Page 61 of Beyond the Storm
Kallias stared out across the river. Silent. The moon shone on his midnight black hair, and even beneath the pale light, I noted the deep bronze of his skin. I yearned to touch him again. Instead, my hands squeezed into fists at my sides.
He was not mine to touch.
“Where do you call home?” I asked.
“Home?” He touched the center of his chest as his expression pinched. “I do not have one. We move from place to place. Fighting. Always fighting.”
“The life of a warrior.”
“Yes. Same as you.” He looked at me. “I find it odd.”
“What’s odd?”
“You. And the way you make me feel.”
“How do I make you feel?”
Kallias shakily exhaled. “Like I’m soaring amongst the clouds.”
I chuckled at the notion. “Men cannot fly. How does one know how it feels to soar amongst the clouds?”
“I could show you.” Amusement danced in his eyes.
My chuckle died away. “You are teasing me.”
“Am I?” He smiled up at the stars. “Is it not plausible for wings to sprout from my back and lift me high into the air?”
I tried to respond, but no words came to mind. A man growing wings?
“Forgive me, Elasus.” The amusement faded from his eyes, and he gave a small shake of his head. “It is unfair for me to speak of such wondrous things when there are limitations as to what you can imagine. There are limitations to what I can show you as well. Lazarus would be angry.”
“Lazarus?”
“Think of him as my commander. He gives us orders, and we follow them. He is also the one who trained us into the warriors we are today.”
“He taught you how to… fly?” I failed to grasp the idea. “Like a bird?”
“Would you believe me if I said yes?”
Again, no response formed in my mind. My thoughts rolled over one another, too quickly for me to make sense of them.
“I should leave,” he whispered.
“No.” I grabbed his arm.
He glanced at my hand. “You would keep me here?”
“Beside me?” My grip loosened but didn’t fully release him. I gently brought him closer. “Yes. For that reason, I would keep you here.”
Kallias surprised me by stepping closer and resting his face against my neck. As his warm breath tickled my skin, chills traveled up my arms. Heat pooled low in my stomach. “Perhaps I would wish to stay… for that same reason.”
The feelings he awoke inside my chest confused me just as much as they excited me.
“Elasus?”
Gods. The sound of his voice saying my name caused that heat in my belly to swirl. “Yes?”
Kallias pulled back and met my stare. A hint of a smile touched his lips, though that sad gleam in his eyes remained. “You asked how you make me feel. Yet, it is not thehowthat matters. It’s that you make me feel anything at all.”
