“Are you okay?” she asked breathlessly.
“Fine.” He pushed himself up onto his elbow and winced. “A little sore, that’s all. You?”
“Same.” Compared to the pain she’d been in after the rocks ripped through her, this was nothing. “You got it, right?”
A smile slid across the prince’s face, the incredible sight lighting up the room more than the glowing fungi. He sat up, gripping the obsidian dagger in his left hand. “I did.”
He held it out so she could examine it, though he was careful not to bring it too close to her. Could he feel how the air pulsed around the dagger, warning her away from the beautiful, deadly blade?
“It looks… sharp.” She didn’t dare get too close.
He chuckled, sheathing the dagger before holding his hand towards her. “Yes, it does. Ready for one last run?”
Even now, he was eager for adventure. Of course, he was. She was beginning to suspect that the halfling would never turn down an opportunity to explore the world, no matter how dangerous it was.
The thought didn’t bother her, though. That’s just who the prince was. Taking away his eagerness to explore would be stripping him of his personality. She couldn’t imagine a greater travesty.
Vivienne huffed a hoarse laugh. “Iguess.”
She sheathed her sword and slipped her hand into Marius’s. His skin was so much warmer than hers, as if it was embedded with coals. She leaned against him, letting his warmth seep into her. It was so much better than the dragon’s heat. So much more comforting. So much morehers.
Marius smiled down at her, brushed his lips over her forehead, and then they were off.
LeavingDeath Mountain was surprisingly uneventful, considering all the problems they had encountered on their way in. They followed the winding hallway, which descended in a spiral. The path was smooth, and the mushroom lights were bright.
Running downhill took significantly less energy than the initial climb, and the unnatural chill in the air soon disappeared. The wind blew past, carrying the scent of snow, and she smiled.
The end was near.
“We’re close,” Marius said. “I can feel it.”
Renewed energy filled Vivienne, and they took off in a steady sprint. It wasn’t long before the path widened, and the exit appeared. She slowed long enough for Marius to run ahead and confirm night had fallen. Once he called back that the course was clear, she ran out in a blur behind him.
The moon’s silver glow was bright as she exited the mountain, and she nearly cried out at the comforting sight. It was like curling up beneath a warm, familiar blanket after many nights on the road.
Inhaling deeply, Vivienne filled her lungs with the familiar scents of Northern Eleyta. Snow flurries fell leisurely, coating the nearby spindly pine trees with a white coat. This far north, tree trunks never grew verylarge. They had to battle with the elements for life. The fact that they even existed in such a cold place seemed miraculous.
The green dragon was sitting near a cluster of trees, his spiked tail resting on the ground. Even the knowledge that they would be riding the fire-breathing beast again didn’t tamp down Vivienne’s relief that they were out of Death Mountain.
As if he had known that they would need them, Xander had brought them each a change of clothes. Vivienne changed behind a nearby tree, grateful to leave her shredded garments behind, and once they had changed, Marius held her hand as she climbed onto the dragon’s back.
They reclaimed their positions from earlier, and once Marius wrapped his arms around her, the dragon took off.
Vivienne wasn’t scared this time. Maybe it was because they’d succeeded on their quest, or maybe it was the prince at her back, but either way, she smiled as they took to the skies.
She shut her eyes and relaxed without prompting, letting Marius’s heat envelop her. Something thrummed deep in her chest at the contact. It had been there since she woke up in the mountain with his wrist in her mouth.
This wasn’t a true bond—both Bindings and Tetherings required far more blood and ceremony—but there was something between them that hadn’t been there before.
A sense of peace, rightness, and belonging.
It was odd. Even though this quest had been far more than Vivienne had ever bargained for, she would do it all again. Not because she particularly enjoyed almost dying but because of the man behind her. Because of the moments they’d shared, the truths they had confided in each other, and the way he made her feel.
Marius had a gift of making everything, even nearly dying, interesting.She hadn’t known a single day’s peace since they first met, but it surprised her to realize that it didn’t bother her. On the contrary, there was something enjoyable about living on the edge. For decades, her life as a soldier had been a monotonous cycle of duty, schedules, and endless training.
With Marius, there was no telling what would come next. Every time she tried to predict what he would do, she failed miserably.
And she… liked that.
