Chapter 8 #2
Connak brushed Kienna’s cheek. She leaned into his warmth, the rough calluses of his skin grounding her. He smelled of sunbaked herbs and worn leather. “You’ll feel normal again, I promise. It takes time to adjust to what you see at war.”
Kienna continued walking. “But we’re still at war. You said River Storm—”
“I am protecting you. There’s no reason to worry until I tell you to worry.” He inhaled deeply, tightening the agitation in his voice. He looked tired. “For now, focus on you. It’s not a luxury you’ve had before.”
Connak stopped by another stall and paid for food that had already been prepared.
He handed Kienna a round of hollowed bread, the crust thick and crackled from the oven.
Inside, steam rose from a dark vegetable stew, the scent rich with garlic and roots.
“Start eating, and then I can teach you to fight your nightmares, too.”
“You can do that?” Kienna asked wide-eyed as the food called to her stomach.
Connak brushed his thumb along her knuckles, focusing too long on her nails.
Kienna pulled them back, hiding them in her palms.
“You and I can, yes. Get into the habit of calling me when you’re afraid. I can either pull you out or help you shift.”
Kienna bit into the bread. Relief flooded her. Relief from hunger. From the nightmares. She wished Connak and Danek didn’t have to leave for the Malintale, but she had to learn to be independent in Dove Port, to be away from it all. She needed to heal.
She wondered how long it would take before that bubble burst.
—Danek—
Kienna met Danek in the morning, leading him to an open area of the city where people had not yet set up for the day.
Even half-tired and hair in a knot, she was breathtaking.
She wore fitted pants and a sleeveless shirt that clung to her frame.
Leather straps crossed her back, and soft wraps covered her forearms. She braided her long hair back tightly.
In the skin he was destined to be in, Danek had no problem admitting how beautiful she was out loud.
He was certain that whatever awkward glances she’d thrown his way before would end in a blush this time.
Intrigue rather than distance. Even if she looked at Connak the same way, the fact that she even looked at him at all made his skin tingle.
“Looking good, Kienna,” Danek said.
She bit her lip, failing to hide her grin.
Danek laughed.
“I think we can run the city perimeter in enough time to get you back before you leave,” Kienna said. “It’s basically a giant circle, so if we start here at the markets and weave around the outskirts, we’ll have enough distance.”
“What do you say we race?” Danek stretched his legs as he looked around the trail.
It was Kienna’s turn to laugh. “Oh, Danek. You forget I grew up with you. You’re not that fast.”
“Then you won’t have an issue taking a bet.”
Kienna shook her head. “We’re betting now?”
“How about if you win, I’ll buy you that shirt from the market yesterday? If I win, I’ll kiss you. No harm in that one if you know you’re faster, right?”
Her attention drifted toward the market.
Danek knew it from the way she looked at it and touched its fabric that Kienna wanted that shirt, though she’d probably never admit something so vain.
They grew up with the bare minimum, and though Kienna could have asked for more, she never did.
Even now, she cycled through the same wardrobe, wearing out the Elvish garments a lot faster than most. Danek couldn’t decide if he wanted to give her the shirt or kiss her more.
The wind shifted between them, and Danek grinned.
Kienna returned it, and like lightning passing through his limbs, the ground faded away, and they were running.
Kienna started strong as she always did, running ahead of him through the passage of the city.
He needed her to lead. He didn’t know Dove Port well enough.
No, he had to wait until they were out in the open, running toward the hills to make a move.
Once they neared the trail that opened to the farmlands, Danek leaped up and pushed his legs off the last building and pushed forward until he soared through the air, landing in front of Kienna.
He hit the ground hard but kept moving. The wind hadn’t even caught up to him yet.
Everything blurred at the edges, like the world couldn’t keep up. Speed roared in Danek’s blood with electricity. His breath came fast, sharp, but weightless. He moved with the certainty of knowing where his body needed to be. His chest rose with heat. Damn, was he fast.
If Kienna faltered, he didn’t know. He pressed forward until he slowed to what he considered the finish line and waited for her, still a distance behind him. In the hills, Connak and Tislin spoke quietly while waiting for Danek. Kienna was right. It was perfect timing.
She caught up to him and panted. “Shit, Danek, you could have mentioned you were a lot faster now.”
“I didn’t know,” he said, realizing how attuned to his senses he’d become.
He could see clearly with each stride he’d taken.
His body moved as if it already knew what to do, and he didn’t have to think about it.
Was this how the Elvish always felt—how they moved with such grace? “These changes are fairly new.”
Kienna heaved in a bigger breath as Danek found her gaze drifting past him and over his shoulder, where Connak and Tislin were.
He couldn’t have that. “A bet’s a bet,” he said with a steady voice as he stepped in closely.
The heat of her body radiated. Her breath was still uneven from their run, but she stood tall and steady.
Almost steady. There was a hitch in her breath she didn’t want him to notice.
He noticed anyway. Up against her, she had to look up at him, something she never had to do before Danek’s transformation.
He leaned in, slow and deliberate, stopping shy of her lips. He hovered there for a breath, close enough to feel the heat between them. Without breaking eye contact, he reached for her hand and guided it upward, pressing a kiss on her knuckles instead.
When he glanced up through his lashes, he caught the flicker of frustrated embarrassment curling at the corner of Kienna’s mouth. He let out a soft hum and then stepped back. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you again.”
Danek turned from her to meet Connak on the hills.
With a newfound victory in his heart, he released a sigh and focused on keeping his vision straight.
Being utterly confident came unnaturally to him at first, but with his transformation, he didn’t feel so bogged down by insecurities anymore.
He could fight them easily, and he would. Hers, too, if needed.
That gave him enough confidence to think maybe he stood a chance.