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Sixteen

J anina’s smelly foot in Kamine’s face luckily woke her up, otherwise, Kamine didn’t think she would have managed to make it to her final lesson with Grimot on time.

He was waiting outside the classroom, and pulled her in for a sweet kiss.

Kamine wrapped an arm around his neck as their kiss deepened, their bodies fusing. Her foot kicked up as he overwhelmed her in the best way, like she was in the middle of a raging storm, with everything soaked, a dizzying chill settled in her bones.

When they pulled apart, she asked, “What was that for?”

He shrugged. “I just sensed you needed it.”

Kamine swallowed, taking him in. This man who once angered her endlessly was now the source of so much peace for her. She pet his cheek, trailing her fingers down to his beard.

They held each other’s gaze, her eyes focusing and unfocusing, not allowing herself to blink. Each time, she came back to the clarity of those dark eyes that pierced her soul.

“We have a lesson we need to do.”

She scoffed. “Maybe we can skip it?” She dragged her fingers across his lips.

“No,” he growled, biting the tip of finger, then pushing himself away. “You need to recenter yourself. I know something happened after the reception with your father. I saw you running away with tears.”

Kamine touched her bracelet, and he followed the movement.

“Life. The source of my power is remembering there is life beyond death.”

Grimot stepped up to her, lifted her wrist to his mouth and kissed one of the gold leaves. Her pulse jumped in response.

“I’ve always had a connection with the earth in a way I could never explain. After speaking with my father, after he told me what my mother did during her Undertaking, it all clicked.”

To prove that her powers now came to her seamlessly, she rippled and dipped the ground under Grimot until she was taller than him.

He smiled up at her. “I’m jealous. Your powers are better than mine.”

She rolled her eyes and evened out the ground upon which he stood. As she looked at him, an ache pressed in her chest, and she knew what it meant. They were words she couldn’t voice quite yet, afraid of what it would mean for the two of them.

“Meet me tonight in my room,” he said, his voice going low enough that she felt it in her gut.

She nodded in agreement.

That lesson, Grimot forced her to go through drills to hone her already impressive skills further. They played with her powers, discovering new and creative ways for Kamine to protect her village. He pushed her until she was confident in her abilities, until she could go into the Undertaking prepared, and ready to truly make her mother proud. Every rock she stopped from killing her people would be for the woman who loved her father so deeply that she destroyed herself for it. Kamine now understood what type of courage that took.

Grimot opened the door right as Kamine prepared to knock. He gasped at the sight of her. Her braids from earlier were now down, letting her curls run wild. She had changed out of her training clothes into a simple off-white dress that hugged her chest and flowed out around her hips, accentuating her waist.

She dipped her head shyly as he inspected her.

He could kiss her right there and now, but he wouldn’t get distracted from his goal.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand in his. Her fingers were calloused now from all the training, and he savored that feeling when it was around his cock, but he loved it even more as they rubbed against his palm. There was an innate intimacy to hand-holding that he never realized before. It was a comforting balm against his ragged soul.

“I hope you’re not taking me to another torturous game where I almost die.”

“Nothing like that,” he responded. He guided her through the tunnels as they ventured up, up, up.

She groaned behind him. He could feel the fatigue radiating off her, but hopefully the destination would be worth the climb. He knew from the moment that she had mentioned her powers were sourced from her connection with the living that he needed to bring her here. He needed to share this place with her.

They eventually reached a tall ladder that Grimot slowly climbed while swearing at the pain in his legs, where at the top, he lifted up a door. A sharp intake of breath sounded from behind him.

“Won’t we get in trouble?” she asked, worry lining her brow.

He didn’t say anything, instead climbed back down and gestured for her to go up. She hesitated, but did as instructed, and he followed right behind her.

When he lifted himself out, Kamine already had her chin tilted up, her eyes on the night sky, glittering with stars. She raised her arms, as if reaching for them, the bracelet on her wrist gleaming in the moonlight as if it too missed the outdoors.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

He stared right at her as he said, “It is.”

She closed her eyes. “It’s been so long since I’ve had fresh air on my skin.”

Grimot stood at the edge of the mountain, taking in the sight before him. There wasn’t much to see, but from a distance, he could just make out a small village. The lights of homes flickered, just like the stars above them.

Grimot pulled a basket from behind a large rock, and laid down a soft blanket.

“What’s this?” she asked, her eyes widening.

He popped a bottle of sparkling wine. “A congratulations.”

She narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t over yet. I still have the actual Undertaking to survive.”

Pouring two glasses, he handed her one, then clinked their glasses together. “You still deserve it.”

He beckoned her to join him on the blanket. She did, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Everything was so different with her than it had been with Kestra. Sure, both women had made him satisfied in bed, but with Kamine, he craved more . Not only of her body—which he loved each inch of—but of her mind and soul.

“I can feel you thinking.” Her words rumbled against him.

“I’m thinking of you.”

“Great thoughts to have.”

He chuckled and he wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. He kissed the top of her head.

They sat there, just existing in each other’s presence. He reflected on the past few months, and the joy it brought him. Even on days where he woke up with his knees and elbows stiffer, when the dread of the curse consumed him, he thought of Kamine and the worries fluttered away, like pages flipping in a book.

Then, Kamine started rubbing his thigh, which made him drag his fingers up and down her back, which led to her unzipping his pants, then taking him in her mouth.

He pulled her chin away from him and laid her down so she could stare at the sky while he fucked her. He unbuttoned the front of her dress, kissing her skin as he went, revealing his favorite curls. When she was fully bare, and the chill of the air caused her skin to pebble, he took off his own clothes, and put his body on hers. He slid into her slowly, taking his time to go deep, to that spot he knew would have her writhing. While his one hand rubbed her clit, the other leveraged his body weight to hover above her.

She cupped the back of his neck and brought him down to her, kissing him, nipping at his lips as he rocked in and out. She pressed her mouth to those two stones in his clavicle, savoring everything they represented. As she wrapped her legs around him to anchor her hips up so that he hit her even deeper, she moaned loudly, unafraid of the world below them, or of the Gods above them, hearing.

It was just the two of them. No past, no future, just the present where their two bodies collided, creating a rumble across the land that would be felt forever in their souls.