Kazimir was still too shaken from the fall to properly control his body, so Selis decided to carry him the rest of the way up the mushroom.
His heart still raced, not just from the lingering fear but from the words she had spoken.
At first, he felt a wave of embarrassment, being carried like this was humiliating. But as he watched the blinding speed at which Selis climbed, even while holding him, he quickly abandoned his pride. She moved almost ten times faster than his best attempt. Besides, this wasn't the first time, she had carried him before, when she saved his life and brought him to the castle.
So, he let himself be held.
Selis gripped him with effortless strength, one muscular arm securing him with ease. Yet, despite the power behind her hold, her touch was careful and gentle, as if she were holding something both precious and fragile.
It took her only minutes to reach the mushroom's cap, even while carrying him.
When they finally reached the top, Selis gently set him down. The surface beneath him was soft, almost cloud-like, and for the first time in a while, Kazimir allowed himself to relax.
Selis sat down beside him, her usual reserved presence now somehow comforting.
Together, they gazed at the world stretched out before them.
They were so high up that even the castle's tallest tower seemed small in comparison. From here, the jungle below looked like an endless sea of green, and the distant castle, bathed in silver moonlight, stood in stark contrast to the wild nature surrounding it. It looked almost ethereal, as if it were sculpted from the light of the moon itself.
Kazimir was entranced by the sight.
And then he remembered.
The fall. The terror. The certainty that he was going to die.
And then, Selis catching him.
Her words echoed in his mind:
"I will always be here for you, to catch you when you fall."
A strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred inside him. It burned in his chest, warm, intense, consuming, something he couldn't quite name.
Before he realized it, he leaned against her, his head barely reaching her upper arm. The cool steel of her armor pressed against his temple, yet instead of discomfort, it stoked the fire within him.
Selis said nothing.
After a pause, she wrapped an arm around him, slowly, carefully, like she wasn't sure if she should. Her hand settled in his hair, calloused fingers moving through it with a quiet, almost uncertain tenderness.
Kazimir's heart pounded.
The fire inside his chest burned brighter with every passing second.
Her touch. Her steady voice. Her strong yet gentle hands. Even the familiar scent of sweat and steel, something he had long grown used to during training, calmed him.
No, it did more than that.
It set his heart ablaze.
They sat there in silence, the fireflies weaving between them, their soft glow flickering like stars in the night.
His exhaustion finally caught up with him.
The climb. The fall. The lingering adrenaline. It all drained away.
His eyelids grew heavy.
The hum of fireflies surrounded him as he drifted further into sleep.
And just before darkness fully claimed him, he could have sworn.
He felt the faintest brush of lips against the top of his head.