CHAPTER ELEVEN
Eira's POV
The cold touched my skin like a second breath.
I stepped outside, barefoot, into the damp night. The grass was still wet with the earlier rain, and the breeze carried the scent of earth and pine. The sky stretched above me in an endless black sweep, stars scattered across it like pinpricks in a curtain.
It should've been beautiful.
But all I could think of was him.
Ronan.
They said his body was found torn apart-ripped into something unrecognizable, like he'd been hunted. Like he didn't even get the dignity of a goodbye.
My stomach clenched.
I hadn't cried. Not yet. Not fully. The grief felt too big for tears. Like if I started crying, I'd never stop.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
Then... footsteps.
I didn't turn. I didn't need to.
Kael's presence was different from anyone else's. He had a kind of quiet gravity that always made me feel like I was standing too close to something dangerous-and safe at the same time.
"You should be resting," he said softly.
"So should you," I murmured.
We stood there in silence, both staring at the sky.
"You're thinking about him," he said after a moment.
I nodded.
"I keep trying to remember something simple," I whispered. "His laugh. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to forget him."
"You won't."
I turned to look at him.
His eyes were darker than the night around us, but they weren't cold. They held something else. Something deeper.
"I never wanted this for you," he said. "Any of it. You deserve something... better."
My chest ached. "So do you."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I don't know what I deserve anymore."
"You think this is just the bond, don't you?" I said quietly. "You think that's why I feel this... pull toward you."
He didn't answer.
"I used to think that too," I added. "But this... whatever's between us... it's not just the bond."
His gaze searched mine. "Eira-"
"I loved Ronan," I said, my voice tight. "Maybe I always will. But right now... when I'm with you... it's the only time I feel like I can breathe."
He stepped closer.
So did I.
The space between us disappeared, and for the first time in days, the heaviness in my chest lightened.
"I don't know what I'm ready for," I whispered. "But I know I don't want to be alone."
Kael reached for my hand. His fingers brushed mine-hesitant, soft-and I didn't pull away.
His thumb ran gently over the top of my knuckles. And in that stillness, the world stopped spinning.
I leaned in.
Our lips met, slow and uncertain.
It wasn't perfect.
It wasn't practiced.
It was raw.
Real.
His lips were warm, slightly chapped from the cold. They moved against mine with such care, like he was afraid of breaking me.
And maybe I was breaking.
But I didn't want to stop.
His hand found the side of my face, fingers sliding gently into my hair. I sank into the touch, into the kiss. Into him.
I could taste rain and something I couldn't name-something like safety wrapped in fire.
When we finally pulled apart, I stayed close, my forehead resting against his.
I felt his heartbeat.
He felt mine.
And for a moment, we were just... us.
"I don't know where this will lead," I said softly. "But I know I want to stay. With you. For now."
Kael's voice was just above a whisper. "Then I'll be here. As long as you'll let me."
And in the dark, with nothing but the stars as our witnesses, I let myself feel something other than pain.
Just for tonight.