A/N: I think you guys are going to really enjoy this part :) I feel it in bones lol. Please leave behind your reactions and thoughts, I love reading them! They make my day. Also don't forget to vote and share if you're feeling especially kind <3
"Can you believe it, Aydin?" Sephirah jumped on the balls of her feet in front of him. She was grinning that crazed smile that meant she was ready and more than willing to fight anything that moved.
His trainer had led him back to the tent he shared with Sephirah after hours of practicing. In the end, he was only able to move the dagger forward by the smallest margin. Every bone in his body shuddered with fatigue when he'd collapsed sideways on the blue rug covering the sand on his side.
Just as he'd begun to relax, Sephirah had rushed into the tent, eyes lit with delight and excitement. Only she would have even more energy after goddess knows what type of training they managed to find for her to do.
"As much as I would love to, I cannot read your mind, Rah," Aydin replied with a rough voice. He was tired and he didn't want to play any guessing games with his childhood friend.
"I would absolutely loathe it if you could do that," Sephirah's perky nose scrunched up in disgust. Aydin smiled at the motion, the urge to pull on her nose strong enough that he moved his hands underneath his bottom.
"So, what happened?" Aydin inquired. Sephirah was always a good distraction. From the lingering pain in his chest to the liquid numbness that he still craved against his goodwill; she was someone who could take his mind off of it all.
Sephirah gave him a charming smile that tightened his chest. She plopped down next to him, close enough that their knees brushed together. The heat of her knee was intense enough that it raced up his thigh.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to ignore the feeling. He'd been with too many women to be fazed by her proximity. Aydin's jaw tightened as his eyes focused on her knee again.
Dammit.
Tons of women had brushed their most intimate parts alongside his, but it never got to him. Here Sephirah was fully clothed and just her damn knee had his mind in the gutter.
It was official. He was losing it.
"—and then they grew actual claws," she was saying.
Aydin jerked his eyes away from her knee, attempting and failing to recall what she had just said. She stared at him expectantly, waiting on a response he couldn't give her. Aydin stared at her freckled face and pure golden eyes. Her hair was frizzy and wilder than usual, but it matched the full smile on her face and flushed cheeks. Her perky nose was sweaty from the sun, glistening in the dim lighting of the tent.
"Are you listening to me, Aydin?" she huffed out, waving a hand in front of his face. Aydin reached out and grabbed her hand as she dropped it, intertwining their fingers seamlessly. Her mouth opened and eyes dropped to their tightly joined palms. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Heat trailed up his arm from her hands, mixing with the sweltering desert. But where the sun was brutal in its relentless scorching impact, her warmth sent a thrill throughout his body. It was addicting.
Aydin leaned forward. Sephirah's eyes widened in surprise as he dropped her hand before pulling her into a hug. A blanket of calm drifted over his agitated magic and restless thoughts about his potential. Aydin rested his face in the nook of her shoulder, breathing in the scent of sweat and the faint aroma of wildberries. The hair slicked against her neck tickled his nose, but he disregarded the feeling when he felt her hands slide across his back, returning the embrace.
"Oh, Aydin," Sephirah said softly, her breath fluttering across his neck. "Are you okay? Answer me."
"Now I'm okay," Aydin responded just as softly. He closed his eyes, his arms relaxing as he drifted into sleepiness.
"Wait, Aydin." Sephirah removed her hands and pressed them against his chest, shoving. "You're heavy. Get off me."
"No," he mumbled. She was as soft as a pillow, and if there was anyone he'd want in his arms then it would be the most ethereal princess in the Four Kingdoms.
"Aydin," she dragged out the sound of his name.
He grinned against her neck. "Keep saying my name like that, and I might get a little frisky."
"Aydin!" Sephirah chastised, slapping him on the back. A stinging pain flared but he tightened his hold on her, crushing her body against his own. She hit him again, punching this time, and he flinched.
"By the goddess's lovely bones, you won't ever claim a man with this violent nature of yours," Aydin spoke jokingly, finally pulling back to stare at her flustered face. He couldn't bring himself to remove the hands placed at her hips and when she made no motion to remove them, his smile grew broader.
"I don't want to claim a man," Sephirah responded, sticking out her stubborn chin. The blush across her cheeks spread down her neck and Aydin couldn't help but follow the motion. "Especially not you."
Aydin's cheeks hurt from his smiling. He hadn't felt this content in days. "That burns, Rah. I would do anything for you. How can you not fall in love with everything I could charismatically offer?"
"You..." Her eyes searched his own as her lips pinched together, voice trailing off. He could tell she was biting her cheeks from the way they squished inward. "You are despicable! I would rather jump off the top of Mount Ashstorm than ever—"
He tightened his hands on her waist, pulling her toward him in a quick maneuver. One of his hands slid up her back, tangling in her hair as he cupped the back of her head gently. Her eyes fluttered slightly, dipping to glance at his lips.
Aydin felt a tingling sensation in his stomach; a nervousness he'd never experienced in all his previous encounters. He angled his head while slowly moving closer, giving her the chance to stop him. When her hands reached out unsteadily to grab his shoulders, he stilled. Her breath fanned his nose as she stared at him, golden eyes unreadable but churning with emotion.
Her hands drifted from his shoulders, lightly resting on his cheeks before moving to wrap around his neck.
Heat burned through him and he smiled shyly. A foreign feeling ghosted his cheeks and the tip of ears. Sephirah started to smile as she whispered, "Don't tell me the player prince is actually blushing right—"
The feeling grew stronger, and his pride could take no more. He moved in, closing his eyes as he pressed his lips against hers, stopping the end of one of the most embarrassing sentences he'd heard in a while. Her arms tightened around his neck as she shockingly returned his kiss.
As the shock dissolved, he found himself drowning the warmth that was Sephirah. Her lips were as gentle as her soul, pressing timidly against his own. Despite the burning passion in his chest urging him to return her kiss with hunger, he matched her softness.
The sounds around him disappeared; the gusting wind rustling the side of their tent, the quiet conversations drifting through the thin material and the roars of the pack of lions. Beneath it all was the sound of his heart as it picked up speed. Not a thump or a leap, no, it had swished as if awakened for the first time in years. It soared like a bird freed from captivity.
His hand moved from her hair, trailing over her neck and up to cup her cheek. His other hand drifted to the small of her back. When her mouth parted in a timid, yet inviting motion, he was cautious. She was the last person he wanted to scare away or pressure into anything.
Aydin parted his own mouth, allowing her to take it where she wanted. Sephirah's fingers shifted back to his hair, tightening around the strands as she pressed into him, swiping her tongue into his mouth. It amazed him how addictively she invaded his senses, and the taste of her breath was as destabilizing as it was intoxicating.
Their kiss slowly rose in intensity as desire washed through him in waves. A heat rose in his stomach and cheeks as their mouths explored each other, sinking into a rhythm, quick and electric and delicious. She tasted like the berries she'd been hoarding for Nova—sugary and fruity.
In that one kiss, Aydin had felt the sweetness of pure passion, a million thoughts condensed into a brief moment. Sephirah pulled back first, averting her eyes as she pressed fingers to her plush and red lips.
He'd felt at peace in her arms and even more so in that one kiss.
He blinked as he drew back, the shock of what had just happened spreading through him. Aydin's heart slowed but the heat from their kiss still coursed through him on overload. He stared at the princess, who had yet to look over at him.
They sat in silence, an arm's length away from one another. Finally, Sephirah's shoulders slumped as she looked at Aydin. Sadness poured through her eyes. "We can't, Aydin. We can't do that again."
"I knew you would say something like that," Aydin responded, rubbing a hand over his face in an attempt to wipe whatever expression was on it away. His chest twisted with a feeling so overwhelming he refused to acknowledge it.
Rather than frown the way he wanted, Aydin threw a sheepish smile her way and tried to crack a joke. "It won't be long before you succumb to my endearing charms."
Sephirah shook her head and attempted a smile, but it quickly turned into a thoughtful frown. Aydin's jaw tightened as despair threatened to loom over him. He reached out and flicked her on the forehead, gaining a glare from her.
"I understand, Rah," Aydin spoke seriously. Their titles wouldn't allow for that type of relationship. As crown royals of their respective kingdoms, their lovers were not a choice that they had. It was determined by what would allow their kingdoms to prosper. And he sourly doubted the Empress felt that he would be able to help her kingdom prosper, especially with the recent loss of his assets.
"It's not just that, Aydin." Sephirah reached out to grab his hand before retracting at the last moment, cradling her own to her chest as if to restrain them. "You need to focus on yourself. You don't need any distractions."
"You would never be a distraction," Aydin asserted, shaking his head to emphasize it. "You make me want to get stronger. You make me want to become a respectable and admirable man. That's what you do to me, Sephirah."
Her golden eyes gleamed in the light as she stared at him, seeing each and every vulnerability alongside his strengths. And he let her. She was the only one who knew him inside and out. He would never hide from her, and he never wanted to hide from her.
Without her, Aydin doubted he would be where he was right now. He would always cherish her for that.
"But I can't," Sephirah spoke softly but her voice was confident. He flinched at the words, even though he had expected it. Her lips pinched together as she considered him. "You still aren't the man I know you could be. I want someone who's worthy enough to deserve me, to be my equal, not to use me as their crutch. And until that happens, I refuse."
Aydin sucked in a sharp breath as she rose to her feet, grabbing the boomerang she'd left laying on her side. She left the tent quietly, refusing to spare him a glance. He stared at the space where she'd been, the pain in his heart resonating through his bones.
Everyone wanted him to be something he simply wasn't.
And he was sick of it.
It was time for him to place some faith in himself and show them all the man he truly was.
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