Page 83 of Beyond the Storm
The moon kissed the land in a silver glow. Flowers sprung from the earth to greet it, their petals the most vibrant as the world slept. Interesting that the most beautiful things in life were the ones very few people got to see.
Like the soft smiles that touched Kallias’ lips, and the rare instances when the sadness lifted from his eyes, showing the male beneath who was so gentle despite the curse that caused him so much grief.
The night air chilled my skin as I left the barracks and walked toward the hill where I’d sat countless times, staring at the mountain. Nikandros was right. I had been too set in my ways as a warrior to allow myself to dream of another life, but that longing had filled my chest anyway.
That other life now waited for me on that same hill.
My steps quickened. I couldn’t see Kallias yet, but I sensed him, just as I’d sensed him the night he had come to Sparta. I had rushed from my sleeping quarters, allowing that feeling to guide me to him.
Just as it did now.
Reaching the hill, I spotted Kallias sitting in the grass, arms resting on his raised knees. He stared at the valley below. The breeze ruffled the ends of his black hair while he sat motionless.
“You have an answer?” he softly asked without looking at me. Sadness clung to his words.
“I do.”
He didn’t move. It appeared as though he’d even stopped breathing, as if the anticipation of my next words froze the air around him. “Allow me a few more moments before telling me.”
He was afraid. I couldn’t blame him. If I were the one asking him to leave with me, I probably would’ve worried too.
“Very well.” Reaching his side, I sat in the grass beside him. “What do you see when you stare into the distance like this?”
“A future I’m almost too frightened to dream,” he whispered. “Yet, I dream anyway. Hoping that despite all the odds, there’s a happily ever after waiting for us. Somewhere.”
“Do warriors get happy endings?” I asked, unable to stop myself from hoping for the same. “Or is tragedy all that waits for us beyond that valley?”
“Every story is a tragedy depending on where it ends.”
“Then let’s not allow it the pleasure of ending,” I said. “We will write our own and keep it going long after the stars die.”
Finally, Kallias looked at me. I had expected to see that familiar sadness. Instead, I saw the sun. He grabbed my hand. “I think I’d like that. A life with you that we make our own.”
A sound tore from my throat as I closed the gap between our mouths. He returned my kiss, his lips holding a slight tremble. Hums rumbled from his chest. Somehow, I knew the sound came from Melancholy.
“I choose you,” I said, knotting my fingers in his hair. “That’s my answer, Kallias. It always has been.”
More hums sounded from him, like purrs. “Are you certain this is what you want?”
“I wantyou,” I said. “Wherever you go, I will follow.”
He brought my palm to his cheek. “We will follow each other.”
“Into battle or to a place beyond the valley we cannot yet see.” And gods have mercy on anyone who dared stand between us.
Kallias rose from the grass and grabbed my hands, pulling me up with him. “Do you need longer to say goodbye to your home?”
“I’ve said goodbye to Nikandros. That is all I need in order to leave with no regrets. As for my home…” I stepped closer to him, resting my forehead on his. “When Melancholy spoke through you earlier, he said I was his home. You are mine too. By your side is where I belong.”
“Even if that requires you to be a bird too?” he asked before pulling back. A glint of humor shone in his eyes.
“I am… confused. How could I—”
Kallias wrapped his arms around me and unfurled his wings. “Hold on tight.”
Realizing what he intended awoke every nerve in my body. They then dashed through my veins in swarms, like a nest of angry bees. “Remember how I once said I fear nothing? Well, perhaps there is one thing I do fear after all.”
He chuckled, and the carefree sound washed away some of my nervousness. “Do you trust me, Elasus?”
