Chapter 100 The first kiss 1

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 The first kiss 1

Talia’s POV

Days passed, and we continued to train together every evening.

Kaelen pushed me harder than I had pushed myself. He corrected my stance, showed me new moves, and he made me repeat them until my muscles screamed.

He did not go easy on me because I was his mate or because I was a woman. He treated me like any other warrior, and like someone who needed to be ready for battle.

He treated me like a soldier, like someone who had to fight, like someone who had to survive, and I appreciated that more than he knew.

In Cresswood, everyone treated me like I was nothing, and like I was made of glass that they could shatter, and glue back when touched too hard. But Kaelen did not see glass. He saw steel, and he wanted to sharpen it.

"Again," he would say, and I would punch until my knuckles bled.

"Again," and I would kick until my legs gave out.

"Again," and I would drag myself off the floor and keep fighting.

He did not praise me, and he did not encourage me with soft words. He just stood there, watching, correcting, and pushing me.

But sometimes, when he thought I was not looking, I would catch him staring. His gray eyes would be soft, and look almost proud.

Then he would look away, and the mask would return.

But I was getting stronger, and faster. My punches landed harder, my blocks were quicker, and my body was learning to move without thinking.

I could feel the difference in myself. My arms were stronger, my legs did not tire as quickly, and my punches had power behind them now, not just desperation.

Kaelen noticed too. I could see it in the way he watched me, and the way his eyes lingered a moment longer than necessary.

There was something in his gaze that I had not seen before. It was not hunger, and not desire. It was something softer, something like pride, or maybe it was admiration.

I did not know which it was, because I had never been looked at that way, not by anyone ever. It made my chest feel tight, but not in a bad way. Rather, it was in a way that made me want to be better.

"You are ready," he said one evening.

"I do not feel ready," I replied.

"You will never feel ready. But you are," he said again.

I wanted to believe him, and I wanted to trust his words. But the fear still lingered, cold and heavy in my chest.

One night, after a long session, we walked back to the room together. The hallway was dark, and the torches flickered low. My legs were heavy, and my arms ached.

I was tired. Too tired to watch where I was going.

My foot caught on the edge of a step, and I stumbled forward, with my arms flailing.

The world tilted, and my arms flew out, grasping for something to hold onto, as my heart lurched into my throat.

I had been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that I had not seen the step. My legs were heavy, my mind was foggy with exhaustion, and I knew that this was going to hurt.

I braced myself for the fall, but it never came. Because Kaelen’s hand had shot out to catch me.

He grabbed my waist, steadying me before I could fall. His grip was firm, and his body solid against mine.

I could feel the strength in his arms, and the steadiness of his stance. He had caught me like I weighed nothing, and like I was a leaf falling from a tree.

His body was solid against mine, very warm, and real. I had spent so long being touched only by cruelty, and by hands that hit and shoved and grabbed me.

But Kaelen’s hands were different.

They held me like I mattered, like I was something worth catching, worth keeping, and worth protecting. I did not know what to do with that.

My heart was pounding, and my breath came in short gasps.

I was close to him.

So close that I could see the sweat on his temples, and the pulse beating in his neck, and I could smell the pine and cold air that clung to his skin.

My own scent mixed with his, and for a moment, I forgot where I was.

I turned my head to thank him.

The word was on the tip of my tongue. "Thank you." They were two simple words, but they never made it out.

Because when I turned my face to his, my lips accidentally brushed against something soft and warm. And I realized they were his lips.

Time stopped in that moment, and the world fell away.

There was no trial, no Serena, and no fear. Just him looking straight into my eyes, and just us, frozen on the stairs.

My mind went blank. I could not think, I could not move, and I could not breathe.

Because I could not imagine how my lips had just brushed his.

The shock of it ran through me like lightning that was hot, and quick, and filled with electricity. I had never kissed anyone before, and I had never even thought about it either.

All through my life till now, there was no one to kiss, no one who wanted to kiss me, and no one who saw me as anything but a servant, a ghost, a girl to be ignored. But Kaelen saw me, and now his lips had touched mine.

I froze completely.

His eyes were wide, and his lips were parted, because he was just as surprised as I was.

Neither of us moved.