The night had grown calm by the time Kamin reached the camp.
The air smelled faintly of smoke and rain — fire's ashes tamed by water's breath.
He laid Yuri gently on a woven blanket near the stream that bordered their resting ground. Her hair, loosened from its tie, spilled over the fabric like strands of night silk.
She was pale, her lashes trembling, still lost in uneasy dreams.
Kamin crouched beside her, adjusting the edge of the blanket so the wind wouldn't chill her. His hand lingered near her face — close enough to feel the warmth that still clung to her skin.
He should have moved away.
Instead, for a heartbeat, he watched the faint rise and fall of her chest — the rhythm of someone who had risked her life to save others.
Finally, he exhaled and reached to stand—
But something soft caught his wrist.
Yuri's fingers.
Still half-asleep, she had grasped his hand, her grip small but firm. Kamin froze, every muscle going still as her touch sent a strange shiver through him.
He tried gently to free himself. "Yuri…" he whispered.
Her brow furrowed. Instead of letting go, she turned in her sleep — and in that instant, her movement pulled him off balance.
He fell forward.
His hands braced instinctively, one sinking into the blanket beside her head, the other still caught in hers. His weight hovered just above her, his breath mingling with hers.
Yuri's eyes fluttered open.
For a moment, neither spoke. Her gaze met his — wide, startled, golden in the dim light.
The world seemed to hush: only the sound of the stream, the wind, and two unsteady hearts.
"K-Kamin?" she breathed.
He blinked, equally frozen. "You— grabbed my hand."
"I— I didn't mean to!" she stammered, cheeks flushing.
He shifted to move away, but the blanket tangled at his knees. The motion brought them even closer — his hair brushing her forehead, the warmth of his breath against her lips.
Time held still.
Neither of them dared to move, as if any motion would shatter the fragile, impossible calm between them.
Then Kamin exhaled softly, his voice almost a whisper.
"You should rest. You're safe now."
The words melted the tension like mist. He pushed himself up quickly, turning his face away to hide the faint heat rising in his own cheeks.
Yuri lay still, eyes wide, heart racing far faster than it should.
As he stepped outside the tent to keep watch, she pressed a hand over her chest, whispering to herself,
"Why does the enemy's heartbeat sound calmer than mine?"
Beyond the tent, the moon rose over the quiet river — water reflecting flame, two opposites bound by something neither could yet name.
Written by-
Shreyashi Singh