June sat beside Xanthy on the sand. It had been natural for her to edge against him and lay her head on the crook of his neck. This time, though, she stayed a few distance from him. She craned her head towards the night sky bearing thousands of stars and at least three moons for the night.

Crozal, which was probably the only moon she came to know, shone with her crimson rays. Together with Leranna, the small moon with light yellow rays, and Samiri, the moderately-sized moon with green rays, they turned the sky into a color resembling ocher. Should she like this color? No matter. As long as Crozal was out, Xanthy had to be cautious.

"Are you alright?" June's voice snapped her away from her sightseeing. She turned to him and caught his dark eyes locked in on her.

She rubbed her arms as she tucked them to herself. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," June stared at his boots making trenches in the dry sand. "Why wouldn't you be? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Xanthy thought about it then turned her attention back to the sky. "Stars," she blurted. "Do you know their names? I heard they have those. As well as the patterns they make."

June sidled closer to Xanthy. "I'm not the best at starsight studies but I could try," he exhaled. Both of their heat seemed to turn the windy night bearable. He pointed to a star which shone brighter than the rest around it. "See that?"

Xanthy could only assume they were thinking about the same star as she nodded. "What about it?"

"That's the tip of Xydaprioris, the compass needle," June said. "Trace it down south and you get the needle. Connect the surrounding stars from the needle's midpoint and you get the compass star, or rose, in some tomes."

Xanthy had stopped listening to what he was saying and instead observed him talk about things he knew. It had been so easy to just sit like this with him and forget the world existed around them. It's just so...damn easy.

"And the other one there would be Koste, the scroll," June was saying. "It only shows for three days before vanishing for some time. Then, it appears for three days again. I haven't been paying attention to my teacher at starsighting to know the exact schedule but I guess, we have it now?"

Xanthy chuckled. June pointed to a star which glowed in a mysterious green light. Weren't all stars white and responsible for providing the brightness during the night? "That's the lone star Polreid. It's one of the stars which has their characteristic color visible to the naked eye."

"Yeah, it's green," Xanthy muttered before analyzing June's statement. She turned to him. "Wait, you can see the color of the other stars?"

June bobbed his head. "Yeah, we used to have those instruments at the school," he snorted as his eyes brightened with some familiarity. "I remember breaking one because I couldn't find the star I was assigned to find."

"Why would you need to find stars?" Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. "Haven't they already found them all?"

"No, no," June pushed his hair off his forehead. When he let go, his white locks simply flopped back and almost poked him in the eyes. "It's called an examination. Tutors use it at the Academy to test what you've learned."

Xanthy wrinkled her nose. "That's a waste of time, don't you think?"

"I'm no expert but I think tests push students to be better at the practice," June rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, if I hadn't taken that class, I wouldn't be able to tell you things you want to know. Some of them are useful for understanding the world around us."

"But not enough to prepare you for the real world, right?" Xanthy regarded June from her periphery. He had never looked so good in her eyes. "Against the Heiress and the Sovereign, there's no way we're going to win with just the name of stars."

"Maybe so," June leaned back against the sand using his palms. "Why would you want to know about them?"

Xanthy fell silent. Why, indeed? It wasn't just because she wanted to talk about other things aside from the things they'd already been talking about the days before. It wasn't just because she wanted to feel close to him. It was because...

"I imagine most of the time what would happen if, you know, I wasn't the Virtakios," Xanthy crossed her legs and stirred the sand around her with a finger. "Would I have been born to a noble family, went to school, learned magic, and made friends like you did?"

June exhaled. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

"I don't know," Xanthy inclined her head to look up at the ocher sky again. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Everything would be so much simpler if you and I weren't...like this."

"Like what?"

"Like what we are," she said. She hadn't even noticed she had leaned against June at some point in their conversation. "What if I'm not the Virtakios and you're not...what you were."

Of course, they both knew what she's talking about. The June who had spent years working for his mother to kill those who opposed the Imperial Crown. The June who had betrayed Xanthy to the High Queen in exchange for freedom. The one who was once the Death Knight whom the island feared.

"I'd never trade my past for anything," June answered after some time. Xanthy opened her eyes to find him looking down at her from the side of his eyes. "I may have done things in the past that I regret but I don't regret the way things turned out."

Xanthy pressed her cheek against his skin, grateful she could still feel it. "You don't?"

June reached out and took her hand in his. The warmth it gave Xanthy was enough to set her heart ablaze. "Perhaps, if I wasn't the Death Knight and you weren't the Virtakios, we wouldn't have met," he said softly. "That would've been my biggest regret."

Blood rose to Xanthy's cheeks but she didn't stop it. Instead, she twined her fingers with June's. "Do you ever feel afraid?" she asked.

"A lot of times, yes."

"Are you afraid now?"

"Greatly," June sighed. It's not light. If anything, it's heavier than the rest Xanthy had heard from him.

Xanthy examined their twined hands and convinced herself it was the most perfect sight ever. "What are you afraid of?"

"Losing you," June said without pausing nor taking a moment to consider. "I don't have anyone else but you. If I lost you, I'm not sure if I would be able to bear it."

Xanthy didn't speak. This was a war being fought for her and by her. There's no assurance she would see the end of it. In all honesty, none of them were sure they'd see each other at the end.

"Xanthy?" June whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?" June's voice was gentle but it sent shivers down her spine. Her heart sank to her chest. Had June felt like this when she asked him the same question all those months ago?

She forced her tongue to unlatch from the roof of her mouth. "What is it?"

June's cheek pressed against her scalp. "Promise me you won't do anything reckless," he breathed. "I'm not asking for much but for you to take care of yourself."

"Is that all?" Xanthy scoffed. "Don't you have something a bit more selfish?"

June chuckled. "That's plenty selfish already. You know I can't lose you."

Xanthy's heart quivered in her chest just by hearing those words. All her life, she thought no one would say those words to her. She had been alone most of her life and this was the first time she heard the same set without pertaining to her power. Someone didn't want to lose her because she's...her. Because she's Xanthy. Not the Virtakios and certainly not a savior.

Realization dawned on her. June didn't see her as something to be sheltered or something to be revered. He saw her as a person who needed what he offered. For the first time, Xanthy felt like she had never felt before. She felt loved.

"Do you still mean what you said before?" June asked.

Xanthy's eyelids felt heavy like the sleep she lost the weeks before were catching up to her now. "What did I say?"

"That we're just friends," June said. "Because we sure aren't acting like friends now."

Xanthy pushed herself off June so quickly she scampered back on the sand using her palms. She patted her head in an attempt to fix her mussed hair. Her fingers ended up twisting a lock of hair around them. "I-I haven't thought of that," she stuttered. Great. Real professional, Xanthy. Let her hope Crozal's crimson rays would hide the heat coloring her cheeks now. "I haven't thought of that."

June merely smiled and inclined his gaze at the stars above them. "Well, you have all the time to think about that."

The sea was loud against Xanthy's ears. She didn't even hear the waves before June said what he said. The conversation they had back when Xanthy was still reeling at June's apparent betrayal flashed into her mind. With her emotions in turmoil, she asked June to stay friends with her and nothing more. She claimed she would never be as intimate with him as before. He had honored that commitment until now.

But over the months, it seemed like the more Xanthy resisted the radiance of June's smile, the brighter it became. The more she pushed him out of her mind, the more he found his home inside it. The more she looked away from him, the more she felt drawn. She had been avoiding him since they started their journey out of Penleth. She tried shutting out her heart, her mind, and her form but all they could do was crawl back to how it had been.

She wanted him back.

"Do you still mean what you said to me before?" Xanthy blurted. Her heart pounded almost as loud as the waves hitting the shore.

"What did I say?" June briefly looked at her.

"That you won't lie anymore."

June looked at her fully then. In the light provided by the stars, Xanthy noticed his eyes weren't just black but rather more of the darkest blue. "Every word, Xanthy. I meant every word," he said. "I may have lied here and there but to you, never. To our friends? Never."

Xanthy had been with June long enough to know when he meant what he's saying and when he didn't. He meant it now.

"Come here," Xanthy whispered. "Come closer."

June's laugh was confused. "Okay," he sidled closer to her.

Heat burned Xanthy's face. Perhaps a little bit more and she'd burst into flames. June drew closer until they were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. Xanthy turned to June and found their noses mere inches from each other.

She had no idea what she's doing but her hand rose up from the sand and into June's face. Their eyes never strayed from each other. June's eyes were just...so beautiful. They're perfect.

"Xanthy?" June breathed.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

Xanthy smiled. This was the first time she was doing something like this yet somehow it felt so natural and so...right. She placed a hand on June's chest. Her skin felt his heartbeat. It's fast. She drew closer to him. Slowly. "I'm giving you my answer."

Before June could say anything, Xanthy took his lips into hers. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he returned her kiss the best way he knew how—gently. They didn't rush. They have a whole night ahead of them. For a while, she could forget what was happening outside this beach. For a while, she could focus on just her and June. Just her..and June.

Their kiss deepened. Xanthy's arms found themselves wrapped around June's neck, pressing her closer to him. June's fingers were trapped in her hair as his lips pored deeper into hers. Slower. Xanthy threw all rationality away and opened her mouth.

June's answer was quick; she didn't even have time to process what's going on. Soon, their tongues were touching. Their teeth clashed. She didn't want to let go. Slower. More.

A different kind of warmth spread from her chest. Unlike the scalding rage of the Virtakios and her magic floating to the surface, this was softer but still intense. It was probing somewhere towards June. A strange and foreign warmth was also probing her soul. What was this?

June withdrew from her and laid his forehead against hers. They were both breathing hard with Xanthy seemingly forgetting how to do just that for a few seconds. "Are you sure about this?" His voice was hoarse and low.

Xanthy knew what he meant. She smiled, drowning under June's gaze. "Yes," her voice was small but firm. "I want it."

She had never wanted it this much until now.

June sighed. This one wasn't heavy. It was filled with relief. "Okay."

That's all he said before his hand snaked to her face and cupped her cheeks. His lips were soft as he titled his head to kiss her. It was different from the other ones they shared. A million words wasn't enough to summarize everything he had told her through that single kiss. Yet, Xanthy understood everything he wanted to tell her without thinking twice.

This time, the warmth didn't hold back. Their souls screamed for each other, melding and breaking through ancient barriers some forgotten god put. Magic seared a trail and left a certainty Xanthy knew she couldn't back down from.

She was broken down and remade back again. The world faded around her. Her mind blanked. All that's left of them was magic, the comforting warmth, and their souls. Circling and twining, like threads on a tapestry, painting a picture they knew so well.

Then, as quickly as it came, the warmth faded. The ecstasy subsided. Xanthy and June broke apart, changed from something that happened between them. It was everything she could ever ask for.

It was everything she ever did live for.

"That was..." June tried articulating what just happened.

Xanthy stopped him before he could say more by bringing her face close to his. "Shut up, June," she whispered against his lips. Her fingers played with his hair. She felt him smile as he kissed her again.

And again.

She wished it wouldn't need to stop.