WHITE LIGHT ILLUMINATED the insides of Ravenna's eyelids, so bright it made direct sunlight appear dull. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and counted three deep breaths. Caelan's chest moved against her own, his arms curling even tighter around her.
Then the brightness faded. A gentle pair of lips brushed against the tip of her nose. She heard a low chuckle.
One eye cracked open. Then the other. A pair of dark stormy eyes met her gaze, amusement shimmering within their irises. "See?" Caelan said. His voice cracked slightly, tainted with discomfort. "No flying."
Ravenna's lips twitched upwards. Concern clutched at her heart, grasping it tight. She leaned back in his arms and surveyed his bruise-covered body. "How are you feeling?" she asked him. "Do you need to sit down?"
Caelan smirked. His hand lifted, lightly caressing her cheek. "This is the best I've felt in years," he told her. The pad of his thumb drifted down, ghosting over her lower lip. "I can finally, genuinely just be with you."
Heat burned within her cheeks. She opened her mouth, prepared to retort with something witty, but pain flared within her palms. Her face twisted and she lifted her palms. Hues of ink and icy blues coated the tips of her fingers, spreading down over her palms and toward her wrists. "Ouch," she muttered.
A frown marred Caelan's features. His fingers gently curled around her wrists, pulling her hands upward. "You overdid it," he chided her. "You used too much magic at once."
"You would have been dog-food if I hadn't," she grumbled crossly. With each passing second, fresh waves of pain blistered through her palms, shooting up her arms. "I guess the adrenaline finally wore off. I hardly felt anything until now."
"Here," Caelan laughed. "Let me help you."
Slivers of his magic danced across his fingertips, flowing forward into Ravenna's hands. Wisps of white pirouetted across her damaged skin, whispers of warmth following close behind. The warm feeling grew, flooding her muscles and body like a massive ocean wave, chasing away the searing pain that plagued her. Her eyes widened with amazement as she watched the blue and black hues slowly fade away.
Once the frostbite vanished, Caelan's grip tightened on her wrists. He pulled her forward, until her cheek pressed against the bare skin of his chest. His lips pressed softly against her forehead. "Better?" he asked.
"Much better!" she sighed out.
He released her and took a small step back. He flattened a glowing white hand against his chest. His lips mouthed the unheard words of another healing spell. She watched eagerly as the bruises that battered his torso faded.
The moment the spell faded, Ravenna attacked.
A high-pitched giggle escaped her as she rocketed forward, throwing her arms around his neck. Her lips slammed into his. The motion knocked him off-balance. He rocked backwards, his knees buckling, and then collapsed onto the grassy earth behind them.
Upon impact, a pained grunt bristled past his lips.
"Oops," she gasped, pulling back. Her wide eyes stared down at him. She started to move away, but his hands grasped her sides tight — locking her in place.
His laughter was soft. It echoed around her, overflowing with love and happiness. Butterflies stirred within her stomach.
He reluctantly released her and sat upward. Ravenna made herself comfortable on the ground beside him. For the first time since they had transported out of the Capitol, she really took in her surroundings.
The world around them had changed drastically. No longer did they stand at the center of destruction, surrounded by ruined buildings and wicked flames.
A thick line of trees clustered together behind them, marking an evergreen entrance to the forest that flourished around the edges of the Capitol. Roughly ten steps in front of them, the ground appeared to end — taking the form of a jagged line of weathered cliffside, situated high enough to kiss the clouds. From where they sat, Caelan and Ravenna watched as the largest, most historic city in Khal burned to dust.
Caelan stared at the burning landscape painted before them, his lips twisted grimly. "It's such a shame," he remarked with a soft sigh. "All that human history is now gone."
Ravenna stared too. Somberness tugged at her heart and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. A wasteland of jagged marble-diamond and haunted human memories stretched out beneath them. No amount of magic could possibly restore the vast collection of relics and information that had been stored within its walls. The only reminder of the area's importance was the bridge – now a lonely arch of stone that led to nowhere.
"Most of the humans were able to flee before you both transformed," she told him. Her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them tightly to her chest. Her chin pressed against the fabric of her trousers. "Some came back and tried to fight."
The icy blue of her soldiers had vanished the moment that all the humans had been ushered to safety. Knowing that brought her a bit of solace.
Caelan's hand gently touched her back, rubbing in small, comforting circles. She tore her gaze away from the burning city. "I tried to save as many humans as I could," she added.
He smiled warmly at her then. Love and adoration radiated from him in tangible waves, coating the air between them.
"My love," Caelan said softly, "You saved us all."