“Can I show you something?” Thesix asks. His long legs stretched out in front of him on the towel that is draped across the sand. His shirt was thrown aside as soon as we reached thebeach. I wanted to bring him here, to show him where I am the most happy.
“Of course.” I take a bite of the sticky bun he brought for me.
He takes his hand out and slowly traces my forearm. There, beneath his fingertips, a delicate lattice of frost forms.
“It’s beautiful.” I whisper, transfixed by the beautiful pattern he’s creating.
Thesix smiles, “Thank you. It’s not a gift I see many with, I thought you might enjoy it.”
I extend my fingers towards the crystalline formation, feeling the familiar pull of water responding to my essence. The ice doesn’t melt at my touch but shifts, flowing like liquid silver.
“I always get excited to see the new things that have come about for my people.” Every lunar year the power changes. Some have more of the earth magic from my brother Wodthos, such as those in the newly created area called Midaeliea. “Many of you here in Antalis have my water magic, but this seems to be a blend of perhaps water and air. It’s very interesting.”
Thesix remains quiet for a while, his fingers still trailing along my arm. The frost patterns shimmer in the sunlight, catching rainbow prisms that dance across my skin. Each touch sends a ripple of awareness through me, like the gentlest tide against the shore.
“Is that what I am to you, Drahenå?” His voice drops, lower and intimate. “Just a person of Antalis?”
The question catches me unprepared, like the sudden undertow that pulls me unbidden off balance. My heart pounds against my ribs. We’ve spent so many days together now — mornings at the bakery, afternoons walking the streets of my kingdom, evenings like this watching thetaoho. I know exactly who he is to me.
But the fear of speaking it aloud lodges in my throat like a stone. He could still reject the twin bond between us. After eonsof waiting, of creating an entire world where I might find the love that he could give me, the possibility that he might turn me away terrifies me more than anything else I’ve faced since Tiyo created me.
“I’m unsure what you mean.” I bite my lip, pushing a strand of cerulean hair behind my ear, choosing to look back out over the waters that have always been my solace. The waves rise and fall slowly, unlike the unsteady breath in my chest.
His hand finds mine as it falls from my ear, his fingers intertwining with my own. The warmth of his skin against mine sends a current through my body, like the meeting of two different waters.
“I think you know exactly what I mean, Henå.” The shortening of my name on his lips feels more intimate than any touch.
I turn toward him, drawn by something deeper than choice. His light blue eyes bounce between my eyes and lips, a question in them that needs no words. The frost on my arm begins to melt, droplets of water beading like tiny crystals.
“Thesix–” my voice comes out breathy, his name more a plea than a word.
He leans in, his hand releasing mine to cup my cheek. His palm is cool against my skin, but his breath is warm as it touches my cheeks.
“I want to kiss you, Drahenå,” he whispers, so close I can feel the words touch my lips.
My breath hitches in my throat. After millennia of waiting, my twin drop is finally here, asking for permission to cross the final distance between us.
I give the slightest nod, unable to form words. I feel something unusual, like a fluttering in my stomach. Is this what the mortals feel?
His lips meet mine, gentle as morning mist on water. The moment they touch, something extraordinary happens. A silverripple of light, like liquid moonlight, emerges from my chest, circling us to reach towards his, one of his own reaching towards mine. I watch as they touch, twining together, pulsing with shared rhythm.
I gasp against his mouth, my fingers instinctively reaching up to touch his face. The twin drop bond — the physical manifestation of what I designed into the very fabric of this world.
“I knew it.” Thesix whispers against my lips, his eyes wide with wonder as he stares at the shimmering silver ripple between us. He smiles against my jaw, where his lips softly place kisses.
I take his hand in mine, as I stand up quickly, pulling him to the ocean’s edge, our feet touching the edges. “Trust me.” I murmur against his ear, as the world shifts around us. His arms tighten around me, surprise flickering in his features. The beach dissolves as I draw a water-mirror taking us through it until we are standing in my chamber’s bathing area. I keep the tub filled with water to allow for traveling, because it was soon learned that you can travel through the sources of our power.
Thesix looks down and laughs, “Don’t think I’ve ever tried that.”
“Mirrors, I call it. It’s a quick way to get somewhere else.” I lead him out of the tub and bathing room.
We walk into my bedroom, the setting sun casting oranges through the tall windows across the marbled floors that reflect white and blue.
Thesix looks around at the high ceilings. “Your room.” He says, his voice husky.
“Yes.” My heart thunders in my chest.
His fingers trace the curve of my cheek, down my neck. “The twin drop bond,” he says. “I’ve seen so many find theirs, but I never …” His voice trails off.
