Dark Matter

Chapter Twelve

"Cal's going to die."

I hold Mare close in my arms as she stubbornly fights the urge to cry. The news of Cal and the Shadow Legion leaving for the front has had an unexpected effect on her. While I knew she and the crown prince were close, I'd never imagine her to be so wrecked after hearing the mere possibility of his death.

"You don't know that for sure. Cal is a powerful person. I mean, he's a burner! One of the most powerful ones at that. Him being silver and unexperienced doesn't make him a weak target." I try to rub soothing patterns on her back, scolding myself for my semi monotone voice. It isn't that I don't care about Cal, it's that I don't know him well enough to do so.

Mare pulls back and I look closer at her. Tears glisten as they mark their way down her cheeks. She wipes them as soon as she catches me staring, looking a bit ashamed.

"I know that because he's a soldier."

I raise an eyebrow. "Isn't that supposed to help?"

I can practically feel Mare's struggle not to glare at me. "I mean he will be ready to die if his time comes, which I do not want."

I move a bit, hugging my knees as I watch Mare lose the battle and start to shed silent tears again.

"Do you want to talk about why you don't want that?"

"Oh come on, why would I want someone to die?"

"I didn't ask you that." I stretch my legs. "I asked why you don't want Cal to die? You didn't seem too fond of silvers when we first met."

Mare sighs, looking slightly flustered. She runs her hand through her hair and takes another deep breath. "I don't know. I just can't tolerate the thought of him dying."

"Is it because you might have feelings for him?"

I expected Mare's head to snap up, for her to glare at me and deny everything but she doesn't. She just bites her lip slightly and nods her head.

Suddenly the room is too cold. The kind of cold you get when you've been doused with ice water. I struggle to find my breath and when I do, I realize that Mare has inched closer.

She takes my hand and laces her fingers with mine. And I try not to lose myself too much. Not to fall down into the spiral of her hands, so soft and yet, incredibly rough. Just like herself.

"What- are you doing?" I clear my throat after squeaking out the four words. Mare doesn't seem to notice as she squeezes and unsqueezes my hand, as if trying to remember the feel of it.

"It's not just him."

"Come again?"

She rolls her eyes, finally looking up to stare directly into my eyes. "It's not just him that I have feelings for."

I'm going to pass out. Shut up brain. Is she saying that she likes me too? Too? Too.

I find myself leaning towards her with a confidence I didn't know I possessed. "Who's the other guy then?"

She laughs, a soft, playful laugh that barely lasts a second. "Are you gonna make me say-"

"Yes."

She takes a deep breath and releases my hand. And do I wish she hadn't done that. But what she does next takes my breath away completely. She rests her hands upon my cheeks and pulls me in. I find myself rushing to find her lips.

As our lips touch I rest my hands on her back. Her lips taste just like I thought they would, and how I had that thought I have no idea. I draw soft circles on her back as our lips move against each other. My mind going completely hazy and my thoughts not even a jumble of incoherence anymore.