“Around what?” Her eyes widened.
“Around our new reality.” He winced, but there was a softness in his voice. “That there is both an us...that I don’t think I could give up under any circumstances, so long as you still want it.”
“I do!”
His lips curled into a weary smile. “And that there is also a you and him, or might be at some point.”
“Fenn!”
“No, no. No more talking.” He dropped his head against the fence, letting out a long blow of air. “That’s all I can handle for right now. Just…give me some time.”
She searched his face. Hoping that this wasn’t acceptance of something he’d never be okay with.
“I’m serious, Rynna,” he muttered, eyes closing as his head lolled slightly.
“I didn’t say anything!” She pouted, even as hope dared to bloom.
“But I can hear a thousand questions churning through your mind.” His arm flexed around her, pulling her closer. “Now, let’s just…rest a moment.”
She was about to say something more when she realized his breathing had already deepened into the rhythm of sleep. Smiling, she caressed his cheek, then gently lifted his arm and crawled away for a moment. She found his medallion nearby, soaked in mud, and carefully wiped it clean before placing it back over his head.
Soundlessly, she slipped back under his arm, glancing around the empty camp, ensuring no one was watching. Then, scrunching her brows, she summoned the faintest flicker of fire from within. Not the forbidden fire. Just a little fire element and just enough to warm the space around them as the rain continued to pour.
Feeling the heat settle, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her as well.
Chapter thirty-seven
“Gladtoseeyouworked things out.” Kaelith looked her over, a slow, knowing smirk creeping across his face. “Though it looks like things got a little...messy.”
His dark tunic fit snug against his lean frame, carrying the faint scent of steel and earth. Rynna’s own clothes were streaked with mud, her shirt torn from the night’s fight, and her hair matted from the rain and dried blood. Rynna tensed, but before she could react, his hand reached out and plucked a twig from her tangled hair. He took his time, flicking it aside before his thumb ghosted over her cheek, wiping a smudge of mud from her face.
By the time she had woken that morning and carefully disentangled herself from Fenn, who still lay slumped against the fence, the rain had stopped. The tent flaps rustled softly in the morning breeze, and outside, the faint clang of weapons being cleaned sounded through the camp.
They’d agreed to meet back at the command tent after breakfast, and with that, she had left in search of Kaelith, assuming he’d taken her pack and settled wherever the quartermaster had assigned them.
Now, standing before him, mud-streaked and weary, she was not sure how he would react.
Rynna crossed her arms, letting out a huff of air, sending a few loose strands of her dark brown hair fluttering out of her eyes. “You’re not...upset?”
“Pet. I meantwhat I said yesterday.” Kaelith’s smile widened as he turned to rummage through her pack, pulling out a clean shirt. “Your heart cleaves to him, even as it warms to me once more. Being angry about it serves no purpose other than to push you away.”
“You always were a cold, straightforward bastard,” she murmured, but there was no bite behind it.
“Same as you.” He tilted his head as he reached for a damp towel hanging on their makeshift sink. “Though I’d say Fenn’s influence has made you a touch more... hysterical in your feelings. Your response to our little predicament with the dead Hollow-born was rather...extreme.”
“And throwing yourself in front of a horde of zombies with your Source power locked down on the off chance I knew the girl wasn’t hysterical?” Rynna raised an eyebrow.
Kaelith moved closer, his steps unhurried, and carefully began peeling away the tattered remains of her shirt, his fingers brushing her skin as the fabric slipped from her shoulders. “Seems life has changed us both.”
He dipped the cloth into the water again, and with slow, precise strokes, he wiped the dirt and dried blood from her chest, revealing a fresh bruise blossoming across her ribs where Fenn’s kick had landed. He took her hands next, inspecting them before gently plucking splinters from her fingertips.
“Looks like the wolf likes to play rough.” His voice dropped to a hushed tone laced with dark amusement. “Lucky girl.”
“Kae...” This was strange, intimate in a way that caught her off guard, but she couldn’t deny the heat radiating from him, a slow burn that spread through the air between them as he continued his ministrations.
“And here I was worried,” he leaned in close, “that the hero might not be meeting...your baser needs.” His lips hovered just above her skin, his nose skimming over the curve of her throat, inhaling her scent.
“Kae...” Her voice wavered at the wet flick of his tongue as it grazed down the back of her ear and along her neck. “We need to get back to the command tent.”
