Kailorien stilled.
“No one will,” he swore. Then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, anchoring her to his promise.
She softened under the weight of his vow.
“You look far too relieved,” he teased.
“I just…feared you would insist on involving the Noctris or someone else.”
“No. I see now that this is far beyond the knowledge of the city. If only we could reach Kael’Vethar—”
She tilted her head.
“It’s a city of magic. The largest repository for such knowledge on the continent. But, the mages there have isolated themselves for centuries. The city levitates in the sky, moving with the clouds. It isn’t a matter of sending a hawk or written inquiry.”
Auryn looked at her hands. Picked at the fur blanket.
“What is it, starlight?”
“It is easy to forget how vast the world is when one is trapped in the dark.” She leaned into his touch when he smoothed his large hand against her cheek. “I wonder if we could ever see that vastness…step into it together.”
“Do you wish to leave the city?”
She didn’t meet his eyes. Couldn’t, when his tone was so taut. Like a string overstretched.
“Sometimes. But there is more to do here first.” She sighed. “And now this Flare has become a secret for us to protect.”
He drew back to brush his thumb across her bottom lip.
“It isn’t the only secret between us.”
Her breath caught when he pressed down with his fingertip to feel the softness of her skin.
“What we are to each other,” she offered. “The way we love, it’s—”
“Yes, but more than that. The way I give you breath,” he continued, voice barely above a whisper, “the voice inside you called itBreathweaving. The city—no, even the world—would not understand such a miraculous thing.”
She nodded, throat tight. “But… Shu’Khan…”
“He must have some inkling, or he wouldn’t have tried to mimic it. But it’s nothing more than amusement to him. A game.” His jaw flexed. “Leavethatpart to me.”
She reached for him, fingers curling in the fabric of his robe. “Kail…”
“You still look rather pale,” he said abruptly. A twitch at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were too intense, too focused, for the excuse to land.
Auryn arched a brow. “Really.”
“Deathly pale,” he insisted, not quite hiding his playful smirk.
She smiled. “Well, Resh’Agar, I suppose you’ll have to fix that.”
He didn’t need another invitation. Kailorien bent down and brushed his mouth against hers. A tether. A promise. He inhaled—and then exhaled into her, not just air butessence.
A soft blue mist shimmered between their lips, sighing into her lungs and blooming there. Her body arched toward the sustenance, arms winding around his shoulders. A gentler rush this time. Familiar. Trusting.Her limbs tingled, her skin flushed, but she wasn’t afraid. No hesitation could exist when he held her like this. Just the warmth of him inside her, resonating through her veins, wrapping around her aching magic like a balm.
When he drew back, she sighed, dazed but glowing.
“Gods,” she whispered. “Kailorien…”
