “I feel like he’s hiding something.”

“I don’t think you’d go around telling the Uppers your life story just ‘cause one saved your life,” I replied, defensive without meaning to be.

Krane gave me a sidelong glance. “He looks at you like you’re a prize to be won, Mira. Uppers don’t think or act like we do.”

“That doesn’t make him a bad person, Krane.”

“But it doesn’t mean he hasn’t done bad things.” His tone was firm, I opened my mouth to response, then closed it. “Can you tell me you really believe he’s told you everything? About why he’s here?” I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The way Calian dodged certain questions… it had bothered me.

“Just…” Krane gave my hand another squeeze, my stomach jittering at the motion. “Be careful with him. Please?” I gave a small nod, the words catching in my throat. He let out a long breath, like he’d been bracing for a fight that never came.

“What do you know about the… agriv… agri… ugh, the restricted sector?” I asked, scowling at the forgotten word.

Krane smirked. “Agriculture sector?”

“That one.”

“That Strem went ballistic when he found out we’d been there.” He shook his head. “Said it wasn’t safe. That bad things happened there.”

“Jerard destroyed the P.I.P card,” I muttered.

Krane let out a disgusted sound, shaking his head slightly. “Of course he did. Paranoid old man.”

“Do you think they know something we don’t?” I murmured. “Jerard didn’t exactly seem surprised about the green.” Krane nodded.

“They were around when that district was sealed off,” Krane mused. “I think they know what those sounds were. Strem… he got real scared when I told him what we heard.” He looked down at me. I hesitated on the next question.

“Did you know about the Uppers… and the attack?” I tilted my head. “You didn’t seem surprised by some of the stuff Calian said. Like… you knew.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Over the past year, Strem and Jerard started trusting me with more. Pulled me into their circle.” I looked away, jaw tightening. The sting of Krane being trusted but not me cut deeper than I wanted to admit. He bumped my shoulder.

“Hey. Don’t be upset. I think… I think they only told me because it helps protect you. If we weren’t friends, I’d still be clueless.”

I arched a brow. “And you’re not clueless now?”

He gasped. “At least I’m not a daydreamer,” he jested, laughing again as I bumped his shoulder, letting out a chuckle. “I’ve been listening more than they think. When Jerard comes over late at night for meetings in Strem’s workshop—”

“I’ve never heard him leave at night before?” I frowned, interrupting.

Krane nodded. “Well, he does. And I think I know why Jerard and Strem are so close.” He looked back at me, something playful flickering in his eyes.

“Dramatic effect doesn’t work on me,” I warned.

“I think… they’re brothers.”

My jaw dropped. “What?!” my voice echoed off the rooftops. Krane hushed me “How can they be brothers and not say anything?”, I asked, quieter.

“Half-brothers, I think. Same father, different mothers.” Krane explained.

I reeled. “How could they not tell anyone?”

“That’s not the biggest piece,” he added, that teasing tone gone, pausing a moment once more.

“Gaaah, just say—!”

“I think they left Jerard’s daughter in the agriculture sector when it was sealed.” hios words cut me off. I froze. The world tilted, my heart dropped. Jerard had told me she died from the sickness… was that a lie?

“What are you saying?” My voice shook. “That Selene was alive when they locked the doors?”

“I don’t think anyone died from the sickness,” Krane implied quietly. “We didn’t see bodies. We heard things. And whatever those things were… they weren’t dead.” I saw it again—the thing that lunged for the door. Thin, skeletal limbs. A warped face. Sunken eyes. Sores. Hair like ash.

“I think… I think I saw one,” I whispered. Krane’s head snapped toward me. “As you shut the door… one got close. I didn’t want to understand what I saw, it looked like a skeleton, but I think… it was human.” Krane looked out at the city, fingers raking through his hair. That look—intense, calculating—meant trouble.

I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“We need to get back in that sector,” He gave me that dangerous smirk I loved, my stomach knotting. “And we’re gonna need another P.I.P card.”

~*~

The city pulsed softly beneath our feet as we made our way back, the steady thump-thump beneath the metal giving a rhythm to the silence between us. We stopped just outside my window, pausing on the small alcove. I turned to Krane, and our eyes caught—his gaze holding something unspoken, something that made my breath catch.

His eyes dropped to my chest, and I followed the movement to see my necklace had slipped free, the starlight stone glowing faintly in the dim light. Without a word, he reached out and took the pendant between his fingers, his touch achingly gentle. The faintest smile curved his lips as he studied the stone, cradling it like something fragile.

He didn’t let go. And I didn’t move.

The air stretched tight around us, breathless and still, like even the city itself was waiting. My heart thudded against my ribs, torn between stepping forward and pulling away. Every instinct screamed that leaning closer would be dangerous—but I didn’t want to move.

Then Krane leaned in.

Softly, carefully, he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. Not rushed. Not teasing. Just… lingering. His lips stayed there for a beat longer than they ever had before, and it was enough to unravel me completely. I stayed frozen, every nerve alight.

He pulled back just as slowly, his voice low as he murmured, “Goodnight.”

Then he was gone, melting into the shadows with his usual silent grace, his footsteps vanishing over the rooftops like a dream fading with the dawn.

Still, I didn’t move. Not right away. My heart pounded too loud in my ears, drowning out everything else. ‘What was that? What did it mean?’

Finally, I climbed through the window, shedding my outer layers with numb fingers before slipping under the blankets. Warmth wrapped around me, but it had nothing on the heat still buzzing beneath my skin. Too distracted I didn’t see the pair of blue eyes watching from the street below.

Krane had kissed me.

And not like before. He had kissed my head a thousand times since we met, the gestured almost becoming a normality. But recently, with how I felt, all his normal gestures felt personal. And now, it felt like something else had shifted.

A giddy shiver ran through me as I buried deeper into the covers, trying to chase sleep—but all I could feel was the memory of his breath on my skin.