Yet I do not think freedom will taste as sweet if I am not free to pursue the one thing I’ve allowed myself to want in many, many rotations.
Kaelun pulls himself over the stone balustrade and drops lightly to his feet. I drift up to watch, teasing the curtains of the open doorway with a lick of breeze to stir Yalina’s attention.
A silhouette appears against the pale, thin fabric, and he drops into a crouch. He is going about this all wrong. It is a mistake to sneak up on her, especially when she is alone in her room like this. Vulnerable. Defenseless.
Is that not what I did only yesterday?
Her hands move to her waist as if she is untying something. Both Kaelun and I freeze, and I know he is watching just as intently as I am. A moment later she shrugs off a scarf and an outer layer and tosses them over the back of a chair. I’m watching so intently the breeze strengthens to a gust and the curtains snap inward, revealing Yalina dressed only in a tiny silken slip the color of her deep brown eyes.
Kaelun catches his breath.
Yalina sighs, heading straight for the open doors. Kaelun darts out of the way and presses his back to the wall beside the door sohe is behind her when she exits to lean over the balustrade and look out over the courtyard and the city beyond.
The gust becomes a rush of wind, and I ache to touch her. She’s standing so close.
She tips her head back, and her hair billows out behind her. “Are you here?”
Before I can answer, Kaelun steps forward quickly to stand beside her. “How did you know?”
Yalina jumps and whips around. Her expression must be horrified, for Kaelun presses his hands over her mouth. “Don’t scream.”
She does not scream. Instead she plants her hands on his chest and pushes him toward the balustrade, catching him off guard. He topples back, and for a moment I wonder if I should intervene, but he grabs the balustrade and rights himself just in time. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Yalina’s eyes widen. “Kaelun? I mean Noreth!”
“No.” He places his hand on her arm and she stops. “Wait. That’s what I came to talk to you about, if you’ll listen. I’m sorry for startling you. I just wanted to see you alone.”
Her expression softens. “You did?”
“I have… a confession. When you set the challenge for us to demonstrate something we know about you, I realized I had to make it.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “Go on.”
Kaelun tugs at the collar of his tunic. “Well, when you asked me before if I remembered you, if I am the man you remember… I do and I am. Only I didn’t tell you before,” he rushes on, while her look grows visibly colder. “I didn’t think I could.”
“You didn’t think you could when I asked you directly?”
Kaelun shoots a desperate look over Yalina’s shoulder in completely the wrong direction to where I am floating, but Icatch his meaning. Hovering close, I whisper, “Apologize. Do not make excuses.”
“I—I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier. I should never have lied to you.”
Sure enough, her body relaxes a little and her shoulders creep down from her ears. “Yes, you should have.”
“I know. I feel terrible that I did it. I know it hurt you.”
“It did.”
There’s a long pause. Kaelun shoves his hands in his pockets, looking away.
Then suddenly, Yalina reaches out to touch his face. “Then it really is you.”
He nods.
“How? Were you lying to me when we met the first time?”
“No! I swear I wasn’t. It’s just it’s kind of a long story.”
Yalina takes him by the hand, and I cannot look away from the place they touch. “Come inside. Tell me everything.”
