A Kiss While We Can

The halls of Neatheim’s royal palace were excessive. That was Calliope’s first and prevailing impression. Jewelled cloth tapestries hung from the walls as if dressing the white-gold stone for a ball. The way was lit by endlessly burning torches from the sun goddess’s lands, which sat in sconces covered in fireproofed silk. It would take a dozen alchemists to outfit one hallway and a third as many to keep it looking like it did.

Aurelius led her to a vast window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It was forty feet across and faced the castle courtyard, looking down into a huge hedge maze covered in yellow flowers. Calliope had already been inside, and was stunned to hear that despite its elegant trim, it was one of the least-visited areas of the castle. It had been a playground for Aurelius and his siblings when they were younger, little more. What was strangest of all was that Calliope couldn’t see any farmland; there was an overstuffed warehouse in the castle basement, but all of its contents came from elsewhere.

Aurelius looped his arm through the crook of her elbow, pulling her close. “Do you like it?”

She was pulled right into him. Her cheek brushed up against Aurelius’s shoulder, strong and broad, and not a moment later it felt warm. “It’s… different,” Calliope said. She had more to say, but she didn’t care as much about the castle around her.

“It is!” Aurelius replied. The grin on his face shrank, just a little bit, as he furrowed his brow. “It’s a nice place to live, but the differences aren’t all good. Chloranthy wants to talk to me as soon as we’re done here…”

“That’s your sister’s secretary, right?”

“She’s not her secretary. Officially. She’s not even her lady-in-waiting, even though she acts like it. It’s a little annoying.”

Calliope pushed the rest of her body into Aurelius’s side. She didn’t know Chloranthy, but now that she thought about it, this situation was kind of annoying. When they’d travelled across Wisteria, it had been just the two of them. That’s when she’d first started to really appreciate his company.

Now there were a dozen things in this castle alone that were competing with her for his attention. Some of them she understood, but the rest seemed excessive. Just like where they took place.

Aurelius’s grin returned. It was a big thing, restrained in its goofiness, that could cut through ice with its puppylike warmth. It made her smile, too.

“I have an idea!”

“What’s your idea?” she asked.

“If we only have a few minutes left to see each other today,” Aurelius explained, “we should capitalize on what we have. That’s why we should kiss!”

Calliope’s ears stuck up like flagpoles in packed dirt. “Kiss? Right now? Aurelius, this is still...”

Public, she wanted to say, but she didn’t see anyone around, and she knew Aurelius didn’t either.

“You don’t want to kiss me?” he asked quizzically, eyes as big as his flickering grin as he looked down at her.

Calliope grabbed those strong, broad shoulders of his, pulled his face down to hers, and kissed him on the mouth.