Relief flooded her senses.
“We spent the majority of our life as nomads and know little of keeping a home.”
Aldora smiled. “This was once made by humans.”
“Does it suit you?”
“More than you could know.” She raised her gaze to meet his dark one. He hovered over her and invaded her space, and for a brief second, Aldora closed her eyes and let herself drown in his consuming presence. It comforted her.
Fire and brimstone flooded her nose as his hand grasped her hair, pulling it like he often did. Her shift was no protection at all from her minotaur.
“Thank you,” she whispered, finding her palms sweaty, her fingers twitching. “Thank you...”
“For what, female?”
“For saving my life.”
He leaned down and pressed his mouth to her shoulder, licking her skin. “The only one worth saving.”
“How did you know?”
Vedikus tilted his head at her question. “Your voice. I needed to hear more of it, even if it killed me.”
Her smile widened. Hope flared. “You are not as hard as you make yourself out to be, Minotaur. You would have killed yourself for an apple farmer. What would your brothers have thought if you had died?”
“That it was an honorable death. You will soon see when you meet them.”
“I look forward to it.”
He tugged her hair once before letting it go, picking her up to lie her upon his furs. She looked up at him with the same possessive expression he mirrored back. And with her dark captor filling her vision, her head, her heart, she was exactly where she belonged.
Epilogue
***
Aldora curled her armsover her middle and looked out over the cliffs. She was draped in new furs and skins, given to her by Vedikus straight from his walls.
