“We have a lesson we need to do.”
She scoffed. “Maybe we can skip it?” She dragged her fingers across his lips.
“No,” he growled, biting the tip of finger, then pushing himself away. “You need to recenter yourself. I know something happened after the reception with your father. I saw you running away with tears.”
Kamine touched her bracelet, and he followed the movement.
“Life. The source of my power is remembering there is life beyond death.”
Grimot stepped up to her, lifted her wrist to his mouth and kissed one of the gold leaves. Her pulse jumped in response.
“I’ve always had a connection with the earth in a way I could never explain. After speaking with my father, after he told me what my mother did during her Undertaking, it all clicked.”
To prove that her powers now came to her seamlessly, she rippled and dipped the ground under Grimot until she was taller than him.
He smiled up at her. “I’m jealous. Your powers are better than mine.”
She rolled her eyes and evened out the ground upon which he stood. As she looked at him, an ache pressed in her chest, and she knew what it meant. They were words she couldn’t voice quite yet, afraid of what it would mean for the two of them.
“Meet me tonight in my room,” he said, his voice going low enough that she felt it in her gut.
She nodded in agreement.
That lesson, Grimot forced her to go through drills to hone her already impressive skills further. They played with her powers, discovering new and creative ways for Kamine to protect her village. He pushed her until she was confident in her abilities, until she could go into the Undertaking prepared, and ready to truly make her mother proud. Every rock she stopped from killing her people would be for the woman who loved herfather so deeply that she destroyed herself for it. Kamine now understood what type of courage that took.
Grimot opened the door right as Kamine prepared to knock. He gasped at the sight of her. Her braids from earlier were now down, letting her curls run wild. She had changed out of her training clothes into a simple off-white dress that hugged her chest and flowed out around her hips, accentuating her waist.
She dipped her head shyly as he inspected her.
He could kiss her right there and now, but he wouldn’t get distracted from his goal.
“Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand in his. Her fingers were calloused now from all the training, and he savored that feeling when it was around his cock, but he loved it even more as they rubbed against his palm. There was an innate intimacy to hand-holding that he never realized before. It was a comforting balm against his ragged soul.
“I hope you’re not taking me to another torturous game where I almost die.”
“Nothing like that,” he responded. He guided her through the tunnels as they ventured up, up, up.
She groaned behind him. He could feel the fatigue radiating off her, but hopefully the destination would be worth the climb. He knew from the moment that she had mentioned her powers were sourced from her connection with the living that he needed to bring her here. He needed to share this place with her.
They eventually reached a tall ladder that Grimot slowly climbed while swearing at the pain in his legs, where at the top, he lifted up a door. A sharp intake of breath sounded from behind him.
“Won’t we get in trouble?” she asked, worry lining her brow.
He didn’t say anything, instead climbed back down and gestured for her to go up. She hesitated, but did as instructed, and he followed right behind her.
When he lifted himself out, Kamine already had her chin tilted up, her eyes on the night sky, glittering with stars. She raised her arms, as if reaching for them, the bracelet on her wrist gleaming in the moonlight as if it too missed the outdoors.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
He stared right at her as he said, “It is.”
She closed her eyes. “It’s been so long since I’ve had fresh air on my skin.”
Grimot stood at the edge of the mountain, taking in the sight before him. There wasn’t much to see, but from a distance, he could just make out a small village. The lights of homes flickered, just like the stars above them.
Grimot pulled a basket from behind a large rock, and laid down a soft blanket.
“What’s this?” she asked, her eyes widening.
