“Come,” he says, extending his hand. “Your surprise is ready.”
He leads me through a passage I haven’t explored yet, deeper into the network of caves that make up our home. The air grows warmer, damper, carrying a mineral scent that reminds me of hot springs.
“Close your eyes,” he instructs as we approach a curtained archway.
I comply, allowing him to guide me forward. I hear the rustle of fabric being pushed aside, feel a rush of humid air against my skin.
“Now look.”
I open my eyes to a sight that steals my breath. We’re standing in a natural cavern, but what Solantus has done with it is nothing short of miraculous. A pool of clear water fills a natural depression in the stone floor, large enough for both of us with room to spare. The walls glitter with embedded crystals that catch and refract light from carefully placed illumination spheres, casting rainbow patterns across the water’s surface.
“A bathing spring,” I whisper, moving closer. Steam rises gently from the water, carrying that distinctive mineral scent.
“For you,” Solantus says, his voice deep with pleasure at my reaction. “The waters here have healing properties for your kind. I have modified the thermal regulation.”
He gestures to a panel set into the rock wall, embedded with crystals of varying colors. “Touch the blue for cooler, the red for warmer. The water responds to your command.”
I reach out tentatively, pressing my finger to the red crystal. Immediately, the pool begins to bubble more vigorously, the temperature visibly rising. I switch to the blue, and the bubbling subsides, the steam diminishing.
“You built this for me?” My voice catches. The technical skill required, the thoughtfulness behind it—it overwhelms me.
“Your kind needs water for cleansing and comfort. Sanctuary’s facilities were inadequate.” He says it matter-of-factly, as though creating a custom hot spring with temperature controls is a simple courtesy rather than an extraordinary gift.
“It’s perfect,” I tell him, emotion making my voice thick. “Will you join me?”
His eyes flare brighter, pupils contracting to slits in a way I’ve learned signals intense interest. “Now?”
In answer, I begin to unfasten my clothing—the lightweight Fireland garments I’ve been given, designed to withstand the heat while providing modest coverage by local standards.
Solantus watches, utterly still except for the tip of his tail, which twitches in that telling way. When I’m bare, I step into the pool, sighing as the perfectly heated water embraces me.
“The temperature suits?” he asks, already shedding his own armor with efficient movements.
“It’s perfect,” I assure him, sinking deeper until the water laps at my shoulders. “Everything is perfect.”
He joins me, his larger body displacing water that sloshes pleasantly against my skin. In the crystalline light, with steam rising around us, his scales shimmer like living metal. He reaches for me, drawing me against him in the weightlessness of the water.
“Mey-karath su-faer,” he murmurs against my hair.
I don’t need a translation. Some phrases transcend language. I curl into his heat, into this home he’s created for us, and I answer in the only way that matters.
“I love you too.”
epilogue
SOLANTUS
Iwatch her sleep, this small human who has become my world. Her chest rises and falls with each breath, her skin glowing in the amber light that filters through our den’s crystal windows. My tail curls possessively around her feet, maintaining contact even in slumber.
One week since our bonding, and still I marvel at her—the softness of her skin against my scales, the heat she radiates that is cooler than mine yet perfect in its own way. She belonged to me before she even knew I existed. I knew it the moment I scented her through the Sanctuary database, a perfect chemical signature that called to something primal within me.
The silk sheets pool around her waist, leaving her upper body bare to my gaze. I memorize every curve, every mark that makes her uniquely Tamsin. Her breasts rise with each breath, the brown tips hardening slightly in the cool morning air. My temperature rises involuntarily in response, the den growing warmer as my body reacts to the sight of my mate.
She was never meant to be assigned randomly. I requested her specifically, something few know outside the highest levels ofthe registry. Three cycles ago, during a diplomatic mission to the eastern Sanctuary, I caught her scent on the wind—a fleeting impression that stopped me mid-stride. My escort thought I’d detected a threat, the way my crest flared and my nostrils widened.
But it was her—Tamsin—walking on the other side of the compound wall, unaware of how her pheromones had just rewired my entire existence.
I tracked her for days, learning her routine, her name, her status. Unmarried. Unbonded. A rare fertile female living within Sanctuary walls. When I returned to Fireland, I submitted my formal request to the Matchmaking Protocol, using my position as regional guardian to expedite the process.
