There is no one but me who cares. But if I am the only one, then I will have to be enough.
Vael listened silently, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm against hers, until she asked, “Do you think this is possible?”
Vael unwound one arm from around her middle. His hand, warm and callused, cupped her cheek. Tilting her head back so he could look her in the eye, he replied hoarsely, “Hele, for you,anythingis possible. Just tell me what you need from me.”
“I don’t know where to start. Taevas offered resources, but…” She looked away from his earnest expression, suddenly overwhelmed by the enormity of the task she had laid out for herself. “There are so many. Where do I begin?”
“Well…” Vael nudged her cheek, drawing her attention back up to his face. He smiled down at her, soft and proud and so verydragonish.His little gold hoops gleamed in the shadows of his wings and every one of her breaths was heavy with his spicy scent. All was still, and soft, and perfect. “Let’s start with an easy one and work backwards from there.”
She blinked. “An easy one?”
“Yeah, an elemental we know.”
“I don’t know any other—” She cut herself off. Eyes widening, Hele breathed,“Oh.Do you think he would agree to meet with me? The witches didn’t have any luck.”
Vael’s smile widened into a full-blown grin. “Ithinkthat my mate is a determined sort of woman. He can refuse, but when has that ever stopped you from getting what you want?”
Her smile grew to match his. “You’re right,” she replied, bubbling excitement beginning to eclipse her worry. “I am an Aždaja, and we do not take no for an answer.”
His arms tightened around her middle. “You are also anOrlova,and we look after our own.”
Epilogue
August 2047 - San Francisco, The Elvish Protectorate
She was not boundless.
Even dematerialized, her form shifted to light and heat and power, she could feel the edges of her being. She did not stretch endlessly into the horizon, nor did she float without purpose or agency.
She was finite — and more free than she had ever been.
Hele watched the massive fog bank roll in over tide and rock. The sun was setting, the air temperature was dropping, and though she had no lungs with which to do it, she held her breath.
There was a wild magic in the fog. It twined seamlessly with one another — two distinct entities that lived in symbiosis. Hele looked closely from where she hovered over one of the towers of the Golden Gate bridge, trying to see if she could spot where one being ended and the other began.
As the fog rolled ever closer, swallowing the pylons and the deck below her, she decided that she could not. This fascinated her and made her wonder, briefly, if one could tellherapart from a regular lightning storm.
A question for another day.
She would have to remember to ask her mate.After.
Hele’s nerves manifested in snaps of electricity in the air. The lights at the top of the tower buzzed, glowing briefly brighter, before she got herself back under control.Calm,she coached herself.Remember what minu tuli said: this is a first try. If I fail, there will be more.
But she did not want to fail. She wanted to succeed in this almost as much as she had wanted to be with her mate. Beyond that, she just…reallywanted to meet the being whose life had inspired her so much. She admired him. Despite the fact that they were strangers, his opinion meant more to her than she could readily admit.
He’s coming!
She felt the charge in the air, that magicshiftthat was so familiar to her. Fog began to rise, creeping up over the red painted metal of the tower. It moved gracefully. She could see now why people were often taken by surprise when they suddenly found themselves in an impenetrable wall of fog. It moved so sinuously, so without obvious hurry, that it would be easy to underestimate its power.
Hele steeled herself for the conversation to come.I am Hele Varvaara Aždaja Orlova. I live in the Draakonriik. I have my own dwelling. I have a mate who loves me. I was once vast, and even though I am now small, nothing is impossible for me. Not even this.
Her will compressed her form, creating skin and bone from light and magic. Her bare feet settled on the cold, gritty metal of the tower just as the fog rose above the ledge.
And then she was no longer alone.
A man stood before her. He was slightly taller than she was, and built hardier, with more muscle and a stronger bone structure. But that is where their differences ended. Hele took in his pale skin with its blue undertone, his long white hair, and his black eyes with a heavy heart.
We look like siblings.
