18. Varyx
VARYX
S pent, we slept deeply. I woke only to reassure myself that Lena was real, alive, and here. Each time I stirred, she snuggled in closer, and I fell back into my slumber with a warm, safe feeling radiating through me.
It couldn’t last forever, much as I wished it would.
We needed food, drink, and a bath. All the annoying minor problems of life that kept us from spending the next decade exploring and enjoying each other’s bodies.
Breakfast was easy, if not imaginative—I kept clear spring water beside my bed, along with a bowl of fresh fruit.
It would suffice until I cooked us an actual meal. Bathing, though, meant leaving the bed.
Grumbling, I got up and carried her to the shining pool.
Lena woke as I lifted her, protesting at being carried.
I ignored that until I reached our destination and slid her into the hot spring water.
Her half-hearted glower made me smile, and she couldn’t hold her grin back for more than a few seconds.
“I can walk, you know.”
“But it’s so much more fun to carry you,” I told her. “Especially when you wriggle.”
Her face going red, she ducked under the water, and I stepped in beside her. The healing energy of the spring loosened my muscles and tended to the wounds we both carried from the battle. Her eyes sparkled when she looked around at me, and I pulled her to me.
Blissful heat embraced us, and we basked in it, letting the healing water flow past. I watched Lena with interest as her skin flushed in the hot water, revealing the pale marks that mirrored my own.
She looked at them in silence, then turned to me accusingly.
“Those are my mating marks,” I told her. “They show we belong to each other. I am yours, and you, my beloved human, are mine.”
“Don’t sound so smug about it. You should warn a girl before you tattoo your claim on her.” Despite her words, Lena smiled as she flexed her forearm, watching the patterns shift. I laughed.
“Forgive me, beloved. I intended to tell you, but the Voidstorm came at the wrong moment. And if I’m smug, it is only because fate has paired me with the finest female the universe has ever seen. Should I not be proud to have a mate as beautiful, brave, and clever as you?”
Lena’s face glowed bright red at that, her mouth opening and closing in silence. She ducked under the water with a splash.
My beloved, it seemed, did not take praise well.
“So,” Lena said once she resurfaced, changing the subject. “What happens now? The Void Gate kept you here, right?”
A tremor in her voice betrayed her nerves.
“It did. I need Void energy, and without it I’d fade away like the dragons of your world. The process takes time, but it’s inevitable.”
She swallowed and looked away, then back. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re taking a death sentence far too well. What aren’t you telling me?”
“First, you get to live. That is reason enough to be cheerful.” Her suspicious glare intensified at my smile. “Second, when I say it would take time, I mean years, perhaps decades. I might well still outlive a human.”
“Varyx.” Her voice hardened, and she stood, the water cascading down her beautiful curves as she looked down at me. The pose was not as intimidating as she intended, but my heart still raced. “I know you better than that. Tell me, or I’ll… I’ll…”
I leaned back, admiring the way the lights gleamed off her wet skin and letting her find something to threaten me with. Her blush deepened, and she splashed water at me.
“So help me, I’ll tickle you until you let me in on your secret!”
The threat was unexpected enough to startle a laugh out of me. My beloved splashed me again, leaping after the water and onto my lap, taking advantage of my surprise to make good on her threat. I quickly raised my hands in surrender.
“Enough, enough! I will tell you, though I wanted to wait until I was certain.”
Lena watched me with suspicion, poised to resume her tickle-attack. The sparkle in her eyes was worth my lost dignity. Warm water swirled around us, and it wasn’t easy to focus on my answer with her naked body right there.
“You should not have been able to close the Void Gate, but you did. I believe that is because you opened it. When you first touched the Gate, you destabilized it and absorbed some of the Void energy. My marks gave you the ability to channel it, so you could turn the Void’s power back on itself and seal the Gate forever. ”
Lena’s brow furrowed as she considered the implication. “I don’t get it.”
“You have chaos in your heart now, little one. A piece of the Void. That much is certain.” As I spoke, I stroked a finger along one of the constellations decorating her skin.
The corresponding mark on my arm glowed in response, eliciting a little gasp from her.
“My marks allow me to channel it, and as my mate, you share those markings. I believe you absorbed enough of the Void for me to survive on.”
“Wait,” Lena shook her head, sending water splashing from her hair. “You think I’m the Void Gate now? Is that even possible?”
“I have no idea. All I know is that you bear my marks, channeling the energy I need. I am no scholar or wizard, and we’ll need to consult one to answer such questions. It is, however, the best explanation I have for the situation.”
A long moment passed. Lena looked at me as though she might find the answers she sought written on my soul. Not wanting to interrupt her thoughts, I waited for her to speak.
“You want to test it? That means you staying with me when I leave, or me staying here forever, right? Because if you’re not near me, you’ll die.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“No,” I said, voice firm. Then I thought past my instinct to reassure her and tried again.
“If needed, I will find another way. You are under no obligation to remain with me—we agreed this is a holiday romance, and I have no claim on you when you decide to leave. I wish to go with you because I love you, and I hope you will welcome me. We are bound by fate, meant for each other. But I will not force my company on you.”
Lena’s face stilled as she watched mine, weighing, measuring. Frowning. Despite the hot spring water we sat in, my heart froze. I meant what I said; I would respect her choice, but every instinct shouted at me to keep her, regardless. She would come to understand.
NO. I would not entertain such thoughts. Lena deserved to choose her fate, and I would neither force nor coerce her.
“Varyx Voidbound, you are insufferable, arrogant, and demanding. I never thought you were this stupid.” Were those tears in her eyes?
I tensed, as though that could shield me from a broken heart.
She paused, as though seeking the right words, and her voice trembled.
“ Of course I want you with me. I love you, idiot, and fuck you for doubting it! Fuck you and your damned martyr complex! Yes, you come with me. We’ll live a long, happy life, and if I can’t keep you alive, we’ll find someone or something that can. ”
Her passion burst out in a furious tirade, and the force of it rocked me.
I needed a few moments to grasp what her words meant, but when I did, my triumphant roar shook the cave.
All the fear and tension drained out of me, and I leaped up, sending a wave crashing across the pool.
Sweeping Lena into my arms, I pulled her to me for a kiss that left us both panting.
Her lips trembled under mine, and she melted against me, her arms around my neck, tension draining from us.
Without breaking the kiss, I lifted her and turned, placing her against the edge of the pool and positioning myself against her.
“‘Fuck you,’ you said.” I moved my mouth from hers to her ear, whispering. “My beloved mate, I will always stand ready to oblige.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Her passionate squeal collapsed into giggles as I kissed her neck, and she drew me to her with a will.
Outside, the storm had passed. This would be a good day.
The first day of our glorious life together.