by Lisa Daniels
Those almost adoring features on him made her consider Lissa’s suggestion again. When they would kiss. If they would kiss.
Telling him that she wouldn’t exactly mind if he wanted to kiss her. Though she didn’t know how to kiss. That thought froze her up slightly, because she didn’t want to embarrass herself or him. But then again, how exactly would she learn to kiss effectively if she never kissed at all?
“It made me think that, you know… how hard it is to say things, sometimes?” Kelsey said, waiting for him to nod. He rubbed the top of her hand gently as he did so. “It feels like if I spend too long worrying about what to say, there might come a day when I’ll never be able to say anything at all. Because the person I want to speak to is gone, or I am.”
“I know what you mean.” His eyes went from soft to distant. “We always think we have more time. We think we have years and years ahead of us. But life can end at any moment. Any time.” He held her hand tighter and brushed her knuckles with his cool lips. “We never realize how much time we have until it’s gone.”
His words stirred something raw inside her. Regrets that she didn’t want to process. Like all the times she could have done something, said something. Made her choice to run, to love…
Each and every moment had slipped away from her, somehow. Even her own powers—she never had the opportunity to explore them before. Or realize even that she had them to try out.
She’d missed out on a huge chunk of her life that way. “I was curious, by the way, how you and Lissa were as friends. Before I suppose you separated, and she came to live instead on some lonely island too far away for casual contact.”
“We used to be best friends,” he said, after considering how to reply. He didn’t let go of her hand, and she wasn’t inclined to make him. “She had the accident with her magic when the ship carrying us was taken away, and she wanted to go back and save her pet kitten, which had been left behind. She… she ended up killing her own brother with the loss of control of her powers and damaged her face. And her parents couldn’t look at her without seeing the person who killed their precious son. So she came to live with my family, and we got an elderly storm witch to come and teach her control.
“She helped us rake in more money for a while and tried to confess her love for me.” His mouth twisted uncomfortably, and Kelsey cringed, instantly picking up on why. “But… I didn’t love her that way. And then I lost my sister to an abuser, and she found my habits of picking up strays… bad. She left in the end. We didn’t speak to each other for years. But we were gradually getting back into contact for the past two years. Both of us getting older, both of us realizing that whatever had happened, we used to be best friends at one point.”
“At least you reconciled.” Kelsey’s mood dropped, thinking of Lissa. Living alone. “I wonder if she found anyone else?”
“I don’t know. She never said. And I never thought to ask.” He gave a half-shrug, uncomfortable.
“Well, I hope she’ll find some happiness.” Kelsey closed her eyes for a moment. “Thanks for telling me this. Was she… friends with your sister?”
She opened her eyes to see him nod mutely. She also knew she wouldn’t get much more out of him on the matter. Seemed both Luan and Lissa knew something more of Perran’s past than Kelsey fully comprehended. Though she wasn’t sure if she’d ever comprehend the way he did. She’d never lost anyone. Yet.
Now, both their eyes rested on their still-clasped hands. His eyebrows arched upwards. “You can let go any time. I’m not stopping you from doing it.”
Her heartbeat nearly doubled its pace, and her fingers twitched in his, but she didn’t let go. Her throat constricted horribly before she managed to say, “What if I don’t want to let… go?”
A grin joined the raised eyebrows. “Is that so?”
She nodded, hardly daring to believe what she’d just said.
If she thought speaking her mind was difficult, it was nothing compared to admitting she might have feelings to someone she liked. Was it too soon?
Skies, she hoped not. “I’m not sure if you… like me,” she said, her left knee now experiencing the sensation of turning to liquid, as she could barely stand on it without shaking. “I mean, I’m not great at reading things, and maybe what I see isn’t what I think I’m seeing…”
He let her babble on incessantly, until he said, “You’re not mistaking what you think there is between us. It’s been… great to see how much you’ve improved. An honor, even.” He brought his other hand to her. “But regardless of how I’m feeling, how I want to watch you grow into your new self, to share the journey with you… I don’t want you to feel any pressure. I never helped you just so I could get into a relationship.”
“I know that.” Kelsey beamed. “But I’m glad it turned out this way all the same. I want to find out more about myself. These powers. And to… maybe see how things might go with you. I… um… have to warn you.” Her cheeks flushed. “I have very little experience in romance.”
Perran’s eyes twinkled at this. “Perhaps I can help.” He leaned tantalizingly close. “You’ve come a long way,” Perran whispered in her ear, sending a delicious, warm shiver through Kelsey, making her want to melt into his arms. “But remember this. You should never feel like you don’t deserve anything.” His lips were so close. She imagined them touching her skin. Excitement welled up, thinking of what they might do together. If he took that extra step.
If she did. She’d never been one for bold moves. People had stamped those tendencies out of her, brutally, leaving her too timid and passive to do anything.
Right now, with a sudden blaze of fury, she realized she hated being that person. Someone others saw and immediately took advantage of. Someone who stood on the precipice, always wanting, never taking. Because somehow, she’d convinced herself it wasn’t her right to do so.
Right now, Perran effectively encouraged her. She might not be the smartest person around, but she knew he was waiting for her to act now, not him.
The choice was all hers.
Still riding that burst of anger, she nudged her head against Perran, causing him to move and present the perfect angle for them to touch lips together. He certainly didn’t expect her to kiss him so hard, so desperately, and though he engaged in the contact with pleasure, with eagerness, the roaring sensations inside Kelsey ended too soon. He pulled away from her, breathless, looking slightly dazed. “What was that, Kelsey?”
“I just—” I’m kissing you. That shouldn’t be hard to understand. She tried to reach for his lips again, but he stopped her by placing one long finger upon her lips.
“No need to rush it. You don’t need to kiss me like you’re drowning.”
She froze with the touch of his finger still upon her, breathing harder than she normally did, both excitement and confusion quivering within. “Did I hurt you?”
“No! No,” he said, smiling. “But I’m thinking you haven’t had much experience with kissing, have you?”
And now here came the shame, ready to ride over her previous fire. “I… no...”
“It’s okay. Really. I’m just saying you’ll need a lot of practice if you’re planning to do that again.” He wore a slight smirk on his features, and Kelsey blinked rapidly at him. What?
“Do you… plan to let me practice?” She couldn’t gauge his mood, or decide whether she was embarrassed or eager. Another part of her screamed to withdraw and hide before she somehow messed up the situation more, but she kept herself firmly rooted.
“Why, yes… it can be another part of your ongoing education,” Perran said, brushing his stubbled cheek against hers. He removed his finger at last. “But only if you’re absolutely sure you want this.”
“Yes,” she said. He moved back to examine her from a different angle, and she could have sworn she saw pride in his features.
“Good. Always know what you want.” He leaned forward, slower than her rush, prompting a similar motion from her. Their lips pres
sed against one another with a quiet warmth. His lips opened slightly, and he closed his eyes. Kelsey, feeling incredibly awkward leaving her own eyes open, copied the gesture. It felt much more natural, much easier to focus on the activity happening with their mouths. Much easier to… to sink into his touch, to feel like every part of her was melting, seeking to absorb him into her.
“Just follow my movements,” he said in a gasp, pausing the kissing long enough to say so. “Don’t worry about kissing all by yourself. Just… respond to what I do.”
“ ‘Kay,” she managed to answer in a strangled whisper, before he moved his lips, always switching position between her top and bottom lip. His hands clasped around her back, gradually sliding up so that his fingers splayed over her cheeks, and the tips pressed into the skin just past her ears. The realization of what he was doing sent a huge kick of arousal into her stomach, and when she surfaced for air between kisses, her breathing was every bit as heavy as his.
Skies, she could get used to this. You didn’t have to love to kiss like this, did you? It was something those in love did. The thought of potentially being in love with him, or falling for him, made her feel vulnerable. Love made people vulnerable. Even false love did.
But, vulnerable or not, she didn’t want to stop drowning in his kisses.
When his left hand slid from her cheek to trail down to the hem of her shirt, another crazy jolt went through her stomach. So much feeling into such a simple act. She wanted to explore further. To turn it from kisses to something else.
A sharp rap at the door shocked her back into clear, sudden thought, and she leaped away from Perran, in time for him to hastily neaten his jacket and hair. “Yes?” he croaked, before clearing his voice. “Come in.”
The door opened to Alex. “Hey, I’m just—” She paused. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” squeaked Kelsey, eyes wide. “Nothing. Nothing at all. We were doing nothing. Just talking.”
“It’s all right,” Perran said, a strained smile coating his lips. “What did you want?”
Alex made a soft click noise with her tongue. “Lissa wants some help. There’s a storm coming up—a bad one, she says.”
“I can’t sense one,” Kelsey said, puzzled. One of the skills she’d developed was tasting storm energy in the air, and nothing told her otherwise.
“You’ll certainly see one,” Alex said. “Come on.”
Perran briefly touched Kelsey’s hand as she scrambled away from him. “I need to visit the bathroom first.”
* * *
Up on deck, she saw that Alex was right. Though the storm wasn’t sensed, it certainly could be seen. “Is that a normal storm?” Kelsey staggered to Lissa’s side, and it happened to be the side that permanently drooped.
“Looks like one of those wildstorms you find on Zamorka,” Alex said coolly, joining them. “I was there. The wind witches can barely manage them.”
“Lucky for them this time,” Lissa said with a growl, “we have two storm witches on the scene.”
“They’re not normal storms. There’s something wrong with them,” Alex said, before ducking off with the rest of those who couldn’t contribute against the storm. Luan, Evelyn, and Rukia stood grim in their alcove, attempting to work protective winds over the Elegant.
“What’s my role?” Kelsey asked, eyeing the storm with apprehension. It rolled towards them like a pursuer, as if it were exclusively targeting their ship alone.
“Absorption. Making sure the worst of the storm’s energies don’t hit us. And suck so much energy out of it that we dissipate it.”
“Wait, we can do that?”
“Of course. We can get rid of storms. Most people think they can just get away with lightning rods and air witches. They forget just how valuable a storm witch is.” Lissa rubbed her hands, preparing, and Kelsey shivered, not really seeing how the two of them could handle that monstrous storm. The skies darkened around them. Winds picked up speed. Flashes of yellow and blue and green peeped through—colors Kelsey wasn’t used to witnessing in a storm. The energy felt crazed, chaotic.
“This is bad!” Evelyn screeched from the alcove, before the winds drowned out her voice completely. “We’re thousands of feet up! We can’t take shelter even if we push for it! So you two better be up to snuff!”
“Air witches,” Lissa said with a contemptuous glance at Evelyn. “Always so arrogant.” The first of the lightning flashed, and Lissa raised her hands, redirecting it to strike her in a blaze of brilliance.
“Come on, Kelsey! Draw upon it!”
Delving into the chaos of this storm almost swept Kelsey off her feet magically. Even touching it sent a wildness inside her, a mounting hysteria that made her want to laugh and cry. Bolt after flickering bolt slammed into her, the lights dancing behind her closed eyelids. When Kelsey touched on a strange, balled-up sensation within the storm with her mind, like a swirling vortex, she tugged at it. Light exploded as thousands of tendrils of lightning jolted into Kelsey at once, making her stagger backwards, bursting with electricity, bracing against the stream of power.
“That’s it!” Lissa screamed her approval, joining Kelsey, splitting up the channeled lightning between them. Rain slashed Kelsey’s face, and the winds that broke through the air witch’s protection caressed her static-risen hair. Gasping from the power, Kelsey redirected the stream downwards, wasting the energy, letting it disappear into nothingness. No way could she contain so much power without it exploding within her. The two witches continued pulling in lightning, each time feeling as if Kelsey was breaking open a dam, letting lightning surge out the gap.
I’m actually doing this, she thought, her lips opening, laughing wildly, insanely, juiced up on storm energy. The ship lurched, and Lissa and Kelsey, unable to control themselves, were flung off the edge of the ship. By the time Kelsey registered falling through flickering, raining darkness, something grasped her like an invisible windy hand, and plonked her unceremoniously back on board the ship. Panting, she saw Evelyn gesturing, her hand movements following Lissa’s descent onto deck.
Lissa laughed, her face contorted from the effort, kneeling and swaying back and forth as she took in more lightning. Taking deep breaths, Kelsey persisted in her efforts to break the storm.
It really felt like they were snatching droplets in a vast ocean. Barely making a dent in the frenzied thunder and lightning surrounding them. However, the reaching for the storm’s energy became harder as it grew distant. Her eyes focused on a speck of light within the calming storm, and she hissed in surprise. Nudging Lissa, she pointed, and both witches squinted, trying to make out what it was they saw.
“What in storm’s name…” Lissa’s voice was audible, now that the winds had died down. Both of them were drenched and shivering, and very much in need of warmth. “Is that a ship?”
Whatever it was, it approached them, getting larger by the second. Kelsey and Lissa sucked in more storm energy, and finally, people upon the ship—more a boat than a ship, really—were waving at them.
Lissa’s jaw opened in shock and joy. There were about fourteen people crammed onto the boat. “Survivors…” Lissa said. “They’re from my island! Oh, Yerity, you clever little witch!” she roared at a blonde-haired woman sitting at the front, as she steered the boat next to theirs.
“Permission to dock?” the woman called Yerity grinned. “Thought I saw some storm witch absorption going on here.”
Meridas, who had scrambled to Lissa and Kelsey’s sides, saluted. “Permission to dock.”
The survivors from the fallen island edged on board, and the storms around them abated. Lissa, joyful, went off to talk to her fellow islanders. Kelsey sucked in the last of the unnatural energies, redirecting it, then lay flat on the deck, staring now at clear blue skies. She couldn’t stop grinning. Her grin widened further when Perran crouched beside her.
“Permission to pick you up?” he said softly, one eyebrow arched.
“Granted,” she replied, raisin
g her wet arms to him.
Chapter Ten– Perran
Perran hovered behind Luan, as she, along with Haut, interrogated the fourteen newcomers. No matter how noble they’d been in rescuing these people, they also needed to confirm that none of the islanders had criminal history. It was probably too much to hope that one of them might be an incredibly stupid fugitive, but still, better to check than to not.
Their last prisoner had already been disposed of, since under legal rights, the police force could execute a known criminal if they were responsible for the deaths of ten or more people. And since their little criminal overlord happened to be chafing the hundreds with his body count… he didn’t serve much use other than spilling the names of his contacts.
“None of them are Zamorkan,” Luan said to Perran after she’d finished interrogating the second to last, leaving the room behind the slightly bewildered refugee. “Unless they’re dyeing their hair, I suppose, but you don’t get a whole lot of hair dye in these parts. Most of them are afraid of Zamorka as well, think it’s infested with demons. And one of them was prickly as a hedgehog, but that’s because living as a hermit does that to you. They seem to be good.”
“Thanks,” Perran said, smiling at her. He turned to Haut, who’d come out from the other cabin. His refugee was still inside. “What’s your verdict?”
“The one in my cabin, I don’t trust,” Haut said shortly. “He’s not a known criminal, he doesn’t look Zamorkan, but I think we better keep a close eye on him. He might have some criminal contacts.”
“Noted,” Perran said. Haut called for the man to leave the cabin, and the three of them watched the man pace down the corridor, giving nervous glances at them the whole time.
“He is sweating like a pig,” Luan noted, pursing her lips. “Maybe I can… pay him a visit. A friendly one.”
“Friendly?” Haut rolled his eyes. He nudged her playfully. “We all know what your brand of ‘friendly’ is.”