Page 57 of Ash and Burn

"Yes." The word escaped her in a rush.

The single syllable rang across the Caldran with perfect clarity, and the crowd erupted in celebration. But Arvid barely heard the cheering as Calix surged to his feet and slipped the ring onto her finger. The pyrestone band settled against her skin like it had been crafted specifically for her—which, she realized through their bond, it had been.

A ring forged from the heart of our kingdom, he projected through their link. Just like our love.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had—all her love, her gratitude, her absolute certainty that this man, this life, this impossible world was exactly where she belonged. The crowd's cheers grew even louder, but all Arvid could focus on was the way Calix held her like she was something precious beyond measure.

When they finally broke apart, Essin appeared at their side with a grin that could have powered half of Ashvorn. "I knew you'd say yes!" she declared, grabbing Arvid's hand to examine the ring. "Calix showed it to me yesterday and asked if I thought you'd like it."

"You were in on this?" Arvid laughed, ruffling the girl's dark curls.

"Someone had to make sure he didn't mess it up," Essin replied with the brutal honesty of youth. "Come on, let's go celebrate! Lyssi made her new ember grass tea, and there's enough food to feed everyone in Ashvorn twice over."

She tugged Arvid toward the celebration area that had been set up near the Caldran's base, where tables groaned under the weight of traditional dishes and the new ember grass tea steamed in elegant vessels. The absence of flameroot tea was deliberate and healing—a conscious choice to embrace change rather than cling to dangerous traditions.

Minutes later, as she and Calix walked hand in hand through the crowd, accepting congratulations and well-wishes, Arvid marveled at how completely her life had transformed. Two weeks ago, she'd been a solitary researcher in a tiny Texas lab, convinced that "good enough" was all she deserved. Now she was engaged to a dragon king, surrounded by people who had become family, preparing to rule a kingdom that felt more like home than anywhere she'd ever lived.

This is what it feels like to belong somewhere, she realized as Lyssi pressed a cup of ember grass tea into her hands.

ARVID

The morning light streaming through the tall windows of what had once been her guest suite felt different now—softer somehow, charged with the anticipation that seemed to hum through every stone of Ashspire. Arvid stood before the ornate mirror, watching Maggie's steady hands work the intricate fastenings of her wedding dress, and marveled at how completely her world had transformed.

Five weeks ago, I was terrified of forever. Now I can't wait for it to begin.

The dress itself was a masterpiece that had arrived just days ago—flowing ivory silk that caught Nova Aurora's twin suns like captured starlight, with delicate embroidery that reminded her of dragon scales without being ostentatious about it. The neckline was elegant but not modest, designed to showcase the mate mark that burned like a brand of possession over her heart.

"I still can't believe you're about to become a queen," Maggie said, her voice carrying that mix of pride and disbelief that had characterized most of their conversations since she'd arrived on Nova Aurora a week ago. "When you called me and said you'd found your soulmate on an alien planet and oh, by the way, he's a dragon king, I thought you'd finally snapped from too much caffeine and not enough sleep."

Arvid laughed, remembering that conversation. "To be fair, I wasn't entirely sure I hadn't snapped either. The whole thing still feels surreal sometimes."

"What's surreal is how right it all looks on you," Lyssi chimed in from where she was applying the finishing touches to Arvid's makeup with the focused intensity of an artist. "The confidence, the way you move through Ashvorn like you've always belonged here, the way people look at you like you're already their queen. You were born for this role."

Arvid studied her reflection, searching for traces of the isolated researcher who had been fine with "good enough" for three lonely years. That woman seemed like a stranger now, someone who had been sleepwalking through life until fate—and one meddling matchmaker—had shocked her awake.

The past three weeks had been a whirlwind of wedding preparations, council meetings, and laboratory work. The breakthrough with the Ash Fever vaccine had been the crown jewel of their collaborative efforts—she and Dorn working eighteen-hour days to refine the treatment protocol, testing and retesting until they were absolutely certain. The day they'd successfully vaccinated the first group of volunteers had felt almost as momentous as the day she and Calix had completed their mate bond.

"The vaccine trials are still exceeding all projections," she said, unable to keep the satisfaction from her voice. "We should have full population immunity within six months, and the treatment protocol has a ninety-seven percent success rate for active cases."

Maggie grinned as she secured the final clasp. "Leave it to you to help solve an alien plague and plan a royal wedding simultaneously. Most people can barely handle planning a birthday party."

"Most people don't have a tremendous medical team behind them and a dragon king helping them delegate," Arvid replied, thinking of the way Calix had seamlessly integrated her research priorities with his royal duties.

The man who had once struggled to trust anyone with important tasks had become her most reliable partner in everything from scientific review to menu planning.

He's learned to share control. And I've learned that accepting help isn't the same as losing independence.

Through their mate bond, she could feel him now—a warm, steady presence tinged with excitement and barely leashed possessiveness. His emotions had been running hot all morning, a combination of anticipation and the particular intensity that meant his dragon was close to the surface. The thought of walking down that aisle toward him, of officially claiming her place at his side, sent heat spiraling through her veins.

Lyssi stepped back to admire her handiwork. "You know, when Calix first told me about you, I thought he was delusional. A human mate? For our control-obsessed king? It seemed impossible."

"And now?" Arvid asked softly.

"Now I think you're the best thing that ever happened to him. And to Ashvorn." Lyssi's green eyes sparkled with mischief. "Though I suspect a certain matchmaker knew exactly what she was doing from the very beginning."

Suddenly, the door burst open with enough force to rattle the hinges, and Gerri Wilder swept into the room like a purple-clad hurricane. Her heels clicked against the pyrestone floor with precision, and her eyes were bright with the particular satisfaction of a plan executed flawlessly.

"Well, well, well," Gerri announced, surveying the scene with obvious approval. "Look at our beautiful bride, ready to claim her throne and her dragon."