Desert Lily

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lilium

Though I felt better after the bath, it felt like this forest was draining me of my energy. My body felt heavy as I stuck to Kai's side while he guided us through the darkness. "How can you see so well in the darkness, darling?" I asked as our shoes squished through wet mud.

"All of the tribes have great eyesight to see within complete darkness. It was something that our ancestors adapted to since hunting at night was their main source of food. It was much easier to do as well since our people weren't getting sick from the rays the stars were casting." He explained as I nodded in understanding. So it was the sun that made me sick. It felt worse than heat exhaustion but it made sense.

"Where would we be going?" I inquired as we kept walking while this overwhelming feeling slowly started to set in. I couldn't quite pinpoint what this feeling was but it kept eating away at me. It wasn't anger like what we talked about, it was something else.

"We'll have to find somewhere to stay for a little while so that you can rest up." He informed me as I felt his eyes on me. "Are you okay, my love?" He asked, stopping in his tracks while turning and holding my shoulders as it felt like I had a hard time breathing. No words would leave my lips as I was finally able to pinpoint exactly what was going on. I was having a panic attack but why here of all places? I thought to myself as cold sweat began to cover my body. "Lily, I'm going to lower you to the ground. Everything will be okay." He soothed as I clung to him. "Focus on my breathing, my love." He instructed while breathing slowly as I closed my eyes and listened.

"I'm scared and I don't know why," I mumbled while holding onto Kaisen a little tighter as he kissed my forehead. "What happened with anger?" I asked while opening my eyes only to be met with darkness. Was it because I'd never been in this type of darkness since that night?

"My love, though you can't see me, listen to my voice. I'm right here with you. I won't let anything hurt you." He leaned forward, speaking everything into my ear softly as I let my hands roam over his chest, thinking he might disappear. "You're safe, my love." He added as I took a deep breath before leaning on him.

"I'm sorry, I'm holding us back. I should've listened to you when you said we should do this in the morning." I apologized as Kai kissed my forehead again while pulling me into his arms. We sat there for a while just hugging each other before Kai helped me up.

"Let's get going, my love. We need to find shelter soon." He instructed while brushing me off before leading the way as I walked next to him. It felt a little weird that he didn't really acknowledge what I had said. Like he was agreeing with it though he didn't say anything. Quietly shaking my head, I reminded myself that this was the forest talking. It wanted me to find little things to get pissed at Kai for. I couldn't help but think about Kaisen's words before entering here.

"I love you, darling." I smiled off into the darkness as I felt his eyes fall on me for a second before he kissed my cheek.

"I love you too, my love. Watch your footing here." He warned as I tried to heed his warning but something hooked my ankle, pulling me down as I fell into the darkness. "Lily!" Kai's voice called after me, growing more distant the more I fell before I hit something hard and went rolling.

"Fuck." I groaned as my body slammed against something hard, knocking the breath out of me. Slowly catching my breath, I couldn't help but laugh at this unfortunate turn of events. Why couldn't we just have attitudes with each other and resolve it wherever we were supposed to end up? Why did I have to fall and hurt myself? I could feel my eyes burning with my unshed tears as I furiously wiped my eyes. "Why was I always fucking crying? I never used to cry this much." I frowned while staring up into pitch darkness as tears streamed down my face. I just wanted to be happy.

"LILY! LILIUM!" The frantic calling echoed through my surroundings as I slowly touched the ground next to my body before flowers grew around me. "Is that you, Lily?" He called, his voice a little bit calmer now as the flowers continued to grow before I closed my eyes. I was tired and sleepy. I thought to myself as my surroundings faded out before I passed out.

[~~~]

"My love?" The familiar voice called as something wet touched my arm before moving up. Softly groaning, I slowly opened my eyes while focusing on my surroundings. "How are you feeling?" He asked as I closed my eyes for a second before opening them again. I slowly searched for Kai before our eyes met as he smiled at me.

"What happened?" I asked as he gently caressed my cheek before helping me sit up. I slowly glanced around at my surroundings, noticing that we were now in a large cave with vines lining the walls and some hanging on the outside entrance. Yet, past those vines was still darkness.

“One of the creatures pulled you down into its pit. Thankfully, it wasn’t a meat eater but you fell and hurt your right leg. Your arm got busted up as well so I’ll have to repair it when we get back home.” He explained while standing to his feet and walking towards the entrance before pulling the vines back. I watched as he disappeared into the darkness for a few seconds before re-entering the cave. He quietly walked back over to me before sitting down in his previous spot. He didn’t say much, just quietly leaned forward and kissed me before parting his lips as cool liquid trickled into my mouth. Leaning into him more, I quietly drunk all of the liquid before I gently swirled my tongue against his.

“What was that?” I asked, slightly in a daze while staring at him as he turned a dark red. Damn, that was hot. I thought to myself while biting my lip as his gaze followed my actions before he looked away. “That was good, may I have some more?” I inquired, partially telling the truth as I was indeed thirsty but I wanted to kiss Kai again.

“It was rainwater collected from the vines. The water is pure here, but I can go get you some more if you’re really thirsty.” He shyly spoke while looking at me as I slowly licked my lips while nodding before he stood up. Jeez, this was going to be an interesting ritual. I thought to myself as Kaisen came back and sat down next to me before we repeated the same thing. I was surprised when he swirled his tongue around mine all the while pulling me into his arms. Slowly pulling back, we stared at each other as a sly smile crossed his face. “Did that quench your thirst?” He asked as I quietly shook my head.

“No, but it’ll have to do for now until we complete this ritual then you can quench my thirst all day and night.” I smiled at him as the dark red blush returned to his face. “You’re just so cute to tease, darling.” I quietly laughed as he pouted at me before kissing me again.

“As soon as you wake up, it’s endless teasing.” He stated as I nodded before kissing him this time. “But, do you feel pain anywhere?” He asked, all seriousness rushing to his face as he held me in his arms while I looked up at him. Quietly shaking my head, I leaned forward to kiss him one more time but he dodged my kiss. “I’m serious, my love. Take a second and see if you feel any pain whatsoever because you fell a great distance into that creature's territory.” He worried as I slowly pulled away from him while growing angry.

“I’m fine, Kaisen!” I yelled while stretching my left arm roughly with no problem before I did my right arm as pain jolted up from my nub. Biting my lip, I proceeded to stretch everything else out as the exact thing happened with my right ankle. “I’m fine!” I bit out through the pain as Kai frowned at me.

“You’re being stubborn. You’re in a great deal of pain! Why are you pretending you’re not?!” He yelled back as I frowned at him.

“Because I feel useless! How are we supposed to get through this when I can’t even hold up my side of the bargain? Why would you even want to be with me, Kaisen?! I know you’re ready to throw an ‘I told you so’ at me!” I screamed as the strange words left my mouth. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t even angry, just annoyed yet here I was yelling at the one person who has stuck by my side. Was this what they meant by the little things because it went from having a flirty conversation to a full-on shout fest?

“Yeah, I really do because I know how tired you are. But, I also understand your determination because I’m ready for us to become one. That’s why we’re here now, arguing because this is what we’ll have to deal with. This is why we’re angry.” He explained while staring at me as I quietly looked away. “At least let me take care of your pains for now then we’ll worry about what happens next. It’s not you versus me, it’s us against the odds.” He added as I looked at him before nodding.

“You’re right, us against the odds.” I softly smiled while showing him my nub as he gently rubbed some blue paste on it.