Chapter 70 Kailin
KAILIN
When he looked at me, I saw a man who'd brave hail and storm just to keep my fire lit.
—From the journal of Kailin Strom
Ireturned from the bathroom to find Shovia already in our room, pulling on her training uniform.
"I didn't see you in the bathroom," I said as I walked in.
"You were in the shower." She turned around and sat on her bed with a knowing smirk. "I didn't want to have this conversation in public, so I kept my burning questions bottled up and waited for you to come back."
"What questions?" I pretended innocence just to tease her.
I wasn't going to tell her any of the details even if she nagged me to death, but after five years of friendship, I owed her at least the highlights.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't play coy. Spill. I'm dying here."
I sat on the bed beside her and leaned back, bracing myself on my forearms. "You know the thing you were nagging me forever about? It's finally done."
Shovia's eyes widened, and she let out a small squeal before clapping her hands and then grabbing me for a fierce hug. "Congratulations." She let go of me and leaned back, narrowing her eyes. "Given the glow and the silly smile, I assume that Alar did right by you?"
"Very much so. It was... incredible." I knew I had a dreamy expression on my face and didn't care if Shovia made fun of me because of it.
"Details, girl." Shovia motioned with her hand. "All of it. How did it start, who started it, how did it progress, was there blood, and most importantly, how many times did you orgasm?"
I laughed. "I started, he took over, it was perfect, we both climaxed twice, and surprisingly, there was no blood. That's all you are going to get as far as details."
Thankfully, we didn't have much time left before we needed to head out to the training grounds, so Shovia couldn't use her interrogation tactics on me for long, pressing me for more details by using emotional extortion.
She frowned. "Are you sure you were a virgin? I mean, I know that you didn't have sex before, but there are other ways a girl can lose her virginity."
"I'm positive that I didn't lose it by accident before last night."
Her expression turned incredulous. "And it didn't hurt?"
"Of course, it did, but Alar was so careful with me that the pain didn't last long. I even climaxed again. But that's not the best part."
"There is more?"
"He told me he loved me. Several times, actually. And I told him I loved him too. Well, I said it first, but I have no doubt that Alar was sincere when he told me he loved me back."
Shovia's expression softened, and I thought I saw a sheen of tears in her eyes. "Wow. That's amazing, Kailin. I'm so happy for you." She squeezed my hand. "When did you know? That you loved him, I mean."
I considered this, trying to pinpoint the exact moment.
"I'm not sure there was one specific time.
I was attracted to Alar from the first moment I saw him, and then we talked, and I was taken with him, and the feelings grew during the pilgrimage.
But it feels like it has always been there, that something inside of me has been waiting for him to show up and for me to recognize him.
" I looked up at her. "Does that sound crazy? "
Shovia put her hand over her chest. "This is so romantic, and I don't think it's crazy at all. Some people spend their whole lives looking for a connection like that, and some find it right away." Her smile turned teasing again. "I bet you never expected to hear me say stuff like that."
I laughed. "You are right, I didn't. You were always about the perfect for now guy and not the forever guy."
She sighed. "That's because I haven't found him yet. I hope I will one day."
I bit my lip, uncertain about how I should broach the idea of us switching rooms permanently.
I'd thought about that after Alar had left and I'd missed him right away, but now that I'd had some time to cool off, I wasn't sure that I was ready for that.
Despite the love and the intimacy, we were still just getting to know each other.
But perhaps Shovia wanted to move in with Codric, and if she did, I didn't want to hold back their relationship.
"Here's an idea," I said. "If you wanted to move in with Codric, Alar could move in with me."
Shovia scrunched her nose in a way that telegraphed her lack of enthusiasm about the idea.
"That's kind of hasty, especially for you.
As for Codric and me, we enjoy each other between the sheets, but we are not each other's forever partners, and I don't want to be stuck with him in case things sour between us or either of us decides to move on. "
"That's awfully sensible of you," I conceded, "which is unusual."
She shrugged. "I just have more experience in these matters than you, and I know that the honeymoon usually doesn't last. Also, Codric and I don't really have much to talk about. He's a good guy, and he's charming and attentive in bed, but he's a bit of an airhead. You know what I mean?"
So was she, and they seemed perfect for one another, but I bit my tongue not to give voice to my thoughts. "So, you'll just keep sneaking into their room and Alar into ours?"
"Yeah. It adds to the excitement. I get to spend the night with a hot guy and the rest of the time with my best friend. For me, that's the best arrangement. Besides, I'm pretty sure there's a rule against swapping rooms without permission."
I'd read through the entire rulebook, and something about what she was saying rang a bell.
I walked to my desk and pulled out the book, flipping through it until I found the relevant section and read it aloud. "Cadets are not permitted to change assigned quarters without submitting a request accompanied by a valid cause and getting approval from their supervising officer."
"See? Not allowed." Shovia stood up and pushed her feet into her boots. "I don't think that wanting to sleep with your boyfriend every night counts as a valid cause."
"Even if it was, I wouldn't be comfortable submitting such a request." I stood up as well. "I guess we'll just keep sneaking around, then."
She started lacing up her boots. "Much more thrilling that way."
"I could do without that particular thrill," I admitted, moving to my wardrobe to pull out my own boots. "I don't like all that sneaking around, and I like waking up with Alar by my side."
The medallion Saphir had given me was wrapped in a pair of socks and hidden inside one of them. I unwrapped it carefully and hung the string around my neck, hiding the medallion under my shirt.
It felt warm against my skin, but then I had second thoughts about wearing it to conditioning. But where could I keep it? Our room didn't have a lock on the door, and the idea of leaving something so important unprotected made me uneasy, although I wasn't sure why.
Elucians were supposed to be the most devout followers of the Precepts of Truth, but I wasn't so naive as to believe that everyone followed them to the letter.
Every society has its share of rotten fruit.
The only place I could think of, though, was under my mattress, and that was a really obvious hiding place.
I took off the medallion, wrapped it in the socks again, and lifted the mattress.
"Don't leave it there," Shovia said. "Stick it under the wardrobe. If you push it far enough, no one will see the bundle even if they think to look under it."
"That's brilliant." I smiled at her. "Even if they do, they'll think that a pair of socks just rolled under there. I doubt anyone will bother fishing them out to look what's inside."
Shovia snorted. "I wish we had one of your Gran's stinky herbs. We could have put it in the socks as a deterrent."
The image of potential thieves smelling what they thought were dirty socks made me laugh. "You have the best ideas, but regrettably, we have nothing stinky we can use."
"I can get a pair of socks from Codric. The smell coming out of his laundry bag could be deadly to small animals."
I crinkled my nose. "For real?"
"No, not as bad, but close."
I was glad that she was the one spending her nights there and not me. I don't think I could have gotten into the right mood if the room smelled bad.
Then again, knowing Shovia, she was exaggerating to get a laugh out of me.
Dropping to a crouch, I pushed the small bundle as far as it would go under the wardrobe and hoped I would be able to pull it out when we returned.
"We should get going." Shovia checked the time. "I'm not looking forward to climbing that hill with a rocks-stuffed pack, and if we are late, Captain Odinah will double our load."
I nodded. "That's exactly what she'd do."
We headed out, and given how fast the two cadets in front of us were walking, we needed to double-time it.
"You're glowing," Shovia observed as we fast walked. "It's actually kind of sickening how happy you look at this ungodly hour."
I chuckled. "Sorry?"
"It's nice to see you like that." She bumped her shoulder against mine affectionately. "Just do me a favor and don't make moony eyes at Alar every time you see him. I'm really going to be sick."
As we stepped out into the cold morning air, the auroras clearly visible in the pre-dawn sky, I caught sight of Alar already waiting with the other cadets.
Our eyes met across the assembly ground, and the intimate smile that spread across his face sent warmth coursing through me, chasing away the mountain chill.
"No moony eyes," Shovia whispered beside me. "Especially not before breakfast."