A room without doors
The cabin felt smaller now.
Maybe it was the storm. Or maybe it was us. Two bodies pretending not to orbit each other.
Kael sat in the corner, head against the wall, legs sprawled like he had no intention of moving.
I stood by the window, arms crossed. Watching the rain slide down glass like it was trying to weep for me.
No one spoke.
The fire hissed low, clawing against the damp.
"You're quiet," he finally said.
I didn't turn. "You want a medal for that observation?"
"Just making sure you're still human."
"Define 'human'."
He sighed. "The part where you talk. Feel. Breathe."
"I'm doing one of those."
"Two, actually," he muttered.
Silence again.
I could feel his gaze. Heavy. Intent.
The kind that peeled you back without touching.
"I don't like being looked at," I said.
He didn't apologize. "You look different."
"Broken?"
"Real."
I turned.
Big mistake.
His eyes locked onto mine like they'd been waiting.
"I'm not used to this," I said.
"To what?"
"People."
His brow lifted. "I'm not people."
No. He wasn't.
Kael was fire trapped in a body. And I was a girl made of cold stone, crumbling faster than I wanted.
He stood, slow, fluid. Like the pain in his side didn't exist anymore.
"You keep running from me," he said.
"I keep surviving."
He stepped closer. Just one pace. Just enough.
"Then why are you still here?"
I swallowed.
His voice dropped. "Why didn't you run when I burned?"
My throat tightened. "Because I don't run from fire."
"No." Another step. "You absorb it."
He was in front of me now.
Close enough to feel the warmth off his skin. Close enough to hear the tremble in his breath.
His fingers lifted.....hesitated....then brushed my jaw. Barely there. A question.
I didn't answer.
Didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Because I didn't trust myself not to lean in.
Not to crave.
His thumb traced a line just below my cheekbone.
"You're shaking," he whispered.
"It's cold."
"You're lying."
I hated how soft he sounded. Like he knew.
Like he felt what I didn't want to admit.
His forehead touched mine.
Just for a second.
Just long enough to ruin me.
"I can't kiss you," I breathed.
His hand curled around the back of my neck, gentle.
"I know."
"If I feel too much..."
"You'll break," he finished. "So will I."
"But you want to."
His voice was fire in my ear.
"I want to burn, Ariya."
The air cracked.
And then.....
He stepped back.
Just like that.
The space between us grew sharp again.
I bit my lip. Hard enough to taste iron.
Kael turned, like nothing had happened.
Like we hadn't just almost made a choice that could end us both.
"Get some sleep," he said. "Tomorrow we move."
I didn't sleep.
And neither did he.