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Something strange was happening to Kaladin. Since returning to Urithiru after his trip to Hearthstone, an unusual amount of spren had started gathering around him. He initially thought they were gloomspren, but the appearance was off–they were grey, like a gloomspren, but shaped like a sphere and had lines that mimicked a human frown. Gloomspren were also exceedingly rare, and at least seven or eight of these odd spren would appear at once.
At first, he only saw them when he was alone with Syl. In his limited free time, Kaladin had started taking solitary walks around Urithiru, under the guise of “checking the perimeter.” Mostly, he used the time to think without anyone bothering him. It was during one of these walks that the new spren first appeared. Kaladin, immediately on alert, summoned Syl as a Shardblade and stood ready to strike. He suspiciously watched the spren drift slowly back and forth around him, emitting a faint buzzing noise. He eventually dismissed Syl, but only after several minutes of ensuring that the spren were not about to turn into something more dangerous.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this type before,” Syl said as she materialized as herself beside him. She floated upwards to approach the spren, more curious than concerned. The spren continued floating around with a low hum, unperturbed by her presence. “They don’t seem to have a trace of Odium’s presence on them, though.”
“Let’s hope so,” Kaladin grumbled. “We don’t need any more new beings intent on destroying us.”
He spent another couple of moments glaring at the spren, still waiting for them to become something that could eat him and destroy the Tower. When, again, nothing else happened, Kaladin cautiously started walking away. He soon realized that the spren hadn’t simply chosen this hallway to appear in. They were following him. Kaladin didn’t take his eyes off them as he made his way to the end of the corridor. He should tell Shallan about this–maybe she would have some idea of what was happening.
Decision made, Kaladin made his way towards Shallan’s quarters. He knocked on her door, waiting a moment before he heard a “Coming!” exclaimed, followed by a series of rustling noises. Shallan opened the door, smiling when she realized it was him. “Oh, Kaladin! What’s up?”
“There are these strange spren following me…” Kaladin trailed off as he looked around him, only to find that the spren had all disappeared. He furrowed his brow. “I don’t know where they went, but they were just here, floating around me.”
Shallan nodded and took out a notebook, fortunately still believing Kaladin. “Can you describe what they looked like?”
“There were five of them, looked like tiny gray spheres,” Kaladin explained. “They appeared when I was walking in one of the lower corridors. They made a low humming noise, and didn’t do much else besides follow me around.”
“And then they randomly disappear…” Shallan started, pen scribbling across the pages. “Were you thinking of anything particular when they appeared?”
Kaladin thought for a moment, then replied, “I might have been thinking about training plans for Bridge Four, now that some of them are displaying Windrunner abilities. But I can’t remember exactly. ”
“Interesting, interesting,” Shallan said. The pen was tracing longer strokes as if she was drawing.
“I don’t think they’re dangerous,” Syl piped up. “No trace of Odium.”
Shallan looked up from her notebook. “That’s good at least. My guess is they’re related to some ancient Radiant phenomena, potentially related to you swearing one of the Ideals. But if Syl doesn’t know anything about it either…I’ll ask Jasnah and Pattern. See if either of them has heard of something.”
Kaladin nodded. “Thanks. And maybe don’t tell anyone else yet–I’d like to avoid causing any needless worry with everything going on.”
Shallan shrugged. “Sure. Let me know if they appear again, and see if you can remember what you’re doing at the time.”
“Oh, one more thing!” Syl said. “They were also frowning!” She contorted her face into an exaggerated frown.
Shallan, for some reason, giggled at that. “Looks like they have something in common with you, Kal.”
Kaladin frowned. Then, realizing he was proving her point, frowned deeper.
Syl started giggling as well. “We should call them Kalspren!”
Now Kaladin glared at Syl. “No, we should not.”
“Good idea, Syl,” Shallan said with amusement. “It’ll be a placeholder name, anyways, until we figure out what they really are.”
Kaladin opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it. He wouldn’t win this argument against the two of them. He sighed instead, then said, “Fine.”
He and Shallan said their goodbyes, and Kaladin went on with his day, distracted by thoughts of these new ‘Kalspren’.
…
The new spren appeared several times over the next week, only when Kaladin was alone or with Syl. They arrived when he was deep in thought, and Syl would snap him out of his trance by exclaiming, “Kalspren!”
Kal would look up, and there they were, gray and whirring above his head. They were up to eight now. Syl kept trying to provoke a reaction from them by flying between them, waving a hand in front of them, and, occasionally, yelling loudly right next to one of them. They never seemed to notice her.
By now, Kaladin had lost most of his suspicion that the spren would be a danger to him or the Tower, and instead, grew increasingly annoyed at them. And at Syl, who was growing more entertained by the situation every day.
“They’re a physical representation of your grumpiness!” she said. “If someone couldn’t tell from your expressions. Or your body language. Or really, just from knowing you.”
Then she would giggle and proceed with her “experiments” on the spren while Kaladin continued walking, doing his best to ignore them. He was grateful, for now, that they didn’t choose to appear when he was around others, and he didn’t have to explain the ridiculous situation to anyone else.
Until a few days later, when he was working with a few members of Bridge Four on their newfound Radiant abilities, and Sigzil pointed a finger above Kaladin’s head and said, “Huh. Those are new.”
Syl conveniently chose that moment to appear to the rest of Bridge Four. “You can see them now!” she said with a giggle. “Kaladin said I wasn’t allowed to tell you before. They’re Kalspren!”
Kaladin formed a slight scowl as he always did when Syl mentioned the name. But the rest of the group started to laugh, with Rock’s laugh booming above the others.
“Ha! This is funny,” Rock said, wiping tears from his eyes. Surely, it was not that funny. “They look just like him! Kalspren, indeed.”
“They appeared once I returned here,” Kaladin said, choosing to ignore his friends’ laughter. He glanced up at them buzzing above his head. “I think it may have something to do with the Third Ideal, but Syl and I are not sure what they are or where they came from.”
Rock patted Kaladin on the shoulder, all traces of laughter now gone. Solemnly, he said, “Don’t worry. We will respect these Kalspren.”
This wasn’t exactly the reaction Kaladin expected. But the rest of them were content to go back to practicing, and the mood was arguably lighter afterward, despite the presence of the ‘Kalspren.’ Or more likely, because of their presence. Kaladin sighed.
…
The ‘Kalspren’ (yes, Kaladin had acquiesced to the ridiculous name, but only because everyone around him wouldn’t stop calling them that) began appearing more and more frequently when Kaladin was in public. It was starting to become embarrassing. He was in an important meeting with the Kholins, for instance, when the Kalspren decided it would be the perfect time to make an appearance. Dalinar and Jasnah had been arguing about the plans for the upcoming trip to Kholinar, with Elhokar occasionally interjecting loudly. Kaladin had unintentionally tuned most of the conversation out, worrying about the members of Bridge Four who hadn’t yet been able to take in Stormlight. He worried he wasn’t doing enough on his end to support his friends – was he away from them too much, now that was more involved in planning with Dalinar and the rest of the royal family? Did he need to do a better job sharing his knowledge? What if they–
“What are those?” Elhokar blurted out, pointing above Kaladin’s head and interrupting his thoughts. Kaladin’s stomach fell as he looked above him to see the spren circling his head again. Dalinar and Jasnah had stopped their discussion and were also staring curiously at the spren.
“They’re, ah,” Kaladin started, almost wishing Syl was here to make this less awkward. “They randomly started appearing one day. We don’t know why, but they seem harmless. Syl calls them, um, ‘Kalspren’.”
He felt his face redden. Why would he mention that stupid name?
Jasnah, luckily, did not remark on said name, as she said, “Fascinating. Shallan mentioned that these were appearing around you, but I didn’t have the time to look into it further. A new type of spren? Or simply one we don’t have any records of…”
Jasnah drifted off, lost in thought. Dalinar looked between Kaladin and the spren with a slight smile. Even more embarrassing. Kaladin fidgeted with his sleeve, looking at the wall directly behind Dalinar to avoid making eye contact. Fortunately, Dalinar didn’t say anything about the situation, choosing to redirect the conversation back to more important topics. Thank the Almighty.
It wasn’t long, however, before they were interrupted by the door opening as Adolin burst in, a flurry of shiny hair and bright colors.
“Sorry I’m late I got—what are those ?” Adolin was immediately distracted by the Kalspren.
“Kalspren,” Dalinar said seriously, not elaborating any further. “Glad to see you could finally make it…”
Dalinar, clearly annoyed that Adolin arrived late, launched back into discussions of who to send to Kholinar. Adolin, unbothered by his father’s annoyance, kept looking between Kaladin and the Kalspren. Kaladin shrugged, his mouth turning downwards slightly, trying to silently convey that he was also confused and disgruntled by the situation. Then, peculiarly, Adolin smiled at him, before turning to engage with his father.
“Oh, there’s a new one!” Syl whispered, now appearing next to Kaladin. She must not have been visible to the others yet, since they didn’t say anything about her presence. Kaladin looked up, and just as Syl said, there was a new spren above him, mixing with the other Kalspren. This one had the same sphere-like appearance as the others, but it was white and seemed to glow with light. Instead of the “frown” that the other Kalspren were making, this one had upturned lines that made it look like it was…smiling?
“What should we call this one?” Kal whispered back.
Syl hummed, thinking for a moment, before saying. “I think this is still a Kalspren, but somehow changed in appearance. Hm. Wonder what happened.”
Kaladin’s eyes narrowed at the new appearance of the spren. Dalinar, Elhokar, and Jasnah didn’t seem to notice this new change, but Adolin kept sneaking glances toward where Kaladin was standing. Kaladin could have sworn the man was trying to hold back a laugh. Whatever. Odd things were always happening around Kaladin, Adolin should be used to it by now. He did his best to ignore Adolin and the Kalspren and focus on the meeting.
…
A week or so passed before the mysterious “Happy Kalspren” (Syl’s fault, again) returned. The next time they appeared, Kaladin was in one of the several training rooms on Urithiru, going through a series of warmups with his spear.
“Ho, Bridgeboy!” a familiar voice called.
Kaladin’s trance broke as he paused his warmup and turned around to face Adolin. Today, he wore a loose sleeveless shirt, partially tucked into matching blue pants. Kaladin thought the outfit was bizarre, and not at all practical for sparring (the pants seemed too tight, and who only partially tucked their shirt in?). Maybe it was the latest fashion trend. Or more likely, Adolin was setting the latest fashion trend.
“Hello, Kalspren,” Adolin said cheerily, looking at the newly gathered spren above Kaladin’s head and waving at them. “All gray today?”
The spren buzzed.
“They can’t talk to you,” Kaladin said.
“Sure they can,” Adolin replied, focusing his bright blue eyes on Kaladin. “They just said, ‘Yes, Kaladin is especially grumpy today, please cheer him up with your charming personality.’”
Kaladin stared back at Adolin, choosing not to respond.
“Want to go a couple rounds?” Adolin asked, gesturing towards where Kaladin was holding his spear, ignoring Kaladin’s lack of response.
Kaladin grunted, and then, remembering Syl had been pleading with him to work on his communication skills, said, “Sure.”
“No Stormlight,” Adolin said, smiling even wider as he took up a regular sword hanging on the training room’s wall. “First to touch wins?”
Kaladin gave a slight nod in agreement, and then they were off. Adolin immediately rushed Kaladin with the sword, thrusting it toward his left side. Kaladin brought his spear to block the move, then pushed until Adolin stepped back, swinging his sword by his side. This time, Kaladin went on the offensive, aiming a feint for Adolin’s legs before moving his spear in a narrow arc to reach Adolin’s side instead. Adolin was able to block this next strike, but barely. The two then retreated a few steps, circling each other, waiting for the other to strike next.
Then, Adolin’s eyes tracked upwards, and he broke into a large grin. Kaladin took this as an opportunity to charge Adolin and attempt to hit the back of his spear into Adolin’s shoulder. Adolin, realizing he was distracted, only had time to dodge slightly out of the way. But he was off balance now, and Kaladin aimed another strike at Adolin’s other side. They exchanged several more blows, but Kaladin was coming at Adolin more aggressively now, and Adolin wasn’t able to recover his momentum. Kaladin had Adolin nearly on the ground to avoid a blow, but this time Adolin wasn’t fast enough, and Kaladin’s spear lightly tapped Adolin’s shoulder.
Kaladin let out a victorious smile as he pulled the spear away. “Where’s your fight, princeling?”
Adolin was kneeling on the ground at this point, trying to catch his breath, but he seemed unfazed by his defeat. He smiled up at Kaladin (why was that storming man always smiling like that?), then raised his hands in mock surrender. “Not my best, I’ll admit. I must be getting old.”
Kaladin scoffed as Adolin stood up.
“I’m happy enough with this victory, though,” Adolin said, eyes crinkling. He glanced above Kaladin’s head and gave a little wave.
Kaladin looked up and found, to his shock, that about half of the Kalspren had changed from grey to white.
Syl chose that moment to appear to the two of them, clapping her hands together. “Oh, look at them! So many Happy Kalspren!”
Kaladin tried to stop the blush from rising to his cheeks.
Adolin laughed. “Happy Kalspren, indeed.” He got closer to Kaladin and reached his hand upwards, almost above his head, to try to touch the spren. The Happy Kalspren seemed to crowd closer to Adolin’s hand, and their buzzing became louder, more excited. The gray Kalspren remained unchanged in their drifting movements.
Adolin giggled as he moved his hand slightly back and forth, watching the Happy Kalspren follow it. Syl’s laughter joined him. Kaladin, though still flustered, managed to crack a half-smile. There had been so many serious, life-threatening problems to face lately. This was a rather silly one to have.
Eventually, Adolin brought his hand back down and then looked at Kaladin with those storming bright eyes. Kaladin had this weird feeling in his stomach, and, as if blinded, tore his eyes away from Adolin’s and stared steadfastly at the ground.
“I’ll see you around, Kaladin,” Adoin finally spoke after a moment of silence, his voice soft.
Kaladin couldn’t stop himself from looking back at the man as he started to walk away. “See you around,” he echoed.
Storms, he hadn’t heard his voice sound like that in a long time. His eyes tracked Adolin as he left the room, hands clenched in a fist as he tried to push down a stray feeling of longing.
…
Kaladin wasn’t dumb–he put two and two together and realized the Kalspren changes were likely, in some part, due to Adolin. Before yesterday, he hadn’t even noticed that his feelings for the man were quite this strong, but there was no avoiding it now. He didn’t want Adolin figuring this out, though, so he planned to stay away from him for the foreseeable future until he could resolve this issue.
Unfortunately, that task was easier said than done. Kaladin could have sworn Adolin was stalking him, with the frequency that he started to pop up. He would be eating dinner with Bridge Four, and suddenly, Adolin was there, making jokes with Skar and sneaking soft smiles towards Kaladin (which did not make Kaladin’s heart flutter, no it did not). He would be taking one of his solitary walks through the halls of Urithiru, and somehow, Adolin would cross his path and insist on walking with him. Of course, the Happy Kalspren always appeared without fail when Adolin was there, no matter how often Kaladin forced himself to frown. Storming man and his storming persistence.
During one of his nighttime walks, he mysteriously found himself close to Adolin’s quarters and could hear mumbled voices from within. Had Adolin taken someone back to his room? A spark of irritation ran through Kaladin, but he quickly pushed that feeling down. Adolin was allowed to take lovers. It was odd, though, seeing that he hadn’t done so in so long, not since ending his betrothal. Kaladin knew he shouldn’t, but his curiosity got the best of him, and his traitorous feet brought him close enough so he could listen in.
“... it can’t be a coincidence, Adolin, no one else has been seeing them!” a female voice exclaimed. Shallan.They had called off their betrothal some time ago, but from what Kaladin heard, it was mutual, and they were still close. He hadn’t pried too much into his friends’ love lives when it first happened, giving them space.
“I still don’t think it means anything…” Adolin said, then his voice got too quiet for Kaladin to hear the rest of what he was saying.
Kaladin wasn’t sure what they were talking about yet. They exchanged more frantic whispers, and he strained to hear more of what they were saying. He then heard his name pop up, and his face paled. They were talking about him. Were they talking about the Kalspren? Was Adolin (or more likely, Shallan) figuring out what was going on? Adolin wouldn’t want to see him anymore, not after he found out. While that could potentially solve the Kalspren problem, Kaladin didn’t want to lose his friendship with Adolin. Or with Shallan, who he believed would take Adolin’s side when the man decided to no longer speak to Kaladin.
Despite his dread, a white Kalspren still appeared above his head. Likely because it heard Adolin’s voice. Kaladin let out a soft groan, then buried his face in his hands. Then, he did what any rational person would do, and he fled.
…
Kaladin did a better job of avoiding Adolin the following week. Every time he caught a glimpse of the man, he would quickly leave (“Run away,” as Syl would say) before Adolin could spot him. He was constantly on the lookout and studiously avoided areas where he knew Adolin might be. He just had to wait this out long enough for his little problem to go away.
Unfortunately, others around him started noticing his odd behavior.
“On the run from a feisty lady, gancho?” Lopen said over dinner one day, after spotting Kaladin walk swiftly (definitely not run) away from a training session one too many times.
Kaladin grunted in response. Lopen laughed. “Well whoever it is, she must be a pretty one, eh? To get you all worked up like this.”
Kaladin could feel himself blush, a phenomenon that was happening far too frequently lately. Lopen let out a slow whistle.
“What’s going on here?” Teft asked, pulling away from the main dinner conversation.
“Mr. Highmarshal here has a crush!” Lopen said with glee. “On a very pretty girl, no doubt! Must be, to catch this stubborn man’s eye.”
Lopen winked at him. Kaladin ran his hand through his hair and sighed, accepting the embarrassment that had permeated his life now, but he didn’t try to deny Lopen’s claim.
Teft patted him on the shoulder, taking Kaladin’s lack of response with concern and as a sign that he needed comforting. “It’s alright, lad. I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“Maybe she has to get used to those little friends first, eh?” Lopen said, gesturing above Kaladin’s head. “Once she gets past the cloud of prickliness that literally surrounds you, I’m sure there’s a beautiful rainbow on the other side. ”
Kaladin blinked. “I’m not a rainbow, Lopen.”
“Who’s a rainbow?” Sigzil took this moment to also enter the conversation.
“Kaladin here!” Teft said before Kaladin could defend himself. “A great pretty rainbow, waiting right beyond the storm clouds.”
Sigzil cracked a smile at that, then also patted Kaladin on the shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll see your beautiful colors eventually, Highmarshal.”
They were teaming up against him, which was unfair. Kaladin couldn’t think of a response that wouldn’t ignite further teasing. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and chose to glare at all of them.
Then, the man Kaladin had been studiously avoiding all week showed up, which was just Kaladin’s luck. Adolin, dressed in loose pants and a shirt that was far tighter than it needed to be, was met with a series of cheers and greetings, the other members of Bridge Four happy to see him. Storms. It would look suspicious if he ran now.
Kaladin gritted his teeth and prayed to the Almighty that the Kalspren (there were now twelve of them) buzzing above his head would remain gray and gloomy.
Kaladin couldn’t avoid Adolin’s attention for long before he came over and said with a smile, “Hi, Kaladin. Hello Kalspren!”
The buzzing got more excited, and Kaladin groaned internally. There was definitely a white Kalspren above him now. “Hello, Adolin.”
Adolin was unphased by the sudden appearance of the Happy Kalspren, but Lopen’s eyes went wide with realization. Kaladin now prayed that Lopen wouldn’t say anything to damn him.
“I see, he’s been especially irritable lately? A permanent scowl?” Adolin said, talking directly to the Kalspren. The Kalspren seemed to hum louder in response. “I’m not surprised. He hasn’t seen me all week!”
Kaladin froze for a moment, then realized Adolin was joking around. At least, he hoped that was a joke.
Behind Adolin’s back, Sigzil and Teft looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh. Kaladin did his best to ignore them.
“I’ve been busy,” Kaladin said, sharper than he intended.
Adolin raised his eyebrows. “Wasn’t accusing you of anything, Kal. Just a joke.”
He gave Kaladin an easy smile, but his eyes displayed a hint of worry. Luckily, Kaladin was spared from responding further when Lopen interjected. “So now that Shallan’s single…”
Which got Adolin’s attention right away as he turned to face Lopen instead of Kaladin. “Don’t you even think about approaching her!”
“What, because I was a darkeyes? Because I used to have one arm? I’ll have you know, I have two perfectly working arms now! I’m the perfect mate!” Lopen said, grinning, clearly trying to wind the man up.
“No, because,” Adolin sputtered for a moment, then gestured up and down Lopen’s figure. “because you’re you!”
The two continued to argue lightheartedly, and Kaladin exhaled in relief. He mumbled something under his breath about having somewhere to be, then left the dining area. He ignored Syl’s frown and the other bridgemen’s eyes as he did so.
Above him, ten of the twelve Kalspren shined brightly with white light.
…
The next day, Kaladin was cornered by Shallan.
“Hi Kal!” she said cheerily. Only she and Adolin called him that. She had the same annoying optimism as Adolin.
Kaladin, true to form, grunted in response, wanting to run away and avoid this conversation altogether. But he was the one who had asked Shallan to look into the Kalspren in the first place. It wouldn’t be right to ignore her.
“So, I’ve noticed something interesting about your Kalspren,” she said, pulling out her notebook.
“And?” Kaladin said, stomach filling with dread as he guessed where she was going with this.
“It is the most fascinating thing,” she continued. “That you have accumulated your own little storm cloud of spren. Pattern hasn’t seen these before either.”
Kaladin’s eyes darted back and forth, fists clenching slightly by his side.
“But there is something…interesting…that I’ve noticed in my observations. They seem to change form, yes? From gray to white?”
Kaladin gave her a slight nod, then put his hands behind his back, standing in parade rest, as if that would help him deal with this conversation better. He tried to avoid Shallan’s gaze, knowing what she was about to say next.
“But even more interesting,” Shallan said, with a knowing smile, “is when these Kalspren change form.”
Kaladin didn’t respond, frozen in place. He didn’t want to admit anything, but Shallan had already suspected his feelings. Storming woman was too smart for her own good.
“Don’t…say anything, ok?” he finally said. “I don’t think he’s noticed yet, and I don’t want anything to change.”
Shallan gave him a giddy smile and clapped her hands together, similar to Syl’s earlier behavior. “I knew it! Adolin wouldn’t believe me when I first pointed it out. Boys are so dumb!”
Kaladin’s heart dropped, his body tensing even more than it already was. “Wait, you told him already?”
“Oh, I pointed out my observation,” Shallan said nonchalantly. “But like I said, he doesn’t think anything of it. I mean, he gets that the Happy Kalspren come out when you're, you know, happy, but he doesn’t think it means anything more. Especially not when it comes to him. ”
Kaladin was only slightly comforted by that. His mind was still racing with the worst possible scenarios, that Adolin would find out and then–
“But I think you should tell him,” Shallan said pointedly.
“I don’t–” Kaladin started.
Shallan held up a hand, stopping his cries of denial. “I think you’d be surprised by how he responds.”
Then, to his surprise, she reached to hug him. He was still tense and on high alert, and it took a moment before he put his arms around her to tentatively hug her back. She was much shorter than he was.
“Good luck, soldier,” she said with mock seriousness, before walking away. Kaladin stood there, struggling to sort out the emotions clouding his mind.
“Oh, did I miss Shallan?” he heard Syl’s voice say as she joined Kaladin a moment later. “What were you two talking about? I hope it was Adolin.”
Kaladin groaned. Everyone was teaming up on him. “Is it really that obvious?”
Syl giggled. “It was obvious before the Kalspren, silly!”
Kaladin resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall.
…
Later that day, he found himself wandering back to one of the training rooms. He needed a distraction from all of these. Feelings . But of course (storming of course), Adolin was in the training room he chose to enter. Kaladin let himself bang his head against the wall this time.
“What, am I that ugly today?” Adolin said with that stupid storming grin, stopping his practice to approach Kaladin.
Kaladin couldn’t keep doing this. He was brave, right? He was the leader of Bridge Four. He had survived a highstorm, he had defeated a Shardbearer. He could–
“Roshar to Kaladin?” Adolin said, waving his hands in front of Kaladin’s face. He was standing too close.
Kaladin snapped his eyes towards Adolin’s. Then, with the determination of a man about to go into battle, Kaladin strode towards him, put one hand behind his head, and pulled him into a kiss.
Adolin didn’t respond right away. Kaladin moved to pull away, thinking he had made a terrible mistake. Then, he felt a hand drift towards his waist, and Adolin’s lips started moving against his own.
Kaladin pulled Adolin closer and clenched his fingers in Adolin’s hair, deepening the kiss. Adolin returned the intensity, and Kaladin felt like he could float away.
After another few moments, Adolin pulled back from the kiss, but not from Kaladin’s embrace. He smiled warmly, eyes tracing Kaladin’s face. Kaladin was still breathing heavily.
“Something you want to tell me, bridgeboy?” Adolin said softly.
Kaladin responded by kissing Adolin again. Adolin gave in and kissed back, laughing as he did so. In the distance, he could hear Syl squeal with excitement.
When they finally broke away, Adolin’s eyes drifted above Kaladin’s head, his grin growing even wider. Kaladin followed his gaze upwards, then also found himself smiling.
Above him, only Happy Kalspren buzzed around, not a gray one in sight.