“You’re probably right. As always,” Tauran said, and he could hear how smitten he was in the tone of his own voice.
Kalai apparently could, too. His smile creased his eyes. The single dark freckle on his cheekbone was hard to see in the fading light, but Tauran had pressed his lips to it enough times to know exactly where it was. He cupped Kalai’s face, brushing his thumb over the spot, and felt Kalai lean into his touch.
“How are you feeling?” Tauran asked.
“Better than I have in a long time.” Kalai seemed to consider his words before he spoke again. “I was afraid the craving for the pills would never go away. That even after all this, I still wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about them.”
“And do you?” Tauran asked. “Think about them?”
“Sometimes,” Kalai admitted. He bowed his head, strands of black hair falling over his brow, tugged by the breeze. Iako had cut it, but it was still just long enough to graze his eyebrow. “Not so often, anymore. It just occurred to me I haven’t thought about them all day until now.”
“Told you you could do it.” Tauran took Kalai’s hand instead, bringing it to his lips, kissing each squared knuckle. “You can do anything.”
“Anything might be a bit of an overstatement,” Kalai said, but his smile widened.
“You are a force of nature,” Tauran continued. “A hurricane. A tidal wave.” He leaned against Kalai, who surrendered under his weight, letting Tauran pin him against the roof.
Kalai’s laughter filled the evening air, the first time he’d laughed since falling ill, and the sound nourished Tauran like water to a parched man. There had been days he’d truly feared he might lose this beautiful man.
Memories of the past few weeks made him shiver. The screams he could handle. If Kalai could scream, it meant he still had strength left to live. The worst had been the quiet days where Kalai had barely moved, pale and teetering on the edge between worlds. On those days, Tauran had discovered fear a million times stronger than his fear of heights. On those days, Tauran had feared he might lose himself, too. That losing Kalai would break him beyond repair this time.
And they’d overcome that, too. Together.
“Skies, I love you.” Tauran bowed his head to Kalai’s throat and sealed the words into his skin with kisses.
Kalai whispered those words back to him, sealing them into his skin with kisses. His hands on Tauran’s back, stroking his neck, felt so strong, so alive, and Tauran didn’t think he’d ever been so grateful for anything before in his life.
A quiet rumble filled the air. Tauran was so focused on Kalai’s body pressed against his own, the strength of his pulse beating against Tauran’s lips, that it took him a moment to register the sound. He raised his head.
“Is that the dragons?” Kalai asked, searching Tauran’s eyes.
Tauran frowned. “Leyra!” he called. Sitting up, he shuffled carefully along the roof to peer around the wall of the house to the garden where Leyra and Arrow rested. The dragons both had their heads raised and their wings half-unfolded in preparation for flight. Leyra’s lips were peeled back and her eyes were wide as she looked around. “What’s wrong?”
“What is it?” Kalai joined him, tilting his head to look past Tauran. “Arrow?”
Tauran looked around, almost expecting to see some hidden danger reveal itself, but nothing moved in the shadows.
“Are the wild dragons spooking them?” Tauran asked.
Kalai gripped the edge of the shed roof to lower himself onto the grass. “Arrow has never growled at another dragon like that.” He held up his hands for Tauran.
Taking his hands, Tauran followed suit, letting his right leg take most of the impact of the short drop. As soon as he was down, Leyra slinked to him, her chest against the ground.
Tauran rubbed gentle circles on the sides of her face. “Easy, girl. Everything’s fine.”
“It takes a lot to scare a titan,” Kalai said, watching Leyra with unease.
He barely finished the sentence before another rumble rolled over them. It didn’t come from a dragon. The ground vibrated with such intensity that the potted plants rattled. The street lights flickered, and somewhere, a window shattered.
“Earthquake?” Tauran asked, voice raised above the noise.
“I don’t know.” Kalai stepped back from Arrow who spread his wings and took to the air.
Leyra cried, and Tauran patted her nose, putting some space between them. “Go on, girl. Up you go.”