Chapter Twenty
ELYSSARA
I wake to the crackle and pop of a small fire, the sound tugging me from a foggy dream.
My eyes flutter open—or maybe they don’t.
The world feels distant, slippery, as if I’m caught in a half-formed thought.
I try to sit up, but my body refuses to cooperate, tethered to the ground by some invisible force.
“You’re awake,” a low, gravelly voice says, somewhere just above me. “Good evening, Duskae.”
Kael.
The sound of his voice tugs at something deep inside me, grounding and disorienting all at once. I force my head to roll toward him, my vision blurring, then sharpening just enough to make out his silhouette against the firelight.
“You...” My voice slurs, words tumbling out before I can catch them. “You’re... really handsome. Like... unfairly handsome.”
His lips quirk up in that infuriating smirk. “I’m glad you’re finally being honest. Though I do wish it wasn’t because you have duskprowler venom and lunabark root in your veins.”
“Duskprowlers?” I echo, the word thick and clumsy on my tongue. I blink at him. “Is that what’s happening? Or is it just you? You’re... doing something to me.”
Kael leans closer, his smirk softening, though his eyes stay sharp, watchful. “And what exactly am I doing to you, El?”
“You’re... unfair,” I murmur, flopping a limp hand in his direction. “With your face. And your shoulders. And your...” My eyes drift downward before I force them shut, heat rushing to my cheeks. “You’re distracting. That’s what you are.”
Kael chuckles, low and deep, the sound vibrating through the space between us. “Distracting, am I? That’s quite the accusation coming from you.”
“I’m an unbathed girl from the slums,” I say, my words tangling together. “Your eyes... they’re like... the sky. No, waves. Big blue waves. Why are they so... blue?” I ramble nonsensically, half laughing, half groaning. “You’re too much, Kael. Too... symmetrical.”
His brow arches, and he leans back slightly, clearly amused. “Symmetrical?”
“Dangerously so,” I mumble. “It’s not fair. It’s just not...” I trail off, my head lolling to the side again. “I like your face. A lot. Even though you’re really bossy... and... arrogant.”
His smirk falters, just for a moment, and his gaze softens. “You’re beautiful too, you know,” he says, his voice quieter than before, almost hesitant, as if admitting it aloud shifts something neither of us can take back. “Even if you are high on that unholy combination, Duskae.”
The words hit me like a warm rush, but my brain is too foggy to process them fully. Instead, I let out a soft laugh, the sound strange even to my own ears. “I knew it. You like me,” I giggle, my tone tender.
“Maybe,” he says, his voice low, teasing. “But you’re impossible to deal with when you’re like this.”
“I think I would really like to kiss you... Your lips look very soft. You’ve been with hundreds of women, haven’t you?” I ramble, and I cannot for the fucking life of me stop the words from falling from my mouth. “You probably have a really big—”
Kael splutters a cough, cutting me off.
“Alright, alright—time for sleep,” he laughs, reaching for me. He leans in, smirking. “And yes—it’s huge.” He smiles, completely unrestrained. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile like this, and I like being the cause of it.
“Hold me,” I blurt, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “I’m... so cold.” My hand wipes at my brow, slick with sweat, trembling as I shiver against the heat burning in my veins.
Kael’s expression shifts, the teasing glimmer in his eyes replaced by something deeper, more serious. He hesitates for a heartbeat before moving closer, his arms sliding around me with a careful strength that makes my chest tighten.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs, his voice impossibly gentle. His breath is warm against my temple, steady and grounding, yet it sends a shiver racing down my spine. How could someone feel so safe and so dangerous all at once?
The warmth of his embrace seeps into me, chasing away the chill in my veins. My head rests against his chest plate, the rhythmic thud of his heartbeat steadying the chaos in my mind. For a moment, the world feels safe.
“Here,” he says softly, reaching for something at his side. “Chew this. It’ll dull the pain and help you sleep.”
He presses a piece of lunabark root to my lips, and I obediently take it.
“Kael...” I mumble, my voice trailing off as the root takes hold. “You smell nice. Like how I’d imagine a rainforest. Warm, earthy... safe.”
His arms tighten around me, just slightly, as he murmurs, “Rest, El. I’ll keep you safe.” His warmth is overwhelming, like a raging fire in the dead of winter, and yet the chill clinging to my skin refuses to release me.
The weight of his words settles over me, heavy and comforting.
My eyelids flutter closed, the heat and the ache in my body softening as darkness pulls me under once more.
Somewhere in the fading edges of my awareness, I swear I feel his lips brush the top of my head, feather-light, before everything fades to black once more.