#shaladin

“Storms!” he said, kneeling beside her. “Shallan, what happened to you?”

“Well,” she said, relaxing her arms and legs enough that the bloodstain covering her chest was visible, “as a connoisseur of things that have killed me, I think a sword happened.”

Kaladin’s eyes widened at the sight. “Shallan…”

“The evil force that rules the palace did not think highly of someone coming with a letter from the king.” She smiled at him. “You could say, um, it made that point quite clear.”

Smile, she thought. I need you to smile.

I need what happened to be alright. Something that can simply roll off me.

Please.

“Well…” Kaladin started. “I’m glad we… took a stab at this anyway.”

He smiled.

It was all right. Just another day, another infiltration. Relief washed through her in a cooling, calming wave. He helped her to her feet, then went to check on her wound.

His hand against her chest made her breath catch. His fingers found her skin through the hole in her coat and the feelings swirling within her suddenly turned warm.

Kaladin seemed to realise where his hands were and he froze before trying to pull back, but Shallan’s hand covered his, keeping it pressed against her.

“Sorry,” he stammered. “Surgeon’s instincts.”

His face was very close to hers, though she saw little else beyond his eyes. Those hard, intense eyes; whether brown or blue, looking into them was like looking into a highstorm. Her breath was coming heavily enough that both of their hands moved with her chest. Slowly, she moved his hand, sliding it over until it cupped her breast through her coat. 

She saw the shift in his expression as she did that. She saw the uncertainty get replaced with hunger and the self-control slip away. Her eyes dropped to his lips; slightly parted. She only saw them for a second, because a second later they were pressed against her own.

She gasped into his mouth as all of her senses were suddenly consumed by Kaladin. The firm muscles of his body pushing her against the hard stone wall, his scent filling her nose, his hair brushing her cheek, his large, warm hands on her breast and her waist. She pressed herself even closer against him, his warmth a reminder of how real and alive he was.

Their kiss drew corrupted passionspren but Shallan hardly noticed them. Her entire world was Kaladin.