“So, crystals it is,” Will said. “You know, it could be fun.”
Before I could respond, he jumped to his feet and reached for the nearest wall of crystal, climbing like he’d done it a hundred times before.
“Wait. Be careful! Don’t—”
A sharp crack split the air.
The crystal shifted beneath his grip, and his body dropped like a stone, hitting the water with a splash. He surfaced a second later, sputtering, water dripping from his hair, streaming down his shoulders. It traced the curve of his collarbone, caught the crystal light, and vanished beneath the surface.
“You’re hopeless.” I clapped a hand over my mouth as laughter burst out of me.
“Oh, that’s it,” he said, brushing his hair back with one hand, eyes glinting as he looked at me like I’d just declared war. ”You’re asking for it now.”
Before I could react, a wave slammed into the ledge, drenching me again from head to toe.
“No!” I shrieked, diving back in and flinging water at him with both hands.
He laughed, low and real, and I laughed too. Our voices filled the cave until the sound felt bigger than us.
Then he stopped moving. The laughter faded. His body stilled, and his eyes locked on me.
“What?” I asked, still treading water. “Will?”
My smile slipped as I looked down.
A shimmer stirred beneath my skin, soft and gold, spreading through me like light had woken up inside my bones. It tingled across every inch of me, warm and alive, until my whole body was glowing from within.
It wasn’t the crystals.
It was me.
The glow deepened with every breath, curling across my skin, wrapping my chest in light.
“Don’t look at me.” I turned away, arms crossed tight over my body, but there was no hiding it. The light poured out of me, bright and merciless, alive in a way I wasn’t ready for.
“Kera,” Will said, his voice softer than before.
“Just… don’t.”
But of course he didn’t look away. He drifted closer, letting the water carry him toward me. The glow spilling from my skin lit his face in gold. Water drops clung to his lashes and his hair was plastered to his forehead, dark and dripping. And still, he looked at me, not with fear, but wonder.
I wanted to slip beneath the surface. To disappear.
But then his hand lifted, slow and sure. He reached for me, fingers brushing against my cheek and I didn’t flinch.
I didn’t think of Arche. Or the others. Or the last time someone touched me.
Only him.
Will was safe. His hand was warm, not rough. Gentle.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
He saw me. All of me. And he didn’t turn away.
So I let myself feel it.
His touch. The water. The light.
