Viktor lifted his other hand defensively, wincing as he touched his tongue gingerly. Blood smeared across his fingers. "Hey! Wait! Weren't you the one kissing 'me'?!"
Kaida stopped mid-swing, her fist hovering in the air.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, her chest heaving as she stared at him—at his dark eyes, now fully open and focused, at the way he was looking at her with that infuriating smirk starting to form despite the blood on his lips.
"You..." She couldn't even finish the sentence.
Her hand dropped slowly as the reality of what just happened crashed over her in waves.
He was awake.
He was 'alive'.
The tears she'd been holding back started streaming down her face again—not from grief this time, but from sheer, overwhelming 'relief'.
"You pervert," she whispered, her voice shaking. She turned her head away, one hand coming up to wipe at her mouth like she could erase what had just happened. "I thought you..."
She couldn't say it.
