Lightbringer

The thrum of his fingertips was nothing compared to the persistent press of his hands cupping her neck, her jaw, her hip. The pressure of his lips, first light and then firmer, left her gasping. They existed in their own bubble of near-silence, punctuated only by ragged breaths and the hush of fingers dragging against fabric. Wendy groaned when he buried his face in her neck; she was dangerously lightheaded, gasping for air.

At first, when he finally pulled away, Wendy thought it was the mind-blowing kiss that left them both pale and shaking. And then she realized that she could barely stand.

“I…don’t…”

The grass swirled up to meet her.

When she came to, she found Piotr kneeling beside her, gently patting her face and hands. The pressure from his fingers was different—warmer, stronger—and his face was flushed.

“What happened?”

“Kissing me is bad for your health,” Piotr replied gravely, gently prodding her body in various places, looking for breaks. “I tried to catch you but my arms slid right through you.” He shook his head. “Prastee meenya pozhalosta, I’m so sorry. How is your arm?”

Wendy could see the panic in his eyes and she took his hand, gently squeezing it. “It’s throbbing a little, but I’ll live. What are you sorry for? You didn’t know this would happen.” She chuckled. “That was some kiss, though.”

“Amazing as it was, no kiss is worth hurting you.” He stroked the hair away from her face, eyes dark with panic. Wendy realized he was shaking. “I was afraid that I had killed you. After Specs…”

“But you didn’t.” Wendy struggled to sit up, ignoring the pressure on her shoulders where he tried to press down to keep her laying still. It was harder to do than before, but she was able to rest on her elbows and scoot until she was leaning against the tree for support. She was somewhat unnerved by exactly how much support she needed.

“I drained you.” Piotr held up his free hand. “Like you were one of the Lost. It’s almost exactly the same. Everything around me is brighter, more colorful.” He pressed his hand against the tree and, after a moment, slowly pushed his fingertips through the wood. “It is harder for me to phase, too.” He frowned and his fingers clenched together in her grip. “How do you feel?”

“Lightheaded,” she replied honestly, stroking his hand until the tension eased and his fingers relaxed. “Shaky. Like I just spent two hours riding the Flight Deck at Great America, or maybe the Teacups. Everything is still spinning a little.” She squeezed his hand, loving the supple-cool texture of it. “I’ll get over it, though. Promise. And we’ll be more careful next time.”

“Next time?” Piotr frowned. “I do not know how I feel about a next time. You are hurt…”

“Shhh,” she whispered. “I’m fine. Besides, if you think I’m letting you off the hook that easily, you’ve got another thing coming.” Wendy had lost him once already, and she wasn’t sure her heart could take another beating like before. It was worth risking a little temporary pain to keep him near. She ran her fingers through his hair, thrilling inside at the touch. He even felt more real under her hands. Solid, almost. Perhaps him taking a little of her energy had been a good thing after all.

“I do not know—”

Viper-fast, Wendy snatched his hand and pressed it against her ribcage, where he could feel the rapid thump of her heart. Her lips parted and she leaned forward, barely brushing his with the faintest, sweetest kiss. Under his palm, her heartbeat trebled and he felt his heart answer, the electric thrumming between them spiraling into a singing haze of sensation and feeling.

She drew back, gasping raggedly, and color returned to her cheeks in a high, pink flush. “The point is,” she whispered, “that, potential risks or not, I’ve never felt anything like that before.” She eyed him critically. “You haven’t either. Don’t deny it.”

He chuckled brokenly. “Of course not. This is…intense. Your point being?”

“This thing, whatever it is between us, it’s new and it’s special, and I’m not going to let you just walk away from it. From us. Not again.”

Wendy slid forward and cupped his face, running her thumb over his lower lip. Part of her knew that doing this, chasing after those electric kisses, was courting death, but she felt fearless and wild, unbreakably young. After all, she was the Lightbringer and death had to answer to her, not the other way around. At least, not yet. For now, she was untouchable. “Come on, Piotr. ‘Happier than you’ve ever been,’ remember? I’m your home? This thing we have is like a dream?”

“Possible nightmare,” he replied, but his tone was weak. Wendy knew that Piotr agreed with her. There was something about the way the world seemed to shift on its very foundation when they were together, the way the universe had neatly twisted until all there was for Piotr was Wendy, and Wendy for Piotr.

“Fine,” he murmured, his lips pressing against her temple, “I will go along with this insanity. For you, and because I am a selfish idiot who can’t bear to give you up. But there must be guidelines.”

“Guidelines. Uh huh.” Delighted with this turn of events, Wendy leaned forward and her warm lips traced fire down his jaw.

His voice cracked. “Limits. Rules.”

“Limits, sure thing,” she agreed, threading her fingers through his as she slowly kissed down his neck. “Rules. Gotcha.”

“Stop that,” he said, exasperated. Wendy leaned back against the tree and eyed him under the fall of her lashes. All at once Piotr looked faintly uneasy; it was like a rabbit being watched by a wolf. “You are… impossible.”

Wendy gave him a twinkling smile. “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Hah-hah. I mean my words, Wendy.” Piotr scooted away, putting even more space between them so that he wouldn’t be tempted to let her draw him in again. Firmly, he shook his head. “Rules.”

“Piotr, you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I might,” he stressed. “I might. Or you might forget yourself and accidentally reap me. Either one of us could easily hurt the other. So…rules.” Piotr watched her warily. “Okay? Yes?”

“Fine,” Wendy huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, pouting. “Yay, rules.”

He was at her side in a moment, gathering her into his arms and hugging her tight. “This is for both of us, love.” He rubbed his chin against the top of her head. “I would die a thousand deaths to kiss you and never stop. But I will not hurt you if I can help it, Wendy. Let me do this. For us.”

“I know,” Wendy grumbled, but her arms snuck out and wrapped loosely around his waist. Piotr smiled and pressed a tender kiss on the top of her head. “So what’s got you so agitated? It can’t just be the kiss.”

“Specs just reached inside and—” Piotr faltered. She could see that he was still affected by what he had seen; unable to describe it. “He is…was a Lost. Promise me you’ll avoid them for a time.”

“I’m sure it was a one time thing,” she mumbled, but her body tensed with the remembered pain.

“Da, possibly, but maybe not. What about your mother?” He seemed to be about to say something, but he stopped himself, going quiet and just watching her for a few long seconds.

“This time with you is too short,” he said instead, glancing at the sky. The day was fading into twilight and the first stars were beginning to glimmer in the sky above. “What time is it?”

Grimacing, Wendy checked her watch. “Late. I should get back.”

“Of course.” Piotr looked disappointed. Wendy was, too, but unlike him, she had a life to live and responsibilities to keep. “I should start back to the pier anyway,” he said. “I have to tell the others what happened and what we discovered.” He turned to go but she stopped him, wrapping her hand around his upper arm.

“You don’t have to go,” she suggested. “You could come with me.”

“Come with you? I do not understand.”

Wendy shrugged, a gesture intended to be careless, but the edges of her lips were white and her eyes were watchful. “It’s not like anyone can see you; you could come right in the front door like you used to. We could…hang out more. In my room.”

“Hang out.” The emphasis she put on the words clearly left little to Piotr’s imagination.

She leaned forward and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his lower lip, drawing back the moment the electricity began to zing between them. “In my room.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he whispered. He still looked hesitant, like he wanted to step away, but Wendy burned brilliantly under his palms, carefree and intent on dragging him home.