💧 Chapter Fourteen: The Stillness Between
635 Words
💧 Chapter Fourteen: The Stillness Between
After the others finally settled back into uneasy rest, Theron lingered by the Veilwater, his calm presence like a steady tide. Elara sat nearby, hugging her knees, pretending to study the glowing ripples.
“You’re trembling,” Theron said softly.
She startled. “I—I’m fine.”
He tilted his head, patient, those clear-water eyes seeing more than she wanted him to. “No, you’re carrying too much. You don’t have to.”
Her throat tightened. “And if I don’t? If I let go, what happens then?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he crouched in front of her, so close she could see the faint lines of silver tracing his skin — marks of the water’s blessing. “Then you learn you don’t have to hold everything alone. Not with us. Not with me.”
The gentle certainty in his voice cracked something inside her. Before she could think better of it, she whispered, “You’re too kind. It’s dangerous.”
His lips curved faintly. “Maybe. But I’ve never been afraid of drowning.”
Her heart lurched. His hand lifted, hesitating only a moment before brushing her cheek. The touch was cool, soothing, and yet it burned through her in ways fire never could.
Elara leaned into it without meaning to, breath hitching. “Theron…”
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured.
She couldn’t.
The space between them vanished. His lips pressed to hers, gentle at first, like the soft ripple of water against stone. Then deeper, hungrier, as though the calm surface of him had finally cracked open.
The starfire inside her surged, but instead of consuming, it merged with the steady current of his power, swirling together in perfect, dangerous harmony.
When they broke apart, her chest was heaving, her hands still tangled in his tunic.
Theron rested his forehead against hers, voice low, rougher than she’d ever heard. “This… is more dangerous than you know. But I don’t regret it.”
Neither did she.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The cavern seemed to hold its breath, the Veilwater glowing brighter as though it bore witness to their secret.
Theron’s thumb traced her cheek, tender, reverent. “You think you’re ordinary,” he said softly. “But Elara… you are anything but.”
Her chest tightened. “You don’t understand. I’m terrified. Of this power. Of what it’s doing to me. To you.”
He leaned closer, his voice low, steady as the tide. “I understand more than you think. My whole life has been about control, about holding everything still when it wanted to break. But you—” His hand slid down, settling over her trembling fingers. “You don’t make me break. You make me free.”
Her breath hitched. “Theron…”
The way he said her name in return — soft, full of quiet need — unraveled the last of her restraint. She kissed him again, this time with no hesitation. He answered with a low sound from deep in his chest, pulling her closer until she could feel his heartbeat hammering against hers.
The starfire inside her flared, but instead of chaos, it flowed with his calm current, swirling in sync like two rivers meeting at last.
When they finally parted, foreheads pressed together, her lips tingled, her pulse unsteady.
“If Kael finds out—” she whispered.
Theron chuckled quietly, though his eyes burned with more than amusement. “Let him scowl. I’d face fire itself before I’d deny this.”
She smiled breathlessly, but her heart still trembled. Because deep down, she knew secrets couldn’t stay hidden forever. And this—this fragile, dangerous thing between them—would change everything when it came to light.
- Writer
