The kiss did not end quickly.
It lingered like a tide that refused to retreat.
For a moment the entire ocean seemed to hold still around them.
Noctyrr's lips had been warm and intense, a storm barely restrained. Caelum's had followed like the calm that always came after thunder—gentle, steady, grounding.
Between them, Aerin felt the bond blaze brighter than it ever had before.
Not painful.
Not overwhelming.
Just… right.
Her breath trembled slightly as she leaned back against the balcony rail, both kings close enough that their presence wrapped around her like the sea itself.
Noctyrr rested one hand against the stone beside her shoulder, his silver-dark eyes studying her face as though memorizing it.
"Well," he murmured.
"That took long enough."
Aerin laughed softly, though the sound carried a trace of breathlessness.
"You're the one who kept stopping."
Caelum raised an eyebrow beside her.
"That is not how I remember the evening unfolding."
