Seven Suns

Fifth Sun: Quiet Moments

The pulsating heartbeat of the Underground had grown faint as Kai and Rory found themselves miles away, speeding down an empty highway in a beat-up convertible they'd "borrowed" from Jade's crew. Rory's Civic crashed and they had no money to fill it up. The warm night air whipped through their hair as the city's glittering skyline shrank in the rearview mirror.

"Can you believe we just ditched the Underground like that?" Rory shouted over the roar of the engine, a wide grin stretching across his face.

Kai mirrored his expression, feeling utterly unburdened and recklessly alive. "What, you want to turn back?"

"Hell no!" Rory crowed, throwing his head back and howling with unrestrained laughter. "This is the most free I've ever felt!"

In that moment, the world seemed to stretch out before them in an endless tapestry of possibility. After days of chaotic urban adventures, they had finally broken free of the Underground's dark, pulsing embrace to embark on a journey of their own making.

Kai could scarcely wrap his mind around how quickly everything had changed in such a short span of time. Just a few endless nights ago, he and Rory had been strangers passing like ships in the night. Now, an inextricable bond connected them, thrumming with the electric charge of newfound wildness and abandon.

As the city vanished behind them, Kai found himself stealing sidelong glances at his new companion—really drinking in the details of Rory's features for the first time. The strong, chiseled line of his jaw. The dancing flames of reckless mirth in his eyes. The way his teeth caught his lower lip as they hurtled down the deserted road, slicing through the inky darkness.

Rory must have felt the weight of Kai's gaze, because he turned suddenly, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "See something you like?"

The unexpected lilt in his voice caused a jolt of awareness to snake down Kai's spine. He cleared his throat, refocusing on the endless ribbon of highway ahead. "Just trying to figure you out, that's all. You're kind of a hard guy to read."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rory lean back in his seat, studying Kai with unabashed curiosity. "Me? Hard to read? I'm an open book. Says the guy who went from a self-admitted dull, risk-averse nobody to a bat-out-of-hell adrenaline junkie pretty much overnight."

"Hey, you're the one who's always having a good time, makes me wonder if that's the truth. But you brought it out in me," Kai countered with a shameless grin. "I was just waiting for the right time to unlock my wild side. The right person."

There it was again—that subtle shift in energy, thrillingly intimate and borderline dangerous. Kai forced himself to keep his gaze trained ahead as his pulse kicked up a notch.

"Is that so?" he murmured, injecting his voice with a hint of challenge. "Well, I'd say I've still got plenty of surprises left to spring on you."

He punctuated the promise with a searing look, allowing his eyes to openly roam the lines of Rory's body in a daring display of boldness.

Rory didn't so much as blink, holding Kai's smoldering gaze with a hunger burning behind his eyes. "I'm counting on it."

The moment stretched taut, loaded with undeniable heat and a frisson of illicit temptation. Kai found himself inexplicably unable to tear his eyes away from the other man's smoldering stare.

Finally, Rory's lips curved into a sly, secretive smile. "So where are you taking us, daredevil?"

The sound of his gravelly voice snapped Kai from his daze. He blinked hard, forcing himself to look away as he gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity.