Still unwilling to let go of him, I read a little longer. An hour passed before I looked up again, startled by a knock at the door.
A quick glance at the timepiece told me everything. Ten. Time to go—and I wasn’t even dressed yet.
“Come in,” I called.
Arielle came in with a bright smile that flickered with uncertainty when she noticed the journal. “Morning. I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake. Thought I’d find you sleeping, not reading.”
“Why do you think I’d be sleeping?” I chuckled.
“The mating bond. I hear it can wear you out.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“That’s what you said two days ago, and then you went missing with your mate.” She crossed the room and lowered herself into the bay seat.
I pulled a face at her.
“I take it everything went well on your little getaway.” Mischief lit her eyes.
I couldn’t stop myself from blushing. “It did.”
“Good. So what’s this you’re reading? We need to get going.”
I held up the journal. “Wolfe gave this to me. It’s a journal he made for me, from last month’s reset.”
Arielle pressed a hand to her heart and drew in an awed breath. “My Gods… he did that? Wolfe?”
I nodded. “He did. And everything he’s written is beautiful. I couldn’t stop reading. And look—” I showed her what was left. “There’s still so much more.”
“Wolfe Nightblade never ceases to amaze me. He truly does love you.” Her expression softened as she spoke.
“It looks that way.”
“And you?” She did that thing I’d noticed others doing—searching my eyes as if they could read how I felt there. “How do you feel?”
I exhaled, thinking of how far I’d come in such a short space of time. The last time we had this kind of conversation, I told her I felt nothing. Now I felt like a different person.
“He has my heart, Arielle. All of it. And now that I’m here—so close to the next reset—I want to fight for the life we could have.”
She nodded, conviction steady in her eyes. “I want to fight for it for you, too. More than ever. The guys want to try the spell to find the ring on Monday. I think it’s a good idea. I think you’ll be ready by then.”
Monday was good. It would give me a few more days to practice and learn with Magdalena.
“I think if you try, we’ll know where we stand,” she continued, her voice quieter now. “We’ll be able to see how much more you need to do. It’ll give us a benchmark. And if the spell doesn’t work, we may still have time to adjust before the next reset. Maybe that means pushing you toward the stage where you claim your dragon.”
I hadn’t even considered that.
It felt so far away. Everything I’d read said you needed a certain level of power to claim your familiar. I was nowhere near that. I’d hoped I might regain my memories first, but like everything else, there was no guarantee.
I was figuring it out as we went—learning, failing, adjusting, and hoping it would be enough.
“I’m not ready for familiar training.”
Arielle looked like she couldn’t disagree. “Let’s hope you don’t need it yet.”
“I really hope so. I just… I need to understand my power.”
“You will. You’re closer than you think.”
