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She wasn’t sure how she had let it happen. How she let him talk her into this.
“It’ll be fine, a nice peaceful cruise across the gulf.” He had sounded so carefree at the time, especially for a human surrounded by a port of elves. “It’ll be a lot less rocky than ‘The Ruthless’, and it’s only a short trip. It’ll be fine! Plus, it’s a big boat with lots to do and explore!”
“And dozens of people who could discover you.” Rayla grumbled irritably under her breath. Either he didn’t hear, or he pretended not to. Grinning he took her hand, tugged the hood of his cloak a little more around his face, and led her aboard ‘The Grey Phoenix’.
The afternoon passed without issue, other than the regular seasickness she had to endure. Rayla spending most of the day grumbling on top of the deck as she listened to the laughter of Earthblood sailors and passengers, longing for the company of her princes. But they were hidden below deck, between the crates, the cargo, and the luggage. It was the safest place they could possibly be.
At least, that’s what she had thought.
He was sketching in the dim light when she finally slunk back down to join him, his face screwed up as he attempted to use a thin sunbeam peeking through one of the planks to light his page. Zym was napping next to him, his little legs twitching as he dreamt, perhaps of chasing butterflies, or dashing across an open field.
When he looked up, his eyes lit up and his face warmed. “Oh! Hey! You doing okay now?” Rayla groaned flopping down at his side, and she lay there facing away from him. His tone changed immediately, gentle and sympathetic. She felt his hand rest gently on her arm. “Oh… I’m sorry, Rayla. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No… it’s fine. I think I’m just gonna take a nap. The more of this ‘peaceful cruise’ I can sleep through, the better.”
She heard the gentle ‘thwump’ of his book closing, followed by him shuffling closer. Then his arm curled around her side as he lay behind her, his head resting against her back. She couldn’t help but smile.
“And what do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s cold down here. I don’t want you to catch a cold… Do elves get colds?” She snorted. It was an excuse, clearly, but she didn’t mind. They had grown closer over the past few weeks. Slowly, but surely. He’d been knocking down the walls she had put up to guard herself one by one, and perhaps she would admit to letting him. Perhaps she had taken a battering ram herself and helped. It had gotten to a nice comfortable place with the prince, where neither of them batted much of an eyelid anymore when it came to a warm cuddle or a gentle hand hold. It was a fleeting and necessary relief from the terrors they endured together.
He was also her best friend. She loved his affection and was thankful for his warmth. Her chuckling emboldened him to give her a gentle one armed squeeze.
“We’ll be there before you know it, Rayla.”
For a moment, things were okay. She could ignore the feeling of the boat rocking, or the sounds of the water rushing past outside. At some point Callum had started to lightly play with her fingers and it lulled her gently into a peaceful sleep.
It was short-lived.
Rayla was rudely awoken to a horrible screeching sound, one that clearly jerked Callum and Zym to reality too. A grinding, scratching, then a horrible rumble and crashing. The cargo around them collapsed and clattered around the hold, the trio thrown around too by what felt like a huge collision. Then, for a moment, silence. Pained groans.
“Ngh… Everyone okay?” Rayla called out as she lay among the debris. There was a scrabbling to her right and a snuffling sound as Zym’s head popped up above her. The little dragon scaled down a mountain of boxes and jumped into the waiting elf’s arm. From her left came a pained groan and she watched as an arm appeared from behind a crate with a half-hearted thumbs up. A fleeting relief passed over Rayla, her boys were okay.
And then she felt it.
Cold, trickling between her fingers. Water. Her heart lurched.
“Uh… C-Callum?”
The boy pulled himself up and over the crate as he scrambled to reach her. “Yeah I-I noticed. We’re taking on water, come on, we need to get above deck-”
Rayla had only just staggered to her feet when there was another jolt, sending her, Zym, and Callum crashing painfully back to the floor. They could hear people yelling, sprinting about above them. Muffled words and cries of panic. Callum reacted first, rushing for the only door up to the deck, Zym followed at his heel. But Rayla stayed stuck to the spot, watching hopelessly.
It soon became apparent that their exit was jammed shut from the other side. He started yelling as loudly as he could, in the hopes that perhaps someone would hear, someone would come to their rescue. Zym scrabbled at the door too like a dog desperate to get out, yelping.
“Hey! Help! Heeeeelp!” Callum smashed his fists against the side of the door, but to no avail. No one was coming. They were stuck. Trapped. No way out.
The sound grew distant to Rayla. Her legs felt weak beneath her, the ship swirling dangerously. She staggered, steadying herself against a crate. But now there was a horrible tightness in her chest.
They were going to die here. Worse, they were going to drown here.
Rayla’s fingers curled, her knuckles whitening. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. The water was coming up to the middle of her shins now. How much time did they have left? Callum was rushing around looking for another exit, but she was only half aware of him wading through the water. Her pulse was pounding in her ears, and suddenly she felt frozen, numb, trembling, her lungs battling to take in air. Everything was blurring. It was too much.
She heard her name, muffled, distant.
Then again, a little closer. Callum’s figure was hazy, unfocused, Rayla was too lost in her own terrifying panic attack to really know what was happening. The only thing she was truly aware of was the water creeping slowly but surely up to her waist now.
“Rayla!” That time it was clearer, and she felt something warm on her shoulders starting to ground her. His hands. They shifted gently until her was tenderly cupping her cheeks, his face close to hers. The numbness in her fingers started to fade and trembling, her hands rose to hold him, to try and pull him towards her like an anchor. “Rayla, deep breaths… come on…”
It was hard with the continuing panic of the rising water but she tried desperately, spurred on by his voice, to suck in deeper breaths than the shaky gasps she had been taking. It was still hard to make anything out, it was darker now, but she could feel her trembling start to ease.
“Ray… Rayla hey… look at me. C’mon…” She could feel his thumbs brushing against her skin, as she tried to bring herself back into the moment. His blurry face started to focus a little as she met his eyes. Kind and warm. “We’re gonna be okay. I promise.” He brushed the damp hair sticking to her face out of her eyes. “But I need you to help me. Please.”
“I-I…” She took a breath then nodded weakly. Callum smiled, a little more determined.
“Okay.”
“W-Where… Where’s Zym…?”
“I found a hole leading up to the deck and managed to squeeze him through just before it started letting more water in.” He swallowed hard. “Rayla we need to make our own way out of here. Do you think you can help me rip open a hole in the wood with your blades?”
“A-And let more water in? Are you mad?” Her mouth was still dry but she was starting to come to her senses now.
“We need to swim out somehow!”
“Callum, my blades are meant for combat, they’re light, delicate, you start trying to use them to leverage wood and they’ll just bend and snap-!”
There was another horrible crashing and grinding and suddenly the vessel tilted, throwing them both sideways. Callum landed with a painful ‘Hrf!’. Rayla landed less painfully as he cushioned her collision.
“W-What was that?”
“I think we just hit the bottom of the ocean.” Callum wheezed, still winded.
“Oh. Great.”
The water was coming in faster now. It wasn’t long before the pair’s feet left the ground, and they were paddling, bound for the ceiling of the boat. They were silent for a few seconds, brains whirring, trying desperately to find a solution. Then she saw something in Callum’s eyes, a glimmer of hope followed by remorse and concern.
“What…? What is it?”
“I have an idea but… I don’t think you’re gonna like it very much.” Rayla groaned. Something in her heart, a part of her that knew Callum as well as she knew herself, already knew what he was going to suggest and he was right… she really didn’t like it. “I’m gonna blast a hole in the side of the hull. Do you remember that spell I learnt from that monk a few days ago? We’ll use that, then we’ll swim through up to the surface. Easy peasy.”
“How do you know a Sunfire spell will even work under water?”
“I-I don’t. But it’s the only thing I can think of.” Rayla’s eyes searched his desperately for any glimmer of reassurance. She gripped his shoulders tightly.
“Callum if we die…”
“We won’t.”
“But if-”
“Shh…” Rayla’s words caught in her throat when Callum bumped his forehead gently to hers. “I’m not going to let that happen.” The water was up to their chins now, Rayla’s horns glancing the ceiling, and she could see the determination in his eyes waning as fear took hold. “Rayla… hold your breath.”
She did. Rayla gasped for air, as much as could fill her lungs, watching Callum do the same as he dived down below the inky depths. Rayla hesitated a few seconds longer before following. Callum had wasted no time, already at the side of the ship sketching out a rune in the water. Rayla had never been a particularly strong swimmer, but she paddled over trying to keep down the anxiety and dread gnawing at her insides.
A realisation struck her the second she watched his eyes widen in horror. Something that in their panic, they had forgotten. He needed to speak to release the spell. But they were underwater- would it work? Did it matter if the words were incomprehensible so long as they were spoken? It was a terrible gamble, one that would cost him the breath he was holding and there was no more precious air above them to catch before they escaped.
Gods, they could only hope it counted. There was no other way out.
Callum gave her an anxious nod, and then she listened to the garbled noise of his voice, bubbles rippling from his mouth. She knew the spell well, one he had picked up from a travelling Sunfire monk who had helped Callum learn to connect to the Sun Arcanum.
‘Ignis Pila’. A fire blast spell.
Rayla watched as a blast of amber energy shot from Callum’s fingers, the spell hissing and bubbling as it went, momentarily boiling the water around it. It collided with the hull and Rayla watched the wood splinter and tear apart under the force leaving a huge gaping hole in the side of the ship’s underbelly. She would have sighed out of relief under different circumstances. But instead she kept her lips shut tight as she scrambled forward to get through the hole, Callum giving her a gentle push as she went.
It was disorienting, being underwater. And with each passing second her chest grew tighter with the desperate need for air. But the one good thing about the ship having sunk to the bottom of the gulf was that it gave her a sense of direction. There was the ocean floor. So all she needed to do was swim in the opposite direction to find the surface. She pulled herself through the water desperately, able to kick off of debris for an extra boost. But fatigue began to set in, her vision growing faint. Little bubbles escaped the corners of her mouth. So close… So close…!
She burst through the surface of the water with a desperate gasp, splashing desperately for a moment until she felt her hand catch on something wooden and she pulled it towards her, something to cling to while she caught her breath. It was one of the ship masts, floating mournfully on the surface torn from its deck. It took her a few heaving gasps before she groaned, both relieved and utterly spent.
And then she heard a noise. A chirp, and yapping. Rayla cracked an eye open to something silhouetted against the sun, circling overhead. At first she thought some sort of bird of prey looking for an easy meal. Then it fluttered down, nuzzling desperately at her cheek and she knew.
“Z-Zym…?” Zym purred softly rubbing his face against hers and she chuckled weakly. “Hey there lil’ one… It’s alright… we’re alright, see…?” But Zym didn’t seem entirely at ease. He was looking around nervously for something, whining.
It took Rayla a moment, groggy and exhausted, to realise why. Then a new panic set in. “Callum?” She hadn’t heard him surface. Perhaps he took a different way up? Maybe he was on the other side of all this rubble.
Or…
“Callum!?” She cried out the terror dripping off his name. She turned back to the anxious little dragon perched next to her. “Zym, did you see him come up?” Zym whimpered hanging his head low.
Oh… oh no.
Rayla stared at the dragon horrified for a few extra seconds. Callum was still under the water, for whatever reason. He would die down there, she had barely made it to the surface herself and-
Rayla threw herself from the mast of the boat, the last noise she heard before submersion was the terrified cry of her baby dragon as she frantically pulled herself back down into the depths. Down, down through the horrific substance she hated more than anything in the world. To find her boy, the one person she loved more than anything in the world. She pulled herself down towards the wreck, thankful that this part of the gulf wasn’t particularly deep, and scanned it with desperation. Where was he…?
Her eyes caught something dark blue, the blue of his jacket, swaying in the currents on the ocean floor. Something red trailing into the water. At first, Rayla instinctively thought it was his scarf. But that couldn’t be. The boy’s scarf was wrapped around her neck, gifted to her a few days earlier to borrow.
No. That was blood in the water.
Rayla pushed her body to the limit now kicking through the water urgently to get to him. She had no time to question how this had happened. How any of this had happened really, she just needed to get to him, and get him up to the surface as quickly as she could. When she got closer he almost looked peaceful. Like he was simply sleeping, his face relaxed and emotionless, lips ever so slightly parted. But the ribbon of blood streaming from a cut on his head told a different story as it curled upwards and away from him.
Her lungs were already starting to ache, and so she only spared the most fleeting of glances at his face before wrapping her arms around his waist and spring boarding off the sandy sea bed up towards the surface. Her insides were burning for air again as she yanked him up with her, progress slowed by his weight but she made it, gasping and spluttering as Zym gave out another much more thankful cry, hopping along the mast towards her.
She scrambled to cling to it with one arm, the other still around Callum. The boy was limp, almost heavy enough to threaten dragging her back under if she didn’t keep treading water with her legs.
“Callum! C-Callum… Hey…” She supported him against the mast slightly, the boys head resting against the wood as she brushed the hair out of his eyes clumsily. “Callum wake up… look at me…”
He didn’t respond, even when the static of Zym’s licks danced across his cheek. But Rayla was too exhausted now. It was all too much. “Hold on, okay…? Hold on…” She mumbled now, scanning their surroundings. Through the debris flittering in the currents on the surface, she could make out the shoreline, their destination. Weakly, she pulled Callum through the water to a smaller, lighter plank of debris, Zym fluttering over to perch there, and she began the arduous task of paddling towards it.
Someone must have been looking out for them. They were close, and a current helped push her along towards it. Despite the fatigue in her muscles, her body desperate for rest, it was almost like there was a voice in the back of her head spurring her forward.
‘Keep going. You’re almost there.’
They washed up on the beach less than gracefully, but Rayla managed to pull her aching body up onto her hands and knees and drag Callum a little further up the beach. Zym whimpered and whined again when she finally came to a rest, panting as she brushed the hair from his face again. She smeared the little trickle of blood against his temple and swallowed hard as she looked at him properly for the first time.
Callum was pale. Horribly pale, any warmth in his face gone. His lips too were tinged with blue. Rayla fumbled, her hand shaking as she pressed her fingers to his neck to find a pulse. Her own heart had dropped into her stomach, horrified. He couldn’t be…
There was a heartbeat, flickering, weak, but it only provided minimum relief. Because she soon realised something else.
He wasn’t breathing.
She should have realised that sooner. It was why he had sunk to the ocean floor. It’s why he hadn’t woken up or moved when they reached the surface. His lungs were empty of air. “C-Callum!” Her voice cracked on his name, as her hands found his chest. She pumped it repeatedly, perhaps impulsively, in an attempt to keep his heart going, to start his lungs up again, anything. She could no longer tell if it was just the seawater dripping off her onto him, or the tears forming in her eyes as she tried to bring him back. “C-Come on, you have to stay with me! With us!”
Zym whined pawing at the boy’s arm, his eyes shimmering with tears too. ‘Get up... Come on… You have to wake up…’
Rayla paused briefly to wipe her face, her breath shaking, before she continued a little more forcefully. “Come on! I can’t do this without you! I don’t want to do this without you! We need to do this together!” She gritted her teeth, a lump forming in her throat. “A-After the war… c-come on, after the war we’re gonna fix things, a-and, and there’s gonna be parties and festivals… I want us to go together, we can just dance, and explore, a-and do stupid things that kids do... I want to watch you draw, m-maybe learn… Hey, I could even teach you to sweep the leg properly, I-I… I want- I need you in my life after this, so you need to come back to me…”
There was still no response from her beloved prince. Zym had buried his way under Callum’s arm, whimpering as he curled up resting his head on the boys shoulder.
“Please! Wake up! You stupid… s-stupid…!” Her voice cracked as fresh tears dripped onto the boy’s pale face. She ceased the pumping of his chest, her fingers bunching up fabric of his shirt, trying to swallow back a sob. “You can’t… n-not like this… not you…” A hand trailed up to his face, as she inhaled shaking breaths. “Don’t go… C-Callum you can’t…”
Rayla’s fingers trembled against his skin. He needed to breathe. Much longer and he’d be gone forever, the last flickering embers of his life slipping through her fingers.
He needed to breathe… He needed to…
Rayla pressed her lips to his. They were so cold, but soft, and oh, how she had imagined what they might feel like for so long, but this was far, far too bittersweet and painful. Her eyes stung, her cheeks warmed as another streak of tears trailed across her skin, down, until they dripped off her chin. She exhaled, trying despairingly to breathe the life back into him, her lips quivering against his own, and her hand cupping his cheek. Callum’s chest rose very faintly but other than that there was little response.
Rayla gasped for air when all of hers had left her, but she barely left his lips. “C-Callum…?” Nothing. She swallowed back the lump in her throat, stroking his cheek gently. “You idiot… y-you promised… You said we’d be okay…” She shook her head angrily, despair gnawing at every fibre of her being. Her body shook as she sobbed. “You promised…!” She leaned down and pressed her lips to his again, hopeless and broken. She tried to prepare herself mentally. To desperately hold onto the feeling of his lips against hers, knowing agonisingly that this would be the last time.
This stupid human... How dare he. How dare he sneak his way into her heart. How dare he bring warmth and happiness to her only to be cruelly snatched away. How dare he die on her like this. It wasn’t fair. Why? Why did everyone she love leave her behind?
She knew it was a hopeless effort. And yet still, she couldn’t stop herself from trying. Just… just one last chance. Rayla exhaled into him again, just to feel the bittersweet comfort of the little rise of his chest… one last time.
Perhaps it was a miracle. Perhaps some god, or spirit had pitied them in that moment. But Callum twitched, and made a little noise against her lips. Rayla pulled back surprised, and watched as the boy’s face contorted in pain and she tilted him over just in time as he began to cough and choke. Zym squeaked, jumping out of the way then watched as wide eyed as Rayla did.
His body convulsed as he hacked up the water before falling limp again, letting out a pained groan. His eyes, previously squeezed shut relaxed as he cracked them open, just barely, bleary and confused. His coughing continued in bursts, fists balled tight as his body fought to get every last drop of water out of his lungs. Rayla pulled him into her arms and squeezed him as though that might help somewhat, whilst burying her face in his shoulder, still trembling herself.
Eventually the boy made a cracked noise, as though he was trying to speak, but it only ended in more weak coughs. She rubbed circles into his back soothingly.
“Sshhhh… shh, shh, shh. J-Just… just breathe for a minute.” She whispered softly, letting her other hand find the back of his head where she combed her fingers slowly through his hair. “I’ve got you… I-I… You’re okay…” Callum relaxed in her arms, utterly exhausted, and she felt as his unsteady breaths slowly fell back into a rhythm of sorts.
He was going to be okay.
“A-Are… y-you…” His voice was strained and quiet. She felt him shift weakly in his arms as he tried to pull away from her a bit. She let him, and his eyes finally met hers. They were full with gentle concern through his pain. He lifted an arm sluggishly to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and his hand lingered there. “Are y-you okay…?”
Only Callum, she thought, almost exasperated, would be concerned about her in a moment like this. “Why are you worrying about me right now?” She whispered gently, pulling him towards her enough to bump her forehead to his. He took a moment to reply.
“B-Because… You were sc-scared… a-and…”
“Shh… I-I…” Rayla’s voice cracked. She swallowed back the emotion in her throat. “I’ll be fine. Don’t stress yourself out.”
“You s-sure…?”
Rayla pulled him closer, her arms enclosing him protectively She could feel Zym too as he jumped up to join in the hug, purring as he rubbed his cheek against Callum’s arm. “Yeah… just get some rest, Callum. For me. As long as you’re okay, I’ll be alright.” That was when she noticed his hand still cupping her cheek, and she offered him a weak smile, as she tilted her head to plant a little kiss against the palm of his thumb.
“Okay.” He whispered. “…Okay.”
---
There was a tense silence around their campfire that evening. Callum sat as close to the fire as he dared, watching the flickering flames dance and the wood crackle and pop intermittently. They were lucky it was warmer in the evenings now. It had helped dry them off slightly, without the warm evening air surrounding them, they would have surely been shivering and soaked through still.
Callum had striped his jacket off to try and dry it off better, draping it over a nearby rock close to their fire, his gloves too, and he would have done the same with his scarf if it hadn’t been draped around a certain elf’s neck.
Despite their miraculous survival, Zym was still rather forlorn as he rested his head in Callum’s lap. It had certainly been a distressing experience for them all. The boy did his best to comfort the little dragon, scratching him behind the horns, but it just slowly sent the dragon prince off to sleep, weary from the day’s events.
Rayla had been noticeably restless too. She wouldn’t sit down, pacing quietly, watching as though she was on patrol, or disappearing frequently to get more firewood. It was all just distractions, he knew, to try her best to keep he mind off of what had happened. The only time she had paused to sit near him was when she had tenderly treated the cut on his head with a small rag in his bag, but even then she barely spoke, too tense to manage any words.
It made him sad to see her like this.
So the next time she passed by him as she wandered, he brushed his hand down her arm and caught her hand. The action made her jump, snapping her from her thoughts.
“Hey.” His voice was gentle, but still Rayla’s eyes were panicked for a moment, like a deer faced against a banther. “Do you want to sit with me for a little bit?” She hesitated, looking torn for a moment. “Come on… come warm up by the fire. It’s nice.” The little tug on her arm finally convinced her, and she took a step back towards him and kneeled by his side. Callum shuffled closer carefully freeing his leg from the baby dragon, until he let their shoulders brush. “You… holding up okay?”
“I’ll manage.” There was a strained aching in her voice. “I’ll get over it. Don’t worry. How about you…?”
“I’m… sore still.” Callum rubbed at his ribs weakly. “Probably from all the coughing. H-Hey are you sure you’re…?” He watched her grimace, her eyes glistening and she shook her head, hanging it low. “Oh… oh no Ray, come here…” He pulled her into his arms feeling her tremble as she curled into him. Her breath shook as she squeezed him gently, and though it sent aches through his sides, he didn’t mind too much.
“…I’m sorry...”
“Shh…” Callum’s fingers traced gently up and down her back in soothing little patterns. “You don’t need to be sorry for being upset.”
She hummed into the collar of his shirt, her fingers absentmindedly trailing through his hair. It was a habit she had developed recently. Whenever she held him for a little longer than usual, her hand would often find its way up to run her fingers gently through his hair. Perhaps it was soothing to her. He had no objections over it, after all, it was soothing to him too.
They stayed like that for a while, quiet, just thankful for the comforting presence of each other. But while the moment was peaceful, Callum’s mind was not. His mind was racing, running over everything that had happened. The events on the ship. Him desperately swimming to the surface. A beam of wood swinging out in front of him, the sudden sharp pain then… nothing.
And then something soft and warm pulling him out of the blackness. The awful feeling of fluid in his lungs and the recoil of his body screaming at him for air. But before that… something gentle against his lips.
“Rayla can I ask you something…?” He asked quietly, his own fingers curling softly into her hair.
“Hm…?”
“When I woke up on the beach… I um…” Rayla tensed in his arms. Perhaps she could tell what he wanted to ask. “Rayla d-did you kiss me? It’s just I’m sure I felt…”
She didn’t reply at first, hesitant. Then slowly she pulled away from his arms, avoiding his eye. His hands lingered for as long as they could, until her warmth left his fingertips. She shuffled to kneel facing the fire again. Everything about her body language gave her away. She was embarrassed. Nervous. Then finally;
“Yeah. I-I did.” Her voice was small. “I-I was… trying to save you. It was the only way I could think to get you breathing again.”
Callum’s heart fluttered slightly. “Oh…” It was the only thing he could think to say, but perhaps it was a mistake. Rayla looked hurt and troubled.
“L-Look, Callum, I’m really sorry, I don’t want to make it weird between us, please-”
“Rayla, you saved my life. Why would that make things weird between us?”
The firelight flickered through her eyes as she regarded him, almost in disbelief that he wouldn’t have reservations about what had happened. “You don’t care about what happened?”
“I… didn’t say that.”
There was another tense silence, Rayla’s eyes burning into Callum’s very soul. Suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and he coughed nervously, scratching at the back of his neck as he glanced away. He needed to try and lighten the mood somehow. It was heavy, far, far too heavy right now.
“W-Wow, it’s just my luck, huh? My first kiss and I wasn’t even awake for it.”
“I don’t think it counts.” She muttered, her gaze now locked on the fire.
“Doesn’t it?” His eyes flickered to her. Her face was almost stoic, but there was a sadness in those eyes. He took her hand timidly, letting his fingers curl and trace her palm, until they straightened back up to fill the spaces between her fingers. “Don’t… you want it to count?”
“No.” It came out a bit blunt and Callum couldn’t help but flinch almost painfully. “N-No, I just mean-” Rayla stammered over her words, her eyes finally flickering to him for just a moment, before darting away nervously again. “I just, would prefer if our first kiss hadn’t been so… traumatic.” They were silent for a moment, before Rayla corrected herself, almost panicked. “M-My first kiss. I meant mine.”
Her words still stuck in his mind. Their first kiss. Theirs. Even if she had corrected herself, it seemed more out of embarrassment, or as a cover.
A question formed in his mind, but it was one that scared him, that he wasn’t sure he could force himself to say aloud.
‘Would you like a second-first kiss?’
He kept that to himself.
“I… get it.” He muttered softly. She glanced up at him dejectedly. “Rayla, I’m really sorry… That it was such a mess. All of this has been a giant mess. I never should have convinced you to take another boat. In fact, I think I’m starting to understand why you hate water so much…”
“Callum… it’s not your fault…” Her voice was gentler now as she shifted back towards him ever so slowly, tentatively. “I’m just… I’m glad you’re here right now. And that you’re okay. That’s what’s important.” She gave his hand a soft squeeze. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Callum squeezed her hand back reassuringly, running his thumb along the length of hers. His eyes had fallen to their hands, so perfectly intertwined, as though they were always meant to hold each other, and so it came as a small surprise when Rayla bumped her forehead gently to his temple. He tilted his head towards her, and then in an act of bravery raised his free hand up to let his fingers glide gently along her cheek. Her hand in his tensed a little at first then relaxed as he cupped her cheek, letting his thumb brush gently back and forth across the blue claw shaped marking under her eye. She shifted so that her forehead was pressed against his now, and Callum could no longer avoid the vibrancy of her violet eyes as they peered into his own.
He almost couldn’t breathe again. He let his nose meet hers then brush past it until their lips hovered barely an inch apart. He could feel Rayla’s hand tremble a little in his own, or perhaps it was him who was trembling, he couldn’t quite tell anymore.
His voice was soft, but cracked a little when he spoke. “Rayla… c-can I…?” Rayla’s eyes widened, shimmering a little when she realised what he meant. Her breath shook, warm against his skin. She didn’t say anything, and for a terrifying moment, Callum almost regretted the question. “I-It’s okay… you can say no if you want…” The last thing he wanted to do was force Rayla into a position she didn’t want to be in. So he waited with baited breath for her response. There was no movement at first, the pair almost frozen.
Then she leaned forward and the space between them was gone. She was surprisingly tender and gentle in her kiss. Like she was afraid that he was fragile and she might break him if she wasn’t careful. Perhaps she was just nervous too, he knew he was, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears and a little trembling lump in the back of his throat. It wasn’t exactly like he knew what he was doing, he’d never kissed anyone before. He hoped it was okay. He hoped it was as nice for her as it was for him, as he delicately caressed her lips with his own. He relaxed further, melting when he felt her hand fondly playing with his hair again, and she sighed peacefully through her nose.
In Callum’s opinion, it was pretty much the most perfect kiss of all time.
Eventually Rayla pulled away from his lips to take in a shaking breath, and Callum opened his eyes to hers, startled and surprised like she had only just realised what she had done. Reflected in her eyes he could see the realisation that everything was different now. But… perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. Eventually her eyes softened, warm and curious like she was working something out.
“Callum, your lips are warm.” She mumbled softly. It seemed, at first, like an odd observation, until he realised that last time she had fished him out of the freezing water, and he had stopped breathing. He had remembered the brief feeling of her own warm lips against his just before he had spluttered back into the world of the living.
“M-My whole face feels a little warm if you ask me.” He chuckled shyly. She smiled tenderly, letting the backs of her fingers stroke his cheek as though to check herself. He closed his eyes leaning against her touch, and his heart did another somersault as she pressed a little kiss against the corner of his mouth, then bumped her forehead gingerly against his.
They stayed like that for a while, curled up in each other’s arms. Stealing gentle kisses, sharing soft sweet words and reassurances.
Perhaps it was how closely they held each other. Perhaps it was the fire.
But their hearts felt a little warmer.