He looked down at me with a smile that bordered on smug. “Let’s just say when I became a man and entered the realm of carnal liaisons, I learned that it was a useful skill to have.”
It took a moment to click, and when it did, I said, “Ewww,” and punched him lightly on the arm.
He chuckled softly. “Come on. Let’s see who can hold their breath the longest.”
I took several breaths, exhaled completely, drew a full one, and held it.
I squeezed Ravi’s hand, and together we walked into the green mist. Into the thick of it, where it stung my eyes and made my skin itch.
We walked quickly until the holes in the tunnel were behind us and the mist began to clear, until there was no green left, and still we walked, holding our breath for another minute before Ravi squeezed my hand and released the breath that he was holding.
“I think we’re safe now,” he said.
I relaxed and exhaled. “We’re almost there.” My vision blurred, and when I blinked to clear it, Ravi gasped and stepped away from me.
“Ravi?” I reached for him, but his face shifted and morphed, his green eyes blooming to topaz, mouth widening slightly… “What the fuck?” He had Araz’s face.
“Shit.” Ravi shook his head. “No…”
“What are you seeing?”
“Devi…” he said. “I see Devi…” His voice cracked. “I assume you see Araz?”
I nodded. “The gas?”
“Must be. But I didn’t inhale it.”
“Maybe we don’t need to inhale it for it to work.” Gods, this was strange. Talking to Ravi who had Araz’s face was fucking weird and wrong, and gods it made my heart hurt. “It’s okay. We know what’s real. We just have to wait for it to wear off.”
He nodded and approached. “Yes. We wait.”
The timbre of his voice had changed. “You sound like him now.”
He nodded. “You sound like Devi. You look like her.” His throat bobbed. “Fuck.” He reached out to lightly graze my cheek. “I never had the chance to tell her how I felt. To say goodbye.” His eyes filled with tears. Araz’s face. Araz’s eyes.
My throat throbbed dully. “Neither did I. Araz was just…He was gone. I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.”
“Then maybe we do it now. We say goodbye. You’re not her, and I’m not him, but…we can pretend. Just for a moment.”
The pulse of longing in his voice echoed inside me. We needed this.
I nodded. “Yes. Let’s…say goodbye. You first.”
He set the light crystal on the ground and stepped closer, the heat of his body kissing mine as he gently cupped my face. I blinked, and his face shimmered, Araz’s visage melting away to leave me looking into Ravi’s emerald eyes. The effects of the gas were gone. I opened my mouth to say something, but his thumb brushed my bottom lip, the contact silencing me.
He leaned in, his voice soft and intimate. “From the moment I saw you, I knew I’d fall. I should have spoken sooner.” My stomach fluttered, and I reminded myself that he was still seeing Devi. I wouldn’t ruin this for him. “I should have told you what was in my heart, but I was afraid. Afraid that you’d reject me. But I need to say it now. I need to tell you that I love you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me the most. I’m so fucking sorry.” He touched his forehead to mine, his breath warm on my lips. “I can’t change the past, so it’s time to let it go. May I kiss you goodbye?”
He’d never gotten to tell Devi how he felt, never had a kiss goodbye. At least I’d gotten that, even though I hadn’t realized it at the time. It was something that I could hold in my heart forever. If I could give Ravi the same, then I’d do it gladly.
I nodded, and his lips found mine in a kiss that resonated with the ache of promises never made and things unsaid. His hand slid to my nape, anchoring me to him as he deepened the kiss, his woodland scent filling my senses with a longing of my own. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I slid my hand up hisneck to cup his jaw and kissed him back. He groaned into my mouth, awakening something in me I thought long dead. Desire. Connection. Want. He no longer wore Araz’s face, but in that moment, I allowed myself to forget that and imagine itwasAraz that I was kissing.
Araz who had me pinned to the tunnel wall.
Araz’s thigh between mine.
His mouth moved from my lips to my throat.
Araz. Araz. “Araz…”
