Chapter 80
EIGHTY
T he following morning dawned clear and crisp—ideal autumn weather. Zina woke to find Xai’s side of the bed empty, but a note on his pillow caught her attention.
Meet me at the riverside clearing at 10. Dress for outdoors. —X
Intrigued, she took her time with her morning routine, humming as she dressed in comfortable jeans and a soft sweater. Their relationship had fallen into such comfortable rhythms that spontaneity now carried extra charm.
Following the path from their cabin toward the river, Zina breathed deeply of forest air tinged with wood smoke and fallen leaves. Her lioness stirred beneath her skin, appreciating the wilderness surrounding their new home.
The path curved around ancient oaks before opening to a riverside clearing—except the clearing had transformed overnight. Where there had been only wild grasses yesterday, now stood arranged circles of flowering hydrangeas in vivid reds, purples, and golds—the colors of the Founding Pyre.
In the center waited Xai, standing beside a picnic blanket laden with breakfast pastries and coffee. Beyond him stretched a panoramic view of Enchanted Falls nestled in the valley below.
“What’s all this?” she asked, gesturing at the flowers as she approached.
“I may have been planning this for some time,” he admitted, looking uncharacteristically nervous. “Dragons tend toward... extravagance when something matters deeply.”
“You planted all these overnight?”
“Dragon speed has its advantages.” He offered his hand, leading her into the circular garden. “Each color represents an aspect of our union—red for my lineage, gold for yours, and purple for our shared guardianship.”
Zina turned slowly, taking in the beauty surrounding them. “It’s incredible. But why now?”
Instead of answering immediately, Xai guided her to the center of the floral display. Sunlight filtered through autumn leaves, dappling the ground with golden light. In the distance, Enchanted Falls sparkled like a magical diorama—their shared responsibility, their home.
“Five centuries,” he began, voice uncharacteristically soft. “I’ve lived five centuries watching the world change around me. Empires rise and fall, technologies transform human life, supernatural beings adapt to evolving times.”
He took both her hands in his, golden eyes holding her gaze with unshielded emotion.
“In all that time, I never found someone who made eternity seem worthwhile rather than endless. Until you.”
Zina’s breath caught as he lowered himself to one knee, still holding her hands.
“I know we’ve already bonded in supernatural ways,” he continued, “but I’ve come to value certain human traditions for their symbolic beauty.”
From his pocket, he withdrew a small wooden box carved with intertwined dragon and lion motifs.
“Zina Parker, lioness extraordinaire and guardian of the Founding Pyre,” his voice carried both solemnity and warmth, “would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, in addition to being my mate? Of joining our lives not just in magic and duty, but in daily joy and shared purpose?”
He opened the box to reveal a ring unlike any she’d seen—a band of what appeared to be dragon gold, inset with amber stones that caught the sunlight like captured fire.
Emotion swelled in her chest, threatening to overflow. This powerful, ancient being knelt before her not out of supernatural necessity or magical obligation, but from purest love.
“Yes,” she answered, voice thick with feeling. “Of course, yes.”
As he slipped the ring onto her finger, warmth spread up her arm—not burning but comforting like the heat he radiated in sleep.
“The gold comes from my own hoard,” he explained as he rose. “The stones are dragon amber—solidified from my fire. A piece of myself to carry with you always.”
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, then laughed suddenly. “And entirely unnecessary, you ridiculous dragon. We’re already magically bonded for eternity.”
“Perhaps.” His smile held centuries of wisdom and the fresh wonder of new love. “But I’ve learned from you that some gestures matter precisely because they aren’t necessary—they’re chosen.”
She rose on tiptoes to kiss him, pouring everything she couldn’t articulate into the contact. His arms encircled her, lifting her off her feet with effortless strength. When they finally parted, both slightly breathless, the hydrangeas around them seemed to glow with intensified color.
“I love you,” she said for the first time, the words ringing with simple truth. “Ancient, overprotective, ridiculously romantic dragon that you are.”
“And I love you,” he returned, pressing his forehead to hers. “Stubborn, brave, extraordinary lioness.”
They settled on the picnic blanket, overlooking the town they’d pledged to protect. Coffee steamed in ceramic mugs as they shared pastries and plans for their future. Above them, autumn leaves danced in the breeze, and below, their town thrived in newfound security.
Zina looked down at her ring, then up at the man beside her.
“Happy?” Xai asked, his arm warm around her shoulders.
“Extremely.” She leaned into him, breathing in his smoky scent that now meant home to her. “Though I keep waiting for the next crisis to explode in our faces.”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. “Ever the pragmatist.”
“One of us has to be.” She turned to face him, looping her arms around his neck. “The dragon elder tends toward reckless heroics when provoked.”
“While the lioness spa owner lacks all self-preservation instinct when protecting what’s hers.” His hands settled at her waist, pulling her closer.
“We make quite the pair.” Her fingers traced the strong line of his jaw, marveling at how this face had become so essential to her happiness.
“The first of our kind,” he murmured, “but perhaps not the last.”
As their lips met beneath the autumn sky, the Founding Pyre pulsed gently miles away—three colors intertwined in perfect harmony, protecting the town that had brought them together. Ancient magic and modern love, strength and vulnerability, duty and joy—balance in all things.
And at the heart of that balance, a dragon and a lioness who had found in each other not just magical compatibility, but true partnership—the rarest treasure of all.