The rain felt magical. Surrounded by the early morning fog drifting from the Sidra, the clouds falling down the mountains, Theia couldn't fathom being anywhere else. Her skin was chilled, her hair plastered to her face and neck. She laid in the wet grass, eyes closed as she let the rain dance along her skin.
"Are you awake?" Nyx's amused voice filled her ears. A smile stretched across her lips as she nodded. She heard the grass squish beneath his boots as he came closer, and then the warmth of his body beside her. Theia turned her head and blinked open her eyes, seeing Nyx smiling over at her. Gods, it made her chest ache. He was so beautiful, it seemed impossible. His sapphire eyes seemed grey beneath the sky, his dark lashes fluttering as rain fell around them.
His hair was already wet and Theia wondered if it was from bathing or the rain. His eyes fell closed as he turned his face back to the sky. Her heart raced, her fingers itched to trace the straight line of his nose. Theia grabbed a fistful of the wet grass as she studied Nyx. His brows were pulled together, his cheeks red beneath the water drops. His beard had been trimmed to shape his jaw, but it still looked full and Theia wanted to run her fingers over it. Her heart leapt at the thought.
She could touch him now. Those thoughts she used to shove away and rather ride on her hatred for Nyx could be acted upon. Her wing slid from beneath her as she rolled onto her side, the damp fabric of her gown clinging to her skin. Nyx remained on his back, his head turned to her as Theia extended her hand out and grazed her fingers along the hairs of his jaw.
"I love you, Nyx," she murmured, eyes glancing to his briefly before returning to the fingers that danced with the raindrops on his skin. Nyx smiled, his dimple deepening as she ran a thumb over it.
"And I love you, Theia."
Hearing his words had her heart racing. She couldn't help her smile as her hand flattened on his cheek and she brought her face to his. Their lips met in a slow, fluid motion. His lips were so familiar, Theia could hardly fathom that they spent so long apart. She remembered his body perfectly; every dip and curve, every scar and ever hair. He'd changed throughout the centuries, body harder and more broad, but he was still hers.
There was still a weight on her chest, bending her ribcage and pressing into her lungs, but Nyx seemed to lift it. Without knowing it, he took away her pain with the smallest of touches. Theia prayed she did the same for him. Nyx pulled his mouth away, his breath hot against her skin as he grazed his lips over her cheek. The rain felt nonexistent now, even though their clothes and hair were drenched and their bodies shivered.
"Are you happy?" Theia asked, leaning her head against his as they held each other's faces. She felt him smile against her cheek.
"I am right now," he murmured. It was good enough and Theia felt that way, too. Nothing mattered when his body was against hers, his voice soft and his touch gentle. Theia felt as though she could conquer the world with Nyx beside her.
A frown took over her lips as she felt Nyx sit up. She blinked her eyes open, rain coating her lashes. Theia sat up, too, wiping her eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw Nyx gazing at the mountains above and the clouds swallowing them.
"I know I'm home, but I can't help but feel like it's because you're here. If I had come alone, I don't think I would've forgiven my father. I don't think I'd have come, actually. I felt at home in the Dawn Court, and in the Summer Court."
His throat bobbed as he blinked, dropping his face down. Theia watched him and she couldn't help but feel like she was looking at the male she'd fallen for centuries ago. Despite the beard across his face and the older look in his eyes, Nyx looked like a boy. His eyes focused on his hands as he picked at the skin around his nails, wet hair stuck to his forehead, rain dripping down his face. He looked young and vulnerable, and it almost scared Theia. Finally, he turned his head and met her eyes.
"I know I've done the worst of things to you. I've made your life harder than you have ever deserved. I know I have destroyed your outlook on life, your independence, your soul. I'm not decent, I'm not even fair, but I cannot handle my life without you. I know I'm being selfish, and that I've only ever done wrong by you, but you feel like the only right thing I've ever done, Theia."
She didn't respond. Theia glanced between his eyes, her throat working on a swallow as she wiped the rain from her brow. What kind of confession is this? It was true, that he had done wrong by her too often, because her heart raced with the idea that this could be his ending of them. Nyx could be readying himself to send her away again. He seemed to notice the fright in her eyes because he shifted his body to face her and shook his head.
"I'm not saying that I regret it. I regret hurting you, yes, but not that I have you now. The Cauldron blessed me with your love even if I don't deserve it, and I can't give it up. I suppose that I'm warning you-," Nyx cut himself off, clearing his throat and wiping at his jaw. Theia caught his hand and brought it to her own cheek, leaning into the touch as she waited for his words to continue.
"I'm warning you that now that I have you, I will never let you go. You may hate me again someday, but I can't let you leave me. I know you're the only thing I have ever done right in my life and I will never watch you leave. You're mine, Theia. Mate or not, you'll be at my side until I'm cut down."
She watch a drip of rain slip down to the corner of his pink lips and spread across the tight line he had them pressed into. Her nose stung, her throat felt tight, and the only thing that Theia could do was lean forward and kiss him again. Nyx acted fast, taking her hips and pulling her onto his lap. One hand held her jaw as the other anchored her to him by her hip. Theia slid her hands up the wet fabric of his shirt and around his neck, fingers twirling in the wet strands of hair.
When Theia broke the kiss, she leaned her forehead onto his. Nyx blinked at her, swollen lips parted as he caught his breath. Theia had no idea why her chest hurt or why her stomach twisted. He wasn't hurting her, he wasn't leaving her, yet she felt broken. She was familiar with this sensation whenever cruel words left his wicked mouth or she watched his back as he walked away from her. It made no sense in this moment. She hated the way tears filled her eyes and her sinuses burned.
"I may be entirely naive and dense for this, but you could tear me apart and I'd still come for you. I could hate you or love you, or even both, but you're mine, Nyx. I won't give you up. I hate myself for it, but I can't leave you. If it means acting kind to your father or joining you at court, I don't care. I'll be here each day, beside you, and I'll love you every time," she spoke quietly, her eyes squeezing shut as a crack of thunder echoed in the valley.
It was true. Now that she remembered the epic love that she and Nyx had, she couldn't give it up. She'd let every harsh word and argument go if it meant being in his arms at the end of it. She had never truly had something for herself, and now Nyx was hers and hers alone. Theia knew she would hurt him some way down the line, and he would hurt her, but she didn't care. They were both fighters and wanted the glory of fighting through life on their own, yet they were both each other's weakness. She'd fold for him every time, and he'd do the same.
Nyx pulled her face close, lifting her chin with his thumb and taking her mouth with his again. Theia hummed into the kiss, tugging at his hair. A gasp ripped through her throat when suddenly Nyx was standing and her legs were latched to his hips. Theia leaned back, one hand clutching the nape of Nyx's tanned neck and the other brushing the soaked curls from his brow. Her nose stung again and Theia felt entirely ridiculous for wanting to cry at his beauty when she had seen his face in person or in her dreams everyday for over two centuries. She couldn't grow bored with him.
"I'll love you in the light, in the shadows. In the depths of sorrow and the heights of joy. You've formed yourself within my chest, Nyx. Even when I hated you, you were the only thing on my mind. I wanted to make you hurt, yet I walked past your house everyday just praying that there'd be a fire lit inside. I don't know if I would have wanted to kill you or kiss you, but it doesn't matter anymore."
Her thoughts came from her lips in mindless rambling. Every word she had held onto tumbled from her and the way his sapphire eyes glinted, dark lashes sweeping over them in slow blinks, Theia knew she had made the right choice. She hated Velaris, the Night Court, the Court of Nightmares, but none of that mattered with Nyx beside her.
Theia leaned forward and kissed Nyx again. His tongue dove between her lips as if desperate to taste the words she had spoken. She knew they'd be sweet, like sticky sugar melting in the hottest sun. Her chest ached with yet another wave of realization of just how far she had fallen for this male. He'd taken everything from her when they were young, but it felt like he now offered her everything and more.
Theia pulled back, brushing her own hair from her wet face as she tried to catch her breath. Nyx was grinning at her, those dimples entirely noticeable beneath his slicked beard. It was so rare that when Theia smiled, her cheeks felt tight and sore. She hadn't smiled this much in centuries, and now she laughed. Her head tipped back, rain falling into her open mouth as she let out a joyous sound. Her grip on Nyx tightened when he spun, water droplets ricocheting as they hit their bodies. Nyx laughed, too, and the sound swelled her chest like never before.
Theia tilted her face back down, gripping his cheeks with both hands and planting another kiss on his lips. Nyx hoisted her up. His hands folded beneath her rear as he spun them again. There was nothing proper about them in this moment. He was not the heir and she was not the poor female from the village. They were young people in love, her skirt hiked up her thighs and his shirt pulled free from the waist of his pants. They were free in this moment. Perhaps not the next, but for now they only lived for themselves.
Theia's laughs slowed as she rested her forehead on Nyx's. She met his eyes, felt the tingling excitement course through her body. Unable to stop herself, Theia angled her head and kissed the male again. He tasted just as sweet as ever; sweeter than Calliope's pastries and the frozen fruits in the Summer Court. Her life had been nothing but hell, and this male made it all worth it. As much pain as Nyx had put Theia through, she wouldn't change any of it. Their love would've never been this fierce, nor would the overwhelming sense of joy. Nyx was her joy, her light, her darkness. He was the moon, she was the sun, and their love seemed to stretch further than the stars themselves.