Silence clung to them like fog — thick, heavy, and impossible to shake.
Liora's pulse still thundered in her ears as she pushed past Kael, refusing to look back. If she did, she'd see the truth reflected in his eyes — the heat, the pull, the ache.
She wasn't ready for that.
The path narrowed again, leading into a deeper chamber lit only by a faint, otherworldly glow. Crystals jutted from the ceiling like frozen lightning, humming softly. Every step they took made the air shimmer around them, as though the mountain itself was breathing.
"This place is alive," Kael said, his voice low.
Liora didn't answer. She couldn't. Her skin still burned where he'd touched her — or almost touched her. And worse, her body remembered it. Craved more.
The chamber opened suddenly, revealing a pool of water so clear it reflected their faces like mirrors. Steam rose from its surface, fragrant with something sweet and earthy — wildflowers, maybe. Or something meant to disarm.
"Another test?" she asked.
Kael shrugged out of his cloak, not bothering to hide the way his eyes flicked over her. "Or maybe a gift."
She scowled. "I don't trust gifts from creatures who play with our minds."
He stepped to the edge of the water, then glanced over his shoulder. "You coming?"
"I'm not bathing with you."
His smirk returned — the cocky, infuriating one. "Who said anything about bathing? I was thinking more… washing the heat off."
Liora's glare faltered.
Because truth was, she wanted to.
Wanted to peel off the layers, step into that warmth, and pretend — just for a moment — that she wasn't at war with herself.
Instead, she sat on a stone near the edge, eyes fixed on the shimmering surface. Kael dropped into the water with a hiss, his muscles flexing as the heat wrapped around him.
"You look like you're about to combust," he said after a long silence.
She forced a laugh. "Just wondering if I should drown you and be done with it."
Kael swam closer, pausing just below where she sat. Water slicked his hair back, droplets tracing down the hard lines of his jaw, his chest, his—
Liora cursed under her breath and looked away.
"I didn't imagine it, did I?" he asked quietly.
She didn't answer.
His voice dropped lower. "That moment. That want. It wasn't the mountain. It was us."
Her hands curled into fists in her lap. "You're my enemy."
"And yet you didn't stop me."
A beat passed.
Then another.
She looked down at him — really looked. Not the thief. Not the liar. Not the enemy.
Just a man. Raw, tired, dangerous… and heartbreakingly beautiful in the way only doomed things can be.
"Don't make me regret trusting you," she said softly.
His hand reached up, brushing her ankle — a silent promise, a warning, a plea.
"I won't."
And for now, that had to be enough.
But the mountain was still watching.
And it knew: the most dangerous kind of magic wasn't the kind that burned flesh.
It was the kind that tempted hearts.