The Heir of Moon-Fire

Chapter 19

Emily's POV

I stood frozen as Mal walked towards me. Shit, shit, shit... I thought as he sat down beside me. I cast a glance to where Elentiya had been standing, but she was gone.

"I think we need to talk," he said after several minutes of silence. I didn't answer as I stared at my hands.

"I don't know how much of that you meant," he started. "But, I do need to tell you something, either way. I promised, after all."

"Promised?" I asked in confusion, finally, looking up at him.

He nodded. "A couple of years back. A year after we became friends, I promised to tell you the big secret that I kept from you after I had sorted it all out by myself." My mouth made an 'o'. He paused. "I've fallen in love with you," he said. He averted his gaze as my eyes widened.

"You've what?" I asked in complete shock.

"I know. You're my best friend. I shouldn't feel this for you. I get that you probably didn't mean what you said earlier. And I'm not mocking you for it. I needed to tell you. I've kept it from you for too long..." he babbled. "Best friends don't keep things like this from each other..."

"I want to kiss you so bad right now," I told him, cutting off his rant. He whipped his head around to face me. I stared into his eyes. They had darkened slightly in colour during the three years we'd known each other. 

"Go ahead," he breathed, snapping me out of my thoughts. My eyes flickered down to his lips.

Neither of us moved for the longest time until I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned in, pressing my lips gently against his. I pulled back slowly.

His eyes were wide with shock as a smile started to form on his lips, the lips I had just kissed. He reached out with a hand, gently brushing placing it on my cheek. I swallowed thickly as his thumb brushed over my lips. He leaned in unhurriedly, giving me time to pull back if I wanted to. I didn't.

When we pulled back a second time, he was still smiling at me.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked abruptly, making him nod. I smiled brightly before grabbing his hand, dragging him with me.

We walked through Oakwald forest. The Staghorns loaming above us as the sunlight filtered through the trees and onto the snow, lighting up the entire forest. I used my magic against his mental shields, feeling them melt away as I brushed them.

"You really need to work on defending your mind," I told him as we walked. His eyes were closed, his hand clutching mine as we wandered. 

He hummed lightly as he shrugged. "They only ever melt like that with you," he replied. I could only stare at him silently in surprise.

We stood there in silence for a while, letting each other's company be enough to occupy us. I couldn't stop thinking about the two kisses we'd shared earlier, which led me to thoughts about us. I was so deep in thought that I forgot that I was currently sharing a connection with Mal.

"We can be whatever you want us to be," he said suddenly, snapping me out of my own thoughts. When I realized what had happened, my cheeks flushed red.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," I told him. He let out a bursting laugh that made me smile. "I think I'd like to date you," I said. He immediately stopped laughing. I nearly flinched away from the amount of hope shining in his eyes. It made me wonder how I had been so oblivious to his feelings before.

"Yeah... I wasn't too good at hiding it," he said. I mentally slapped myself again while I smiled at him gently before we both collapsed into a fit of laughter.

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Mal and I were sitting at lunch with our friends. So far, no one suspected that we were dating. Probably, because they'd gotten used to us hanging out frequently, teasing each other, and giving each other random compliments. It honestly surprised me that it had taken so long for us to get together.

"Cute guy, at three o'clock," Ethan said. He was sitting across from Mal and me with Ella and Maddy beside him. I felt Mal stiffen slightly, so I placed a hand on his knee. I wasn't going anywhere.

The guy stopped at our table, making me turn to smile at him kindly. He cast a glance at his friends, who nodded reassuringly.

"Ummm, Emily... I-I was wondering... If you would like to, um, go on a date," he asked.

I gave him a sad smile. "I'm afraid I'm already taken," I replied.

"Oh," he muttered, the disappointment clear in his voice before he walked off.

All attention turned to me. "You have a boyfriend?" Maddy asked. There was curiosity written across her features.

"Oh yes... The most amazing boyfriend I could ask for. He's smart... And funny... And kind." I looked at Mal out of the corner of my eyes. He had his face buried in his hands.

Ella was watching us with an amused expression while Ethan and Maddy glanced around the lunchroom. Mal mumbled something into his hands.

"Care to repeat that?" I urged him. He just mumbled again into his hands. I rolled my eyes at him.

I reached out quietly with my magic. Ethan and Maddy were starting to discuss who they thought it could be.

'I am not those things,' he replied as soon as I was past his mental walls.

'You most definitely are,' I told him. 'I'm going to kiss you now.'

He whipped around to face me, words on the tip of his tongue. I beat him to it, though, by pressing a kiss to his lips.

When we pulled apart, we saw Ella smiling at us. "Ha! I told you so!" she declared

Ethan and Maddy turned around from their bickering. "Told who, what?" they asked at the same time. 

"Wait, why are you smiling?" Maddy asked Mal. "I thought..." Her jaw dropped as she realized what happened. Ethan still looked lost. I tried my best to stifle the laughter that was threatening to burst forth. Mal had no qualms about laughing at them.

"You're so oblivious, Ethan," he said with a smirk.

"So are you," he shot back.

Mal rolled his eyes. "At least, I have an excuse. Not being able to see body language is quite the hindrance," Mal teased. Maddy was gaping at him.

"Why are you gaping?" I asked Maddy.

"He made a joke about being blind," she hissed.

Mal chuckled. "Ems and I do that all the time," he stated.

"Okay... So how long has this been going on?" Ella asked.

I shrugged. "Two weeks. I'm kinda surprised no one caught on."

"To be fair, we hung out a lot even before we were dating," Mal pointed out. 

"True," I replied.

"Rude!" Maddy said as she crossed her arms, smiling playfully. "And I thought we were friends." I laughed good-naturedly at her comment.

"Okay, but seriously, what happened?" Ethan asked. We all stared at him for a second before dissolving into laughter.

A/N

Elentiya (May 1), 49

Lyria (September 9), 35

Malatyr (March 20), 17

Emily (July 15), 17