The silence between them becomes too heavy.
Too intense.
Kael's forehead is still pressed against Lunaya's, their breath mingling, their hands searching for each other without daring to truly touch.
He whispers:
"If I touch you again...
I won't be able to stop."
Lunaya gently takes his jaw, forcing his gaze to meet hers.
"Then don't stop."
Kael freezes.
He seems unable to breathe.
"Lunaya..."
His voice trembles. She realizes that he is on the edge of an inner precipice.
The one he has been holding back for days.
The one where his instincts run wild.
The one where he is so afraid of losing her... or wanting her too much.
She brings her mouth close to his.
They brush against each other.
A breath.
A warmth.
Kael groans as if something had just been torn from him.
"Tell me not to..."
"Kael.
I want you to kiss me."
That's all it took.
He grabs her.
Not roughly.
Not violently.
But with an urgency that has been burning in his chest since the first second he saw her.
Their lips meet.
The kiss is slow at first.
Deep.
Like recognition.
A promise.
As if they were whispering secrets without words.
Then it becomes more intense.
Kael slid one hand behind her neck, the other around her waist to pull her closer.
Lunaya clung to his shirt, pulling him even closer, as if she couldn't breathe otherwise.
The world disappeared around them.
Her heart beat against his.
The Resonance vibrated, discreet, warm, resonating deep into their bones.
Kael pulls away just enough to take a tiny breath, his forehead against hers, his lips still brushing hers.
He whispers, his voice hoarse:
"I knew you would be my end."
She smiles against his mouth.
"And I knew you would be my beginning."
He kisses her again.
More gently this time.
A kiss that does not seek to consume her, but to keep her.
To cherish her.
Then, suddenly...
The ground shakes.
An icy breath sweeps through the clearing.
The leaves rustle, as if a presence were slipping through them.
Kael pushes her away slightly, his golden eyes suddenly alert.
"Someone's coming."
A dark silhouette appears between the trees.
Slender.
Winged.
The silver feathers shimmer with an ashen light.
A raven.
No...
The raven.
The Fourth.
Erynd.
He steps out of the shadows, his gaze strangely calm... but fixed directly on Lunaya, as if he already knew everything.
"At last, he says in a deep voice.
I have found you."
Kael tensed, ready to fight.
Lunaya, still trembling from the kiss, felt her heart skip a beat.
Erynd bowed slightly before her.
"Lunaya.
I have come... because you called me."