AN: Subtitle for this chapter is OH MY GOD FINALLY. Enjoy!
Raya raced down the hallway, skidding on the smooth stone floor as she rounded the corner too quickly. She had just enough time to register that Namaari was coming down the connecting hallway before her feet started to slip. Namaari's arms wrapped around her, stopping her mid-fall. Namaari held her for a few seconds, their eyes meeting and smiles growing on both of their faces as the light of their magic started to glow around them. Namaari's eyes were soft, gentler than Raya had ever seen them, and she found herself unable to look away. A blush crept up her cheeks as she realized she was staring, but she was too dazed to figure out how to move or form coherent words.
"I'm glad I caught you," Namaari said as she placed Raya back on her feet. "I was actually looking for you."
Raya could only nod, flushing even more when Namaari laughed softly.
Namaari reached out to rest her hand on Raya's cheek, concern furrowing her brow. "Are you okay, dep la?"
"Yes," Raya said, surprised by how breathless she sounded. She cleared her throat and tried to mentally shake herself. "Yes, I'm good. I was looking for you, too."
Namaari smiled at her, and it took every bit of willpower Raya had to not get lost in her eyes again. She looked away, taking a deep breath as she scrambled for something to say. "I wanted to follow you after what Atitāya told us," Raya said, her words speeding up as she spoke. "But Virana beat me to it, and I was worried that would just make you more upset because I know she isn't very good at understanding how you feel." She was speaking too quickly now to the point that she wasn't sure if Namaari could catch everything she was saying. But her thoughts were still stuck on how Namaari was looking at her with the light of their magic shining in her eyes and her brain had no hope of catching up enough to slow her words. "I thought Virana wouldn't like it if I followed her, so I went to the kitchen to look for a mango and Benja came after me. I couldn't find one at first and we argued but we made up, so I think things are okay between us for now, and he helped me find this mango. I'm babbling now, but the point is…this is for you." She held the mango out to Namaari, wincing a little bit when she saw how much her hand was shaking.
Namaari took the fruit, giving Raya another fond smile that sent her heart racing. "Thank you," Namaari said, turning the mango over in her hands. "I'm not upset anymore, but I appreciate you getting this for me."
Raya sighed in relief. "So, you're feeling okay?"
Namaari nodded. "My mother and I argued but we got through it, too. So, I'm more than okay. Especially since you're here now."
Raya blinked at her, then laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry I was late giving you the mango. I was hoping it would make you feel better but that already happened, so I guess it was kind of pointless."
"I still appreciate the gesture," Namaari said, her voice as soft as her smile.
Raya watched her closely for a moment, her eyes darting around Namaari's face. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes. Do I not seem okay?"
"No, you do, you're just…looking at me differently now. Not in a bad way," Raya added quickly. "Just differently."
Namaari reached out to take Raya's hand, squeezing it gently. "It's because I have something I need to tell you. I wasn't ready to say it before, but I am now."
Raya felt her mouth go dry. "You can tell me anything, dep la," she said, thankful that her voice didn't come out as strangled as she felt.
Namaari's smile somehow grew wider. "I know." She moved Raya's hand up to her face, kissing her knuckles. "Not here though. Not yet. There's something I need to show you first."
Raya flushed all the way to her ears as Namaari kissed her hand again. She managed to nod in response and let Namaari pull her down the hallway.
They wove through the corridors toward the center of the palace to a room adjacent to the main hall. The door leading into the room was made of a shining metal that was etched with the images of waves moving across water. There was a padlock on the door and two guards were stationed on either side of it. Raya hesitated when she saw the soldiers, but Namaari pushed forward, nodding to the guards as they approached. The soldiers bowed and stepped away from the door as Namaari pulled out a key to open the lock. Once the door was open, she tugged Raya after her, pausing just inside the doorway to stop at a small table on the other side. Namaari let go of Raya's hand, setting the mango down and lighting the lantern that was on the table. She held up the lantern and gestured for Raya to follow her further into the room.
They walked through the narrow, empty room to the far wall, most of which was taken up by a large, circular door. The stone door was carved to look like a sky swirling with clouds, with four metal dragons snaking around an image of the Dragon Gem in the center. Namaari stepped forward and manipulated the complicated lock mechanism inside the image of the Gem until the four dragons began to rotate around it. After a few seconds, the dragons locked into place and the door rolled to the side, settling into a slot between the walls with a rumbling that shook the floor. Namaari turned to smile at Raya again, taking her hand before heading through the doorway.
Beyond the door was a long, rectangular chamber with walls covered in wooden panels, bordered with thin sheets of shining metal on the top and bottom. Each wooden panel was painted to create one continuous scene of a river that spanned the entire room, with fish jumping from the water and other animals and plants lining its banks. Every image was painted with intricate detail and the combined light from their magic and the lantern glinted off the gold leaf on many of the designs.
There were a dozen display cases in three rows that took up the center of the room, containing a combination of gleaming silver urns, beautifully painted pottery, intricate jade carvings, shining golden figurines, and finely crafted weapons. Raya found her eyes drawn to one case in particular that held a sword inlaid with small triangles of a white material that she couldn't identify.
"This is Fang's vault, where we keep our dragon artifacts," Namaari said, gesturing toward the display cases. She followed Raya's eyes to the case that held the sword. "Do you like that one?" she asked, tilting her head toward the weapon Raya had been admiring. She grinned when Raya nodded. "You see the white inlays in the blade? Those are dragon fangs."
Raya gasped. "They're what?" She tried to take a step toward the case holding the sword, but Namaari tugged her back to her side.
"We can look at it more later," Namaari said, laughing softly when Raya started to pout. "The sword is amazing but it's not why I brought you here." She let go of Raya's hand, motioning for her to stay where she was. Moving to the closest wall, Namaari stopped next to a switch set into one of the panels. She turned back to Raya, smiling at her confused expression. "Look up."
Raya tilted her head back at the same time Namaari flipped the switch. An oil lamp sparked to life inside of a jade sphere hanging from the center of the ceiling. The jade was carved so thin that the light could shine through, illuminating the painted porcelain tiles that surrounded it. The tiles covered the entire ceiling and were laid out to show the image of Sisu banishing the Druun with the brilliant jade lantern as her Dragon Gem.
Raya's mouth dropped open as she gaped at the image above her, barely noticing when Namaari moved back to her side. Namaari brushed her hand against Raya's and Raya glanced down to grin at her before her eyes were drawn back up to the ceiling. Smiling, Namaari took Raya's hand and laced their fingers together, tilting her head back to look at the mural as well.
"Wait," Raya said, squinting slightly. "Doesn't the Dragon Scroll have this same image on it? The one that I stole?"
Namaari nodded. "Yes. This is the original. The Scroll is just a copy of it."
"And you still chased me halfway across the world to get it back?" Raya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Namaari laughed, a blush rising on her cheeks as she lowered her gaze to look at Raya's face. "I didn't really follow you for the Scroll."
Raya frowned, her eyes flicking back to Namaari. "Then why would you bother? You had to cross a desert filled with Druun to find me."
"The Scroll was just an excuse to follow you," Namaari said, giving Raya another smile that made her heart skip a beat. "What I really wanted was to see you again."
Raya smirked at her even as heat rose on her cheeks. "It almost sounds like you missed me."
Namaari's face dropped into a more serious expression, but her eyes still held the new softness that Raya had noticed earlier. "I did," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've missed you every day we were apart since the day we met."
Raya snorted, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand. "Careful, dep la, you keep talking like that and I'm going to think you might actually like me."
"I do. Actually, I…" Namaari trailed off, her eyes searching Raya's face in a way that made it impossible for Raya to look away. "I love you."
Raya's gaze darted to the mosaic above them as heat crawled up the back of her neck. "I, uh…I love you, too, dep la."
Namaari shook her head, turning to face Raya. She set the lantern on the floor and took both of Raya's hands in her own, waiting until Raya met her eyes to speak again. "That's not what I mean. I love you. Not just as a friend."
Raya stared back at Namaari, struggling to remember to breathe as her mind raced to find a response.
Namaari watched Raya for a few seconds, her face falling as silence stretched between them. "Raya." Her voice was quiet, and she dropped her gaze to look down at their hands. "I need you to say something. Even if it's that you don't feel the same way."
Raya continued to gape at her, her mind desperately fumbling and failing to come up with anything to say. She felt her heart leap into her throat as Namaari let go of her hands and took half a step back.
"It's okay," Namaari said, raising her hands with her palms facing Raya. "I think part of me knew that you didn't feel the same way."
"No, Namaari, I—"
"It's okay, Raya, I promise," Namaari said, giving her a sad smile. "I just needed to tell you. But—"
"Can I kiss you?" Raya blurted out, her entire face flushing as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
Namaari froze, her eyes going wide.
There was a beat of silence as they stared at each other, both of them barely daring to breathe.
"Namaari," Raya said, trying to keep her voice as soft as possible. She took a deep breath before she closed the distance between them, moving her hand up to caress Namaari's cheek. Her eyes flicked down to Namaari's lips, then back up to hold her gaze. "Can I kiss you?"
Namaari's breath hitched when Raya's fingers touched her skin. She held Raya's eyes, the disbelief still clear in her face, but after a moment she nodded.
Raya slowly leaned in, closing her eyes as she gently brushed her lips against Namaari's. Namaari inhaled sharply but otherwise didn't react, and Raya started to pull away after a few seconds. But Namaari pushed forward, reaching up to tangle her hands in Raya's hair as she pulled her back for another kiss. After a moment, Namaari broke away but kept her face next to Raya's, pressing their foreheads together as they both laughed and gasped for breath. Their magic was shining brighter than Raya had ever seen it, shimmering around them like sunlight on water.
Namaari shook her head, closing her eyes as she shifted her hands to hold Raya's face. "I almost can't believe this is happening."
"I can kiss you more, if that would help," Raya said, letting out a breathy laugh. Then she paused. "Wait, are you crying?"
"Yeah, I—" Namaari stopped, smiling as Raya reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I have wanted to do that for so long."
"You mean I could've been kissing you this whole time?" Raya said, laughing as Namaari kissed her again. She pulled back, settling her hands on Namaari's shoulders as she searched her face. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Namaari shrugged. "I didn't know how. And I wasn't ready to yet."
"But how long have you felt this way about me?" Raya asked, her brow creasing.
Namaari let out a long exhale and brushed her hair out of her face. "It's definitely gotten more intense since we discovered our magic, but I've felt drawn to you for a long time. That was part of why I avoided you so much after we defeated the Druun. Being around you was too confusing until I learned how to sort through my emotions."
"I'm glad you finally said something," Raya said, smiling at Namaari before she kissed her again. This time was slower, gentler, and they both lingered in it for as long as they could.
Namaari waited until Raya broke away before touching their foreheads together again. "Me, too," she whispered, the joy in her voice making Raya's heart melt.
After a moment, Namaari took a step back and grabbed Raya's hand. "Do you want to look at any of the artifacts in here? All of them are related to dragons, and I definitely saw you eying that sword earlier."
Raya grinned at her, almost vibrating with excitement. "Yes, I want that so much."
Namaari laughed and rolled her eyes. "I thought you would, you big nerd."
"Hey, you're the one who brought me to a vault full of dragon artifacts to confess your feelings. And I bet you can tell everything about every single artifact in here." Raya used her free hand to gently shove Namaari's shoulder, laughing when she blushed. "Admit it, you're the bigger dragon nerd here."
"Only if I can kiss you again."
"Oh, I'm for sure going to keep kissing you, but first you have to tell me about this sword made with dragon fangs because that is the coolest thing I've ever seen," Raya said, pulling Namaari over to the display case.
Namaari laughed and followed Raya across the room, squeezing Raya's hand tightly as more happy tears gathered in her eyes.