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Eirika stood on the cold stone without shoes, feeling the dampness go right into her bones. The cave smelled a little like wet rocks and old candle smoke. She held the blank leather spellbook Saleh had given her that night, its rough cover cool against her skin.
A single candle, made of animal fat, was burning on a ledge nearby. Its small flame would flicker and bend whenever the mountain wind somehow got in through cracks in the rock.
Saleh was standing behind her.
He walked so quietly, but she always knew he was there long before she actually saw him. It was like cold air, dried herbs, and pine smoke just stuck to his clothes.
"Your shoulders are tight," he said.
Eirika let out a breath. "You say that every single time we have a lesson."
"Because every single lesson, you just don't listen to me." she thought she heard a tiny bit of amusement in his voice.
"Magic doesn't work if you force it," Saleh said after a bit. "You keep treating it like you're fighting with a sword."
"That's the only training I've ever had."
"And it's pretty obvious."
Eirika looked at the spellbook and frowned a little. "You know, you could try not sounding so rude when you're teaching."
"And you could try listening."
She almost turned, but then his hand gently touched her elbow before she could move even an inch.
That touch surprised her more than it probably should have.
Saleh carefully moved her arm, helping her lift it higher. "If your body is stiff here," he said, touching her tight shoulder, "the magic flow will get stuck and break."
His hand stayed there for just a second too long.
Not long enough for anyone else to notice.
But long enough for her to notice.
Eirika just stared really hard at the candle flame.
"Again," Saleh said.
She swallowed and tried her best to focus on the lesson, not on how warm he felt right there behind her.
"Anima. Ventus. Silex."
The words whispered softly through the cave.
A weak blue light flickered between her fingers and the spellbook. It started out faint, then got brighter.
The air suddenly smelled sharp, like ozone.
"Better," Saleh mumbled.
His hand moved over hers, holding the book at a steady angle. His touch felt rough, probably from the years of walking mountain paths and handling old, thin paper.
Eirika immediately lost her concentration because of it.
"You're getting sidetracked."
"I know."
"Well, then stop getting sidetracked."
"That would be a lot easier," she mumbled, "if you just stood further away."
Silence.
For one terrible second, she thought she'd actually said that out loud without meaning to.
Then Saleh's low voice answered, right by her ear.
"I thought about it."
Her face got hot so fast that it completely messed up the spell.
The blue light suddenly exploded outwards.
Wind ripped through the cave. The candle flew off the ledge and vanished into the dark, and the spellbook slipped out of Eirika's hands, hitting the stone floor.
She lost her balance almost immediately on the slippery granite.
Saleh caught her before she could fall to the ground.
He put one arm around her waist, and the other he braced against the cave wall to keep them both steady. Eirika grabbed the front of his robes without even thinking, her heart pounding from the sudden burst of magic.
For a moment, neither of them moved at all.
The darkness around them suddenly felt enormous.
"You shouldn't try to do complicated spells when you're all flustered," Saleh advised.
Eirika let out a laugh, not quite believing him. "You're pretty calm for someone whose lesson just completely blew up."
"I never said I was calm."
Something in his reply made her chest feel a little tight.
She suddenly realized just how close they were standing.
Way too close.
Close enough to feel his breathing go up and down right under her hands.
Close enough that when Saleh lowered his head a bit, his forehead touched hers in the dark.
Neither of them moved away.
"Eirika," he said softly.
It was the first time her name had sounded unsure in his voice.
That got to her more than if he'd sounded confident.
She tightened her hold on his robes before she got scared and pulled away.
Saleh slowly took a breath in.
Then he kissed her.
It wasn't some sudden, wild passion. It wasn't like he completely lost control without thinking.
Instead, it felt like something that had been held back for far too long was just letting go.
His mouth felt warm, even with the cold air in the cave. He was careful at first, like he still thought she might pull away. But when she kissed him back, that holding back just disappeared right away.
His hand slid against her back, pulling her closer until she could feel his heart beating fast, right through all the layers of wool and linen between them.
The mountain wind howled outside the cave somewhere. But inside, there was just the rough warmth of his hands, that lingering smell of ozone in the air, and the little sound he made when she put her fingers through the braids at the back of his neck.
When they finally pulled apart, neither of them moved very much.
Saleh rested his forehead against hers, breathing a little unevenly now.
"I think," Eirika whispered, still a little out of breath, "this might be the worst lesson either of us has ever had."
He let out a laugh.
"No," he said. "I actually think it was the most helpful one."