Zak smiled and embraced me. I melted into the warmth of his body, delighting in the comfort of it. He felt like the home I never had.
"I can't believe it," Zak said, his words broken up with laughter. "I've always wanted this and now it's finally happening."
"Is it as good as you thought it would be?" I asked.
"No." Zak grinned. "It's better."
Nautilus smiled and closed his eyes, like he was soaking up the invisible magic of fated mates wafting off of us. "Ah... True love. There is nothing like it, right, Mistral?"
Mistral yawned. "Sure. Hey, so, if you're feeling better, does that mean I can leave?"
Flicking his tail, Nautilus replied, "I don't see why not. My abilities seem to be back to normal." He shot a long, meaningful look over the waters. "And my domain is under control once more."
"Great!" Mistral clapped his hands together like every problem in the world had just been solved. "So I'm gonna go now. It was fun babysitting you and all, Nautilus, but I have stuff to do, too, y'know."
Nautilus chuckled. "Yes, yes. Go on. Away with you."
I didn't expect him to say anything to us, but Mistral grinned at me and Zak. "Hey, congrats on being fated and good luck with that baby, eh? If it's anything like great-grandpap, it'll be a handful!"
With a dramatic flourish, Mistral pushed off the ground with his talons and shot into the sky, wheeling around the island before he disappeared from sight.
"That guy's really something," Zak said mischievously under his breath. "I never thought a spirit could be so... you know."
I nodded. "I know."
Overhearing us, Nautilus chimed in. "Mistral is... interesting. But don't be too harsh on him. Animus isn't the only spirit who experiences jealousy."
I bristled at the sound of that name. "Mistral is after your powers, too?"
Nautilus let out a relaxed laugh. "Oh, not at all. Contrary to his behavior, he is quite a powerful spirit with no need to steal from anyone. What I meant was you shouldn't be deceived by the way he acts. He is actually quite lonely." He gazed at the sky with a smile that was a bit melancholy. "Mistral wants a fated mate too."
"Spirits can have fated mates?" I asked.
"Well, duh," Zak said. "I have a grandma, don't I?"
I blushed, remembering Zak's human grandmother. "I--I wasn't aware that she and Nautilus--that they--" I cut myself off from stammering any further. "I'm sorry."
But Zak just laughed. "It's cool. I know it's probably weird to a pure shifter to think a spirit and a human as being fated mates."
"It's not weird," I said quickly. "Just..."
"Unusual?" Zak grinned, obviously not offended at all. "Whatever you wanna call it."
"Yes, it's true," Nautilus said. "And speaking of, I should pay my beloved a visit now that my powers have returned..."
Zak nodded. "Yeah, Grandma would love that. We should probably get home too, since the storm's cleared up."
"Excellent." Nautilus gazed down at us with shimmering eyes. "Thank you. Both of you. You've been a tremendous help. If only there was a way I could repay you--ah! I know just the thing."
I watched in confusion, which turned into shock as Nautilus reached underneath his mane and pulled out a shining dragon scale. If it hurt, he made no indication of it, but I was still aghast.
"Take this," Nautilus said, handing me the scale. It wasn't fragile--it actually felt stiff and solid--but I gripped it reverently, like I was afraid of breaking it.
"Whoa," Zak said. "One of your scales? But why?"
"It is part of me, and thus possesses certain special qualities," Nautilus said.
"Like what?" Zak asked bluntly.
