“Technically, you never said I couldn’t walk across ruined harbors.”
“I assumed it was implied.”
“You know what they say about assumptions.”
She felt him smile against her hair. Around them, the town was beginning to stir—cleanup crews moving toward the damaged docks, healers checking on anyone who might have been caught in the crossfire, the alpha network coordinating the return to normalcy.
She let her eyes close, her cheek against his chest, the steady beat of his heart the only thing that mattered right now. They’d survived. They’d won. Nerissa was defeated, the weather manipulation ended, the threat to Haven Shores eliminated.
“Take me home.” The words came out barely above a whisper.
He pulled back to look at her, something soft and wondering in his expression. “Your cottage?”
“Either. Both. Wherever you are.” She reached up to touch his face, feeling the stubble scratch against her palm. “That’s home now. You.”
His eyes flared—heat and love and the kind of fierce possessiveness that used to terrify her but now felt like safety. He kissed her in the middle of the ruined harbor with half the town watching, and she kissed him back with everything she had.
Somewhere overhead, Delos circled—the younger dragon still in shifted form, keeping watch even now that the battle was over. Gust had returned to perch on a nearby piling, his small form radiating disapproval at the public display of affection. The seagulls were already gossiping—she could hear them, thesupernatural network spreading news of the dragon elder and the storm witch across Haven Shores.
Let them gossip. Let everyone know.
She was Cassia Gale, and she’d found someone who loved her chaos.
And soon—as soon as her ribs healed and she could move without wincing—she was going to let him claim her properly.
The thought sent heat curling through her veins, anticipation building beneath the exhaustion. His arms tightened around her, and she wondered if he could feel it—the shift in her breathing, the way her body responded to even the idea of what was coming.
“Soon,” he murmured against her lips, as if reading her mind. “When you’re healed.”
“How soon is soon?”
“The healers say a week. Maybe less if you actually rest like you’re supposed to.”
“I can rest.” She grinned up at him. “I can rest very well if properly motivated.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmm. Take me home and find out.”
He laughed—a real laugh, warm and surprised—and swept her into his arms before she could protest. She yelped, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her away from the harbor, away from the cleanup crews and the watching eyes, toward whatever future they were building.
Behind them, the sunset faded to purple and then to star-scattered dark. The harbor would take weeks to repair. The town would take longer to process everything that had happened.
Already, she could hear the cleanup beginning—Theo’s voice directing pack members, Leo coordinating with Hux about temporary harbor closures, the witches discussing how to repair the damaged wards. Haven Shores would rebuild. It hadsurvived worse. But this time, there would be two dragons helping.
That was new. That was unprecedented. Dragons didn’t join communities—everyone knew that.
But Aero was staying. For her. Because of her. And Haven Shores would never be the same.
But Cassia Gale was alive. She was loved. And she was done apologizing for either.
She’d stopped asking the world’s permission a lifetime ago. It just took this long to believe it.
FORTY-SEVEN
CASSIA
One week after the battle, Cassia stood at the edge of the sea cliffs and tried not to hyperventilate.
