Page 66 of The Amber Sunburst

“Some of us don’t get to want things,” he finally decides, but the flippant way he says the words doesn’t change what they are.

There is something that Kallias won’t say—something that makes him the way he is. That’s what drew Alexander to him in the first place. But he’s not getting it out of Kallias today.

“Well, that’s good,” Alexander says. “Now I have someone to trash talk Lazarus with. That guy is a total stress basket.”

Kallias huffs. “That’s one thing to call him.”

“The meetings are about to get so much more fun.”

“We can’t shit talk him right in front of him.”

“Yes,” Alexander says. “Yes, we can.”

He has the best idea ever.

“Have you ever heard of Morse code?” he asks.

Kallias squints, and Alexander knows he’s got him. “Enlighten me.”

From there, it only takes fifteen minutes before Alexander finds himself tapping entire sentences to a Kallias who is somehow already fluent.

“-.-- --- ..- .----. .-. . / ..- --. .-.. -.--,” Kallias taps out with the tip of his finger on their shared table.

“- .... .- - .----. ... / -- . .- -.”

Kallias rolls his eyes. “.. .----. -- / -- . .- -.”

Alexander drew him the chart, Kallias took one look at it, and then he started using it perfectly.

How he did that, Alexander has no idea. But Hell if he doesn’t find it endearing how excited Kallias seems to be about it.

“- .... .. ... / .. ... / ... --- / -.-. --- --- .-..” Kallias taps, with a smile that shows his dimples.

“Can you imagine how paranoid Lazarus is going to be when we start randomly tapping in front of him?” Alexander asks.

“He’s going to think we’re trying to overthrow him.”

“Maybe we should. Co-dictators? We could run the world, you and me.”

Kallias cocks a brow.

“Okay, fine. I’ll be the dictator and you’ll be the co-dictator.”

“You’d be an awful dictator.”

Alexander gasps. “You wound me. And you’ve also inspired my first decree. I shall call for your execution, good sir!”

Kallias smiles and shakes his head and then—Oh, Lord—he laughs.

It’s one of the most beautiful things Alexander has ever heard: the kind of melody someone could get addicted to.

It only takes Kallias a moment to realize what he’s done. He schools his face immediately back to his blank neutral. Not his cute scowl or his eye roll. Just… nothing. As if that could hide what he just let slip out.

He takes his glasses back from Alexander’s hair and returns to his book. “We should read,” Kallias says without inflection.

Alexander doesn’t push.

After a half-hour passes in silence, Kallias gets up and packs his bag. He nods toward the door in a silent demand for Alexander to follow and leaves without a backward glance.