Lumi-
I drift in and out of consciousness, wrapped in his warmth. His voice rumbles against my ear, Vraksûn that I don't fully understand, but I feel it in my bones.
“Velorin, Saelûn. Etra’kai lûn. Muskâ em veyr.” (Safe, Soulbond. Even if it kills me. The snow bows to you.)
His hand slides up, resting over my heart. “Virae ves Kaemorin.” (Your sacred core belongs to me.)
The words soothe something restless in me. The heat that was crawling under my skin settles.
His voice gets softer, “Ael'thra lûnha mînharûn.” (I wear your name inside me now.)
His nose brushes my temple, breath warm at the shell of my ear. “Veyrûn ves Saelûn, lûmina’thrae...” (The scent of our bond still clings to you, little soul.)
His voice lowers, and a purr slips out. “Even the light will know I've been yours.”
I don't hear anything after that, as I slip deeper into sleep, until I wake hours later, drenched in sweat. My skin is on fire, and my throat is dry. Every muscle aches like I've been running for miles. But it’s not fatigue weighing me down, it’s an unrelenting need.
The heat that his voice soothed earlier—it’s back, and much worse than before. It worms its way through my blood.
My body wasn't meant for whatever this is.
It pulses low in my belly, molten and heavy, spreading through my veins like accelerant. I press my thighs together, trying to ease the throbbing. It doesn't help. My body craves him. Every nerve is alive and oversensitive. The sheet against my skin feels like sandpaper, but when my hand brushes his fur, relief floods through me.
Fuck.
I shift slightly, and that alone nearly has me in tears.
I need him. We don't have to consummate the bond... but we have to do something.
I glance down at his face, and he looks so peaceful. His breathing is slow and steady—for the first time since we've met, he's actually resting. One of his arms is draped over my waist like he can't stand to let me go, even in his dreams.
I can't wake him up. He needs sleep, but I'm burning. Sweat drips down my spine, and I can't bite back the groans anymore.
“I'm sorry,” I whisper, so quietly he won't hear. “But I can't stand it any longer.”
I'll be back before he wakes up. I just need to cool down.
Wood creaks softly as I shift, untangling myself from his arms. He coils around my pillow without waking, clutching it like he needs something—anything—to hold. I ease off the bed and sneak into the bathroom.
Cool water spills from the faucet in a steady stream, hitting the tub with a soft splash. It feels even warmer in here than it did a second ago, like the heat’s seeping from under my skin and drifting into the air. I barely get the latch open on the window before cold air rushes in. It skims over my skin, raising goosebumps everywhere it kisses. I could moan from the relief. I find a little jar of crushed herbs that he’s used before and toss a handful into the water. The scent rises in slow spirals, like a garden after rain.
I lower myself slowly, hissing as the cold laps over my scorched skin. My head rests against the back of the tub, and my eyes fall shut.
“You look miserable, Saelûn.” Andrik’s voice rings through the silence, and I almost jump out of my own skin. “Keep your eyes closed for me.”
I do.
The chill leaking through the window ghosts over my damp skin. My fingers grip the porcelain lip.
“It’s just me, Lumi,” he reassures me. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”
His voice is closer now, less like it’s coming through my ears, and more like it’s threading straight into my skull.
“Your heat is starting, and you shouldn't have to face it on your own.”
I sit up slightly, water sloshing at my sides.
“I thought you were sleeping? I didn't mean to wake you.” I mumble through chattering teeth.
