Page 32 of Nebula Hearts
But I can feel him changing. The muscles under my arms going rigid. His breathing turning harsh. Ragged.
“Stay with me,” I say. Desperate now. “Don’t go. I need you here.”
“Trying.” The word comes out distorted. “It’s too strong. Can’t...”
His markings become an unbearable glow that force my eyes shut.
He’s slipping away, dissolving into instinct and violence. Everything we tried isn’t enough. The partial anchoring. The physical contact. None of it matters against this level of amplification.
“Tynrax!” I’m shouting now. “Stay with me! Don’t you dare leave!”
He’s going feral and this time he might not come back.
I don’t think. Don’t plan. Just act on an instinct that bypassed logic entirely.
I spin him around. Away from the controls. Grab his face between my hands. And kiss him.
Pour everything into it. Every ounce of determination. Every bit of faith that he’s still in there somewhere. Every feeling I’ve been too scared to name.
He’s rigid for half a second. Shocked. Then his hands come up. Grip my waist. Too tight. Desperate. But present. Aware. Him.
The kiss deepens. His mouth moves against mine. Hungry. Certain. One hand slides from my waist to the back of my neck. Holding me close. Holding me like I’m the only solid thing in the universe.
Something shifts. Not physical. Deeper than that. Something in my chest that clicks into place and locks. A connection that wasn’t there before. Or was always there but hidden.
I can feel him. Not just his body against mine. Not just his hands on my waist and neck. But HIM. His fear shoots through the bond. His determination. His absolute refusal to lose control and hurt me.
His markings blaze but the color changes. White to gold. Pure gold light that washes over both of us.
We break apart. Breathing hard. Staring at each other.
Something shifts inside my chest, and not metaphorically. Literally. My pulse syncs with his, a sudden, shocking rhythm I’ve never noticed before. It’s not just his fear I feel; it’s the fierce, protective core of him, flooding into me like a tidal wave.
“What did we just...” I start.
“The bond,” he says, voice rough with awe. “We started it.”
I don’t know how a kiss could trigger a biological interlink. It makes no logical sense. But I know he’s right. I can feel the truth of it humming between us.
His eyes are clear. Silver-gold. No glow. No violet. Just him looking at me like I’ve done something impossible.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m here. You pulled me back.” He looks at me. Really looks at me. “I can feel you. In my head. Your emotions. Your thoughts.”
“I can feel you too.” And I can. His confusion mixing with relief mixing with something else. Something warm and certain and focused entirely on me.
“We should finish the relay,” I manage. “Before the power surge destroys everything.” Even with the bond stabilizing him, there’s a tremor in his left hand that won’t quite stop.
“Right. Yes. The relay.” But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t let go of me.
“Tynrax.”
“I know.” He releases my waist. Steps back. His hands slide away slowly. Reluctant. “The relay.”
He turns back to the controls. I move to stand beside him instead of behind him. Can’t quite bring myself to separate completely.
The work continues. But different now. We move together. He reaches for a control and I’m already pulling up the diagnostic he needs. I point to a readout and he’s already adjusting the parameters.
