Kadan Hurt
The inn was quiet by the time night truly settled in.
Most of the travelers had gone to their rooms, and the common hall had dimmed to a handful of candles and the low glow of the hearth. Rain tapped gently against the windows, a soft, steady rhythm that made the whole place feel tucked away from the world.
The bard sat on one of the benches near the fire, her lute resting against her knee. She wasn’t playing. Her fingers hovered over the strings, then stilled again.
Kadan stood a short distance away, near the wall. Even at rest, he looked like he belonged on a battlefield rather than in a warm, cramped inn. But he had stayed. Again.
“You don’t have to keep watch,” she said, glancing up at him. “Nothing dangerous has happened for days.”
“I know,” he replied.
He didn’t move from his spot.
She smiled faintly. “Then why are you still standing over there like a guard post?”
A pause.
“…Habit.”
That was the most she was going to get out of him, she knew. Still, she patted the bench beside her. “Sit. Please? You’re making the innkeeper nervous.”
His gaze flicked to the empty space beside her, then back to her face. For a moment, she wondered if he would refuse.
But he crossed the room and sat.
Not too close. Not too far. Just enough space between them to feel the warmth of the fire rather than each other.
She started to play then, soft and slow, a melody she only ever played when things were calm. When she was safe. When she didn’t feel like she had to be ready to run.
Kadan listened in silence.
After a while, she realized he was very still. More still than usual. His shoulders were tense, the kind of tension that came from someone who didn’t quite know what to do with their hands.
“Does it hurt?” she asked gently.
“No.”
“Not your body,” she said, setting the lute aside. “Your arm. You’ve been holding it stiff all evening.”
He looked down at it, as if only just realizing. There was a faint dark stain on the edge of his sleeve, nearly hidden in the low light.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
“Kadan.”
He didn’t answer.
With a small sigh, she shifted closer, reaching for his sleeve. He didn’t pull away, but she felt the subtle hitch in his breath as her fingers brushed his wrist.
The cut was shallow, but not clean. It must have happened earlier that day, when he’d stepped in to deal with a wandering pack of beasts before they got too close to the road.
“You always say that,” she murmured, dabbing gently at the wound with a clean cloth. “ ‘It’s nothing.’ You said the same thing when you could barely stand last month.”
“I was standing,” he said.
She laughed softly. “Barely.”
He didn’t argue after that.
The closeness made her suddenly, acutely aware of him. The heat of his skin, the faint scent of rain and steel, the quiet steadiness of his breathing. Her hands slowed, then stopped as she finished tying the bandage.
“There,” she said, but her voice came out quieter than she meant it to.
She realized she was still holding his hand.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Kadan’s fingers were warm and calloused, strong even at rest. She felt his thumb shift slightly against her palm, not quite pulling away, not quite holding on.
She looked up.
He was already looking at her.
His expression was as composed as ever, unreadable to anyone who didn’t know him. But she did know him, now. Well enough to notice the tightness in his jaw, the careful stillness, the way his breath seemed just a fraction slower than normal.
“You should rest,” he said quietly.
“I could say the same to you.”
“I don’t need—”
Before he could finish, she leaned forward.
It wasn’t bold. It wasn’t dramatic. It was just a small, hesitant press of her lips to the corner of his mouth, like she was afraid he might vanish if she aimed any closer.
For a moment, he went completely still.
She pulled back almost immediately, eyes wide. “I— I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
Kadan moved.
His hand came up to her shoulder, not forceful, just steady. He leaned down slightly, and this time when their lips met, it was deliberate. Careful. Like he was handling something fragile.
The kiss was brief. Soft.
But it left her breathless.
When he pulled away, his hand didn’t leave her shoulder. It lingered there, grounding and warm. She realized she was trembling a little and, without thinking, leaned closer, her forehead resting against his chest.
He hesitated.
Then, slowly, awkwardly, his arm came around her.
Kadan held her like he wasn’t entirely sure he was allowed to. Like if he held too tightly, she might break. But when she shifted closer, fitting against him, he relaxed just a fraction and let his chin rest lightly against the top of her head.
Neither of them spoke.
The fire crackled. The rain kept falling. And for once, the Sidereal didn’t pull away.