His right index finger taps against his left thumb. One.
He taps it twice in rapid succession. Two.
He makes a flat, horizontal shape with his open right hand, mimicking the calm horizon line of the ocean.
"Safe," his lips shape the word, matching the silent motion to the hand sign.
I watch his hands with desperate focus, my mind racing to catch the meaning.
He repeats the exact movement.Safe.
I hesitate, then lift my own right hand into the space between us. I mimic the flat shape. My fingers are clumsy and stiff, but the resulting shape holds meaning.
Safe.
"Yes," I read the praise on his mouth as a brilliant smile breaks across his pale face. "Safe."
He points a fine finger at my chest. He makes a tight fist with his right hand, then opens the fist over his own heart.
"Brave," his lips whisper in the quiet space.
I stare at my own hand. I form a fist. I open the heavy fingers over my own heart.
Brave.
My eyes widen in the dim blue glow of Bolt's cage.
It's a small thing. But the impenetrable stone wall of my isolation cracks down the middle.
"We can build this together," Vaelis mouths, the words forming silently in the water. "A language that is ours. You're not broken, Kael. You're learning how to speak a new language."
I stare into his golden eyes, the fierce devotion in their depths cracking the stone wall around my heart.
My hands abandon the clumsy signs. I lift both of my hands and frame his beautiful face, my thumbs brushing the delicate line of his jaw.
Vaelis gasps, the sound a soft rush of bubbles. He doesn't flinch away from my rough skin. He leans into my touch, his golden eyes fluttering shut, his soft lips parting in silent invitation.
I lean down, closing the agonizing distance between us.
Our lips meet. Two worlds colliding in the dim blue light of Bolt's cage.
I am hesitant at first, my lips gentle against his. I remember the sharp, serrated teeth hidden behind them, terrified of cutting his fine skin. It is a tentative, desperate question offered in the dark.
Vaelis answers with fearless demand.
He wraps his good right arm around my neck, pulling his body up to deepen the angle. His lips part, inviting me inside.
The sensory overload hits me like a crashing thermal wave. He tastes of the bright, beautiful light I craved in the dark.
A heavy, guttural groan rips through my chest in absolute silence.
I surrender to the overwhelming hunger. My hands slide into his long, tangled red hair. I pull his lean body flush against my broad chest, mindful of his injured left shoulder. I slant my mouth over his, my sharp teeth gently grazing his soft lower lip, sending shivers down his spine.
We kiss until the freezing ocean disappears. We kiss until there is no war, no treacherous Council, and no agonizingsilence. There is only the scorching heat of his mouth and the frantic beating of our hearts.
We break apart, starved for air.
Vaelis presses his warm forehead against the rough skin of my collarbone. The frantic rhythm of his breathing gradually slows, the ragged gasps steadying into a deep, resonant pulse against my chest. A brilliant flush has returned to his pale cheeks, a vibrant crimson that matches the wild tangle of his hair. He lifts his head, his golden eyes burning with an intensity that eclipses even the electric glow surrounding us.
