The Hollow Shore was no place for peace, yet peace came anyway, fragile as spun glass.
By dawn, the fire had withered to ash, but Kael managed to coax life back into it with dry reeds and stubborn hands. The flames licked weakly upward, painting his face in hues of gold and shadow. His hair hung damp, his eyes hooded, but he looked steady,as if his watch had lasted a lifetime.
Rhea sat close enough to the fire that its warmth prickled her skin. The weariness in her bones had dulled, leaving her hollow but restless. Every sound of the waves seemed too loud in the silence between them.
Kael finally broke it. "You didn't scream."
She blinked at him, startled. "What?"
"In your sleep," he clarified. His gaze flicked to her, then back to the horizon. "Your breathing changed. I thought you might cry out, but you didn't."
Rhea stared into the flames, the Queen's whispers still clinging to her like smoke. "If I start screaming," she said quietly, "I'm not sure I'll stop."
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached into his pack and pulled out a strip of dried meat, tearing it cleanly in half. He tossed one piece to her.
"Eat," he said. "Hollow or not, you'll need your strength."
She caught it clumsily, staring at him. "You always sound like you've done this before."
"Surviving?" He chewed his portion, unbothered. "I've had practice."
Rhea bit into hers, though her stomach clenched more than it hungered. The salt burned her tongue, grounding her in the here and now. She swallowed hard.
"You make it sound simple," she murmured.
Kael's eyes met hers across the fire. "It isn't. But it's easier when someone else is alive beside you."
Something in his voice softened, cracked faintly at the edges, as though he wasn't only speaking of her survival.
Rhea's chest tightened. She wanted to say something,anything to fill the sudden weight between them, but words tangled in her throat. Instead, she rose and walked toward the surf, letting the icy waves lap at her boots.
The sea stretched endless, silver under morning light. Somewhere beyond that horizon lay safety. Or ruin.
Kael came to stand beside her, not too close, but near enough that she felt the heat of him through the chill wind.
"You should rest more," he said at last.
"I can't," Rhea admitted. Her reflection wavered in the black water, pale and gaunt, eyes shadowed. She almost didn't recognize herself. "Every time I close my eyes, she's there."
Kael was silent for a long moment. Then, quietly, he asked, "What does she say?"
Rhea stiffened. The question was too sharp, too intimate. Yet under his gaze, she found herself answering.
"She says I don't need you," she whispered. "That I could have all the power I wanted, if I let her in. That I'll use her again, whether I mean to or not."
His jaw tightened. "Do you believe her?"
She hesitated. The truth hovered between them, dangerous and heavy. "Sometimes."
Kael exhaled, slow and ragged. Then he reached out,not to grip, not to claim, but to gently thread his fingers through hers. His hand was warm, steady against her trembling one.
"Then I'll believe enough for both of us," he said.
The words sank into her like embers, hot and aching. She looked up at him, startled, caught by the intensity in his golden eyes. For a heartbeat, the Hollow Shore seemed to fade,the cliffs, the sea, even the Queen's lingering whispers.
It was only them.
Kael's thumb brushed against her knuckles. His face was close enough that she could see the faint scar cutting across his cheekbone, the shadow of stubble along his jaw. Close enough that she could feel his breath mingle with hers in the salt air.
Rhea's pulse thundered. Part of her screamed to pull back, to run before this became something she couldn't undo. But another part,wilder, hungrier,leaned toward him, drawn as surely as the tide to the moon.
For a moment, it seemed the world held its breath.
Then Kael released her hand, stepping back with a sharpness that left the air colder than the sea spray. His expression shuttered, hard walls rising where warmth had been.
Rhea's heart lurched.
"We should move inland before nightfall," he said briskly, his voice once more the soldier's—clipped, guarded. "There are caves in the cliffs. Better shelter than this cursed sand."
The fragile moment was gone, scattered like ash in the wind.
But its echo lingered in Rhea's chest, fragile and burning, long after she followed him away from the shore.