Page 82 of Emylia

What could I say to make this better?

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing I could say to make this right.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. “I’m- I’m so sorry.”

Maalikai merely shrugged, like it didn’t affect him. “I don’t remember a single thing about them, I think that’s what hurts most.” Lips that were impossibly full parted, his teeth biting his bottom lip like it could somehow stop the pain.

I’m not sure when I began to move but one second there was a universe between us and the next, I was in his arms.

A moment passed as I stood there, his arms still limp at his side, like his grief had somehow stolen his ability to move.

My chest broke apart, weeping with the tangible pain radiating from him that somehow felt like it connected us. I rose to the tips of my toes, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, willing his pain to ease, like I could somehow make the pain go away if I concentrated hard enough.

Out of nowhere, the tension visibly eased as he wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hair, his warm breath caressing my neck as he breathed me in.

This wasn’t the same impassive person I’d seen only moments before.

His pain was raw.

Obliterating.

His voice was rough when he spoke again, “My uncle once told me I have the same eyes as my mother, it is the only thing I know about her.”

Heart cracking open, I couldn’t even imagine how he must feel. I may have lost my dad but at least I had a chance to know him, a chance to love him. Maalikai had missed out on that entirely.

“Maalikai…”

A tight-lipped smile broke through the sorrow that had settled into his striking features. “Sometimes, I find myself imagining what she looked like.” A wounded chuckle escaped him. “How stupid does that sound?”

Putting just enough space between us, I studied his face, I couldn’t move past the painful look haunting his eyes. “That’s not stupid, that’s human. I try to remember my dad’s face everyday. I never want to forget it.”

Taking a deep breath, Maalikai reached both hands to the nape of his neck, taking hold of something that had been hidden beneath his shirt before carefully removing it. Before I could ask him what it was, he had taken my hand, the cool weight of an object pressed between our palms.

As gently as I dared, I opened my hand, studying the object that glistened back at me.

Ocean-born hues danced in the light–blues and greens twisting together in otherworldly patterns, creating shades I’d never even imagined. The sliver of mystery stone was uneven, raw, its imperfect shape only deepening its wild, unpolished beauty.

“It was my mother’s. The only family heirloom left behind. The only piece of her left.” Maalikai’s voice broke, terrorizing my already shattered heart.

“It’s breathtaking.”

“I made it into a necklace so I can wear her close to my heart.”

Whatever was left of my shattered heart disintegrated. I couldn’t fathom how much hurt he was feeling.

Mouth parting, Maalikai looked at me like I was the answer, like I could somehow make it all better. The air grew thicker between us, every breath a painful, ragged plea. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, but it wasn’t him who moved.

As if possessed, I closed the distance between us, my lips grazing his cheek, claiming it as my own. Without thinking, I trailed a series of kisses along his cheekbone, trying to mimic gentleness I’d only ever witnessed, never experienced.

His body went rigid, almost as if he was afraid to move.

Afraid to breathe.

Then, without warning, I brushed my lips against his. It wasn’t what I’d call a kiss, it was too chaste, too vulnerable. It was a joining of our souls, stripping down his pain and leaving him open and bare. And he let me.

He didn’t need to deepen the kiss, he didn’t need to kiss me hungrily, he just let me heal him with the delicate touch.

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