Fire & Shadow - Forbidden Love

A Kiss

Her heart ached, swollen against her chest as she remained still. Frozen in position as his lips brushed over hers again. She couldn’t breath, couldn’t move. But she closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of him and their mingled breath. Intoxicated by his nearness. She’d never been kissed before and it was sweet and far too intense. Her body felt as though it were on fire, filled with nervous energy that she didn’t know how to express. An uncertainty as just as quickly he pulled back. She drew in a breath and opened her eyes, staring at the man who had kissed her. She want panting and he drew back again.

‘What-’ she stumbled over the words, uncertain what she was thinking. Why? Why had he done that.

‘Zhira,’ his jaw clenched and he turned away, fingers extended at his side. He crossed back to the otherside of the fireplace, putting it between them. He turned back and met her gaze once more. She hadn’t moved, only stood, staring at him in confusion. Wanting him back, needing him to kiss her again. She swallowed the lump in her throat, she was shivering. A light tremor racing up and down her spine. ‘That shouldn’t have happened, I’ll beg your apology.’

‘No,’ she held his gaze, ‘no, don’t - don’t do that. For two years I’ve felt this…’ she closed her eyes, clenched her quivering fingers into fists. ‘I saw you and I felt something!’

‘Zhira…’

‘No!’ She stared at him, behind the flickering fire, ‘I saw you, and I felt something. Like you’d come for me, or were waiting for me or - for two years I’ve questioned whether I was losing my mind because whenever I see you, Rhyode, a stranger, I feel like I lose a part of myself. So tell me,’ she braced herself for his response. Whatever it was, it wasn’t just nothing. He wouldn’t have kissed her if there was nothing between them, if he felt nothing. ‘Tell me who you are, tell me why you’re here. Tell me, why after years of begging, Fraelyn decided that now was the time I could leave the Temple behind!’

She was angry at the lies she’d told herself. She didn't believe he was the type of guard, or man to start kissing young women under his protection. So it had to be more, didn’t it? Or was he just someone who preyed on the people in his care. Was he that much of a stranger?

‘I was looking for you,’ he looked up, meeting her gaze with a guarded smile.

‘Why?’ She demanded, ‘is this something to do with the King?’ It sounded ridiculous, but perhaps that was why Fraelyn had changed her mind? It was the only thing that she could think of. Even if it didn’t make any sense. She was a Foundling, and orphan without history or family.

‘The Spire King? No.’

‘Who, then?’ She took a slow step back. ‘And why?’

‘I didn’t find you, to hurt you, Zhira. I was sent to rescue you and keep you safe. That’s why I’ve stayed at the Temple, that’s why I was sent to accompany you.’

As a child she’d dreamt of being rescued by a prince, and read stories about it. Reaching adulthood had made those fantasies more urgent, but such a casual reference was like a slap to the face. She felt her anger surge again and the fire in front of her rose, the flames stretching to double their previous height.

'Save me from who?' Zhira demanded. She couldn't hide the fear-tinged frustration in her voice.

'From yourself, Zhira.' His gaze remained fixed on her face, though she was sure fire had sprung up in her balled fists. He reached out and waved his hand over the flames at his feet,and they dimmed, shrinking back down to their original height. 'I'm here to protect you from who you are.'

'Who am I?' She had to force the words past her gritted teeth. Unable to look away from him. He’d just controlled the fire. If anyone found out, he’d be captured. She would be captured. She felt like a bowstring, pulled tight and ready to unleash an arrow. ‘I was left at the Temple! I’m nobody.’

'You’re someone with a dangerous Spirit Gift, dangerous magic.. I can help you, Zhira.'

'I need to control it.' She flinched. Recently, the power had started to slip from her, unwanted and uncontrolled. But she remained reluctant to acknowledge the magic she’d been forbidden from using. In the Temple she was safe from the Champions, but even with the protection of the Sisters, learning how to use Fire magic had been forbidden. In case it drew the inspection of the Knights.

'I can help you,' he urged quietly. He stepped around the fire pit and she retreated again. Only Frealyn had known about her ability. Had the Priestess told him? Or perhaps he had been sent by the Diamond City, now she’d stepped out from the safety of the Temple would he turn her over to the Champions?

'What if I can't be helped?' She whispered. Why. Why had he kissed her? Why had he waited for two years to speak to her?

'Only fools ever lose all hope, and you are too young to be a fool.'

Zhira drew in a shaky breath. ‘I think you need to explain yourself.’

There was another pregnant pause and he ran his hand over his clean-shaven face.

‘Explain yourself!’ she stole another look at him and found her gaze trapped by his.

‘I am here to protect you. I can teach you how to use your magic.'

‘What on Arenith can you protect me from?!’ She choked. ‘From being caught by the Champions? From a life hiding behind the walls of the Temple? From the Diamond City? From being – being –’ The words stuck in her throat but she forced them out. ‘F-from myself?!’

‘Yes.’ He moved more quickly than he should have been able to, around the fire to approach her. She stumbled back.

‘From all of that.’ He reached out as though to take hold of her, before dropping his hands to his sides. She slipped as she stepped back once more.

‘Are you mad?’

‘No.’ He reached forward to take her hands and she flinched away from the touch, recoiling. Fire danced on her palms, glowing white hot. She was losing control, again. But she didn’t want to hurt him.

‘Zhira, I need to take you to Lluridi. It’s a city to the far South. In Lluridi, I can help you.'

She stared at him, heart beat rapid as she tried to understand everything he’d told her. Why would he have been looking for her? Why would he have waited two years to tell her all of this? Why had he kissed her. She knew it was probably the least important thing to talk about, given everything he had revealed and all of the questions that she still had. But she burnt to know. To have an answer. Part of her burnt to be kissed again. But it didn’t seem likely.

His gaze snapped past her into the trees behind. She’d never met someone so frustrating. After two years he was finally talking and she was unravelling the mystery of their connection, and he was looking at something else?

Zhira turned to follow his eyes and saw nothing except trees and falling leaves. She took a careful step back from the fire pit. She couldn’t see anything, but felt as though she was being watched, by someone other than Rhyode. She looked back at the man in black. Her fingers were flushed with heat. It had felt like this before, her loss of control. Times when her ability with fire had escaped from her grasp and caused havoc. Was this why Fraelyn had agreed that she could leave? Because she was becoming dangerous to the people around her in the temple?

‘You must come with me to Lluridi.’

Lluridi? she thought, and her mind raced. It was somewhere she had dreamt of. A great city bathed in sunlight. But all of her dreams were nightmares and she saw it, being washed away beneath an enormous wave. A scene of devastation left behind.

‘No,’ she answered, breathless. As well as the fire creeping through her veins from her fingertips.

Rhyode studied her, his face impassive as she retreated again, another step away.

‘Two years, Rhyode. You’ve had two years to tell me who you are - I don’t want your protection!’ She lifted her hands and let go of the building power she’d felt within. The fire in front of Rhyode swept rapidly to either side in a line, fanning out across the centre of the clearing, a high and flaming barrier between them. Zhira didn’t pause to see if it would hold him back, but turned on her heel and ran.