“I’m close,” she gasps.
“So am I.” My voice fractures. “Look at me.”
Her eyes open, and the raw trust there nearly stops my heart.
“You choose me,” I demand, needing to hear it as the world tilts.
“I choose you,” she cries, hips snapping up to meet mine. “I choose you. I choose you.”
The bond flares like dawn.
Zara shatters again, body going rigid beneath me, a sharp cry tearing from her throat as her orgasm rolls through her in waves. The bond carries it to me like a shockwave, pleasure so intense I lose the ability to think.
I follow her over the edge with a groan that feels torn from my soul, coming hard inside her as the bond locks into place.
Not painfully. Not violently. With a final, inevitable click of something ancient and true.
Golden light floods my veins. Blue iridescence threads through my scales. Zara’s lightning softens, lacing itself through my water like it was always meant to live there.
Our magic—our bodies—our hearts—becoming so intertwined that separation would tear us both apart.
I’m marked by her now. Permanently. Irrevocably.
And she’s marked by me.
We are bonded. Claimed. Complete.
I collapse beside her,breathing hard, my heart racing. The bond has settled into something warm and peaceful—satisfied in a way it’s never been before. Like it’s been waiting for this moment since the first time our eyes met.
Zara turns to face me, and the wonder in her expression mirrors what I’m feeling. “That was?—”
“Yeah.” I can’t find words. Don’t need to. The bond tells her everything.
She traces patterns on my chest, following the golden veins where her lightning has permanently marked my scales. “You’re glowing.”
“So are you.” I touch her wing, and the feathers are deeper now—storm-gray with iridescent blue edges. Changed by me the way I’ve been changed by her. “We’re different.”
“Better?”
“Different.” I pull her closer, needing the contact. Needing to feel her solid and real against me. “But yes. Better.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her fingers continuing their gentle exploration. Then: “No regrets?”
“None.” And I mean it. Whatever I’ve lost—position, purpose, the person I was before—I’ve gained something infinitely more valuable. Her. Us. This connection that makes me feel alive in ways the deep never could.
She shifts to rest her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. The bond hums contentedly between us, no longer fighting, no longer afraid. Just existing in this perfect moment where nothing else matters.
“What happens now?” she asks softly.
I don’t have an answer. Don’t know what tomorrow brings. Don’t know how we’ll face Caspian, the High Elder, the consequences of what we’ve done. Don’t know how to be both Deep Runner and Sky-dweller’s mate. Don’t know who I’m becoming or if I’ll recognize myself when the transformation is complete.
But for once, not knowing doesn’t terrify me.
I pull her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Now we rest. Tomorrow we’ll face whatever comes. But tonight—” I tighten my hold on her. “Tonight we’re just us.”
She sighs contentedly, her body relaxing against mine. “Just us,” she echoes. “I like the sound of that.”
So do I. More than I ever thought possible.
