That night was dark, and the stars above glinted as I walked over to Sahora. She sat at the edge of camp, her dagger shining in the moonlight as she cleaned it.
I sat next to her, the ground cold and hard beneath me. The trees grew sparser as we got closer to Paesuna. The ground was slowly becoming a loose bed of sand. “You should get some rest,” I told her.
Through the bond, her exhaustion seeped into my bones. Having Kathera come forward is so taxing on her body.
She shook her head. “No, knowing that there is someone out there who could be hunting us.” She paused. The air seemed to hum around her. A soft buzzing filled the space. Her power took over the air as if it was ready to command it.
“I am not able to rest.” She finally said in almost a growl.
“Sahora, you can’t fight in a war if you are unable to keep your eyes open.” Her eyes flashed as they met mine. The bond radiated heat from her anger, but beneath it lay a sense of fear.
“It sounds like this war was going on long before I entered the picture.” She snapped, her gaze returning to the dunes beginning to form in front of us.
I nodded; her anger was understandable. She should have been told about Carlosa sooner. “Yes, it had been waging for seven years before the freeze started. I didn’t think Carlosa and her army would have awakened yet.”
She sighed and continued cleaning her dagger. “So ten shards, ten essences, and a war to fight before our happy ending, huh?”
I huffed a breath. “Yeah.” Her dagger glistened in the light. But that wasn’t what I wanted to see under the stars right now.
Slowly, I reached forward and cupped Sahora’s cheek, and I turned her face towards me. My heart needed to see her, to touch her. I needed to know that no matter what, we were going to get through this together.
For a moment I just stared into her eyes, the two colors made me want to fall into her; her face seemed to glow in the moonlight, and I pulled her closer to me. She let me, as the wind picked up slightly around us and I wanted nothing more than to hold her. Gently, I rubbed my thumb along the line of her cheekbone. She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes.
Sahora opened her eyes and placed her hand on top of mine. “Still want to remake the cosmos to make sure we have our little cabin?” She said with a slight chuckle, but the bond betrayed her worry that maybe I had decided it was too much.
I leaned in slightly. “Only if you intend to be by my side while I do it.”
She studied me for a moment, and Banthys did, I try not to look too long at her lips. “I will never leave your side.” She finally said, setting the dagger on the ground behind us and leaning in.
For a moment she just rested her head on the crook of my shoulder. Silence filled the space as we sat in each other's arms.
Then, almost hesitantly, she looked up at me, her eyes full of something I had never seen in them before. A fire that seemed to burn deeply inside her.
She slowly moved closer, her breath grazing mine. Her eyes dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes. The bond pulsed with passion as she pressed her lips to mine.
Electricity flowed through us as we lost ourselves in each other. We sank into the dirt; Sahora's lips moved against mine, her fingers tangling into my hair. My hands roamed places I had not yet had the privilege to touch.
The bond flared white-hot against my skin as we let the stars take our breath away.