Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
brENTON
As the sun sank behind the calm bay, Vistos came alive.
Canoes glided through the water with laughter spilling long before anyone’s feet touched the shore.
All along the beach, fires flared tall and wide, their smoke twirling into the twilight.
The tallest flame roared high enough to paint the stilted homes in a fiery glow.
The smell of roasting meat clung to the air.
Entire boars turned on their spits over dug-out pits, flames snapping at the juices that hissed onto the coals.
The people passed clay bowls filled with roots and berries, which had already made their way around us twice.
I feared that if I kept eating, I wouldn’t be able to fit in the meat, potatoes, or rice.
Someone pounded on a drum that seemed to be stretched with hide. The beat was as steady as my pulse. Others lifted pipes made from bone. It was an orchestrated chaos, with the songs they played raw and unpolished but thrumming with life.
The people of Vistos danced, their whole bodies moving with the music, arms and torsos rolling, and their feet stamping onto the earth in rhythm. There was nothing rehearsed about the way they moved. Simply joy, fierce and unadulterated.
Children raced between the fires, their shrieks met with indulgent laughter. Dragons, hundreds of dragons, lounged at the edge of the clearing. Some watchful, others with their eyes half-closed, and what sounded like a purr vibrating off the ground.
I stood with Finley, Elias, and Everly at the edge of it all.
The warmth of the fires warmed our faces while the beat of the drums pulled at my chest. Finley’s gaze was fixed on the dancers, her lips curved into a soft smile as if she couldn’t believe this was all for her.
For what she had done for Solana and several hatchlings.
I couldn’t stop watching her. She’d been fearless today. Not because she hadn’t been afraid but because she’d done it despite her fears. When her magic spilled into Solana, when it reached beyond death and answered with life . . . she’d looked untouchable. Stunning and sacred, all at once.
My chest tightened at the memory, at the pride I felt stronger than anything the drums could strike. The pride didn’t come from what her magic could do, but from Finley herself. Her courage when she felt most exposed. Her stubborn, trembling bravery left me breathless.
“Are you sure you don’t want to dance?” I asked her.
When I reached a hand in invitation, she threaded her fingers with mine. Her smile was hesitant, her gaze bouncing between the dancers and me. She wanted to dance, to join in the festivities, but didn’t know how to permit herself to do so.
So instead, I brought her closer to me so her back rested against my chest. Her hands gripped mine when I wrapped my arms around her waist. Still wanting her closer, I dropped my chin on her shoulder, and she nestled her face against mine.
I rocked us side to side at a slow pace that didn’t match the fast beat of the music.
My soul exhaled while the bond stirred deep in my chest. It pulled at me, tugging hard and urging me to let its threads weave fully with hers. And gods, I wanted it. Wanted Finley stitched to the fabric of my soul. Inseparable and eternal.
But I’d move at her pace. Only when she chose it, when she gave me consent, would I sink my teeth in her and seal us. The thought of her taste on my tongue, of her teeth sinking into me, threatened to unravel me.
Still, I would wait. I’d already endured a century for her. I could endure a little longer.
“Are you going to stand there all night?” Kassidy’s voice cut through my thoughts. Her cheeks were flushed from dancing, her braid loose, and her smile wide. “Come, join us. It’s because of you we have something to celebrate.”
Before either of us could answer, she took Finley’s hand and then mine and pulled us toward the fire and music. I braced for Finley to stop Kassidy. She was fae and much stronger than the human female, but instead, she let herself be pulled. Although the smile she gave me was timid and wary.
At first, her movements were stiff. Shoulders and back tight as she tried to mimic how others danced.
But Kassidy and her siblings danced around her with wild ease and laughter loud enough to shake the night.
Little by little, Finley loosened. Her hips swayed, her arms lifted.
The light of the fire caught in her dark hair, and she looked less like the female who constantly held herself apart and more like she belonged here, in the heart of the noise and joy.
Unable to resist, I moved with them. I danced alongside them until the chance to draw Finley closer came. Having noticed my intention, the others slipped away with knowing smiles, leaving only Finley and me. My hands went to her waist while she braced hers against my chest.
The drums pounded on, but the celebration faded away. I swayed us, slower than the others, as I selfishly savored the warmth of her body pressed against mine. Her cheek brushed mine, and at that moment, I wanted nothing else but the quiet wonder of holding the woman I loved in my arms.
The tent was warm when I went inside. Finley knelt on the furs Willow had gifted her. Her hair was mussed from dancing, her cheeks pink and her brilliant eyes bright. She dug through her pack in search of clothes when I handed her the same shirt and shorts she’d worn the previous two nights.
She huffed out a laugh, her eyes sparkling. “Do you truly want me to wear this again?” She extended her arm toward me, teasing and light. “I already smell of you. You needn’t drown me in your scent.”
I cupped her hand, curling my palm around it, and bent to her wrist. My breath ghosted over her skin as I dragged my nose slowly along the line of her arm. Her eyes flared white, widening as she tracked me.
“You think that’s the reason?” When I reached her shoulder, I brushed her shirt aside and buried my face in the space where her throat and shoulder met.
I inhaled deeply, her scent filling me. The clean woodsmoke of the fire, the salt of her skin, and beneath it all, the unshakable scent that was Finley.
Mine. “I like you in my clothes, Lolli. Not just because it carries my scent but because you look like you belong in them. And when your scent clings to the fabric, I’ll wear it and carry you with me. ”
Heat flickered in her eyes, but she hid it with a grin. “Will you not wash it, then?”
Gently, I tugged on her hand, and she stepped into me, her body fitting against mine as if it belonged there.
Her fingers skimmed over my shirt, across my stomach, before settling on my chest, right over the thrum of my heart.
Beneath her touch, the steady beat turned reckless, and I knew she could feel the way it tremored for her.
“And wash you away?” I murmured as I brushed my lips over her temple. “Never.”
She laughed. “That’s disgusting, Brent. What about sweat and dirt?
” Her teasing words barely covered the truth that shone in her expression.
She tipped her chin up, her eyes steady on me as if she dared me to counter what she said next.
“I understand what you’re saying, though. You mean, you’re mine too.”
I lowered my forehead to hers, closing the little space between us until her breath mingled with mine. “Every piece of me belongs to you. As you’re bound to me, I am bound to you, just as wholly.”
For several beats, neither of us moved. She rubbed her cheek against mine, and I felt her breath skim over my lips. My chest eased, the tug on our bond loosening.
Her lips curled into a radiant smile. “I make the same vow to you. I am bound to you just as wholly.” Her fingers trailed down my chest and through my shirt, leaving a trail of fire everywhere she touched. Then she gave me a little push. “Now, go. Let me change into your clothes.”
Reluctantly, I left her, curling my fist as if I could trap the memory of her touch on my palm and keep her against me a little longer.
The night air cooled the heat she’d left behind. That was when I saw Elias, striding toward his tent with clipped urgency. His movements were too sharp to be anything but trouble.
I quickened my pace, flicking a glance at my tent before catching up. “Elias,” I called, but he didn’t slow. I reached for him, my fingers closing around his arm.
He spun, fists half raised before recognition dropped them. His eyes were wild. Haunted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, breath tight.
“I need to go back to Niev.” His words came out fast and sharp.
My stomach knotted. “Why? The kids, Teddy—what happened?”
He shook his head hard. “They’re fine. Nothing’s wrong.
I just—” His jaw locked, trapping the rest of his words.
“I can’t explain. But I need you to stay, Brent.
Keep an eye on Javier when he returns. Stay alert.
Look after the others.” He looked back over his shoulder at his tent.
“Trust me, nothing is wrong. I only leave to ensure it remains that way.”
Confusion twisted through me, but Elias was already moving again, hands moving swiftly as he tore down the tent with precision.
“I can do that, Elias,” Everly said, stepping in. “Go. Nalari is waiting for you.”
He gave a jerky nod. “Stand together and return home when you complete this mission.” His voice carried that of a command, his expression grave enough to match.
I set a hand on his shoulder, steadying the tension coiling there.
“You know we will. If that is your kingly command, then of course we’ll obey.
” I let the corner of my mouth twitch, teasing, but beneath it was the promise I’d always give him and my friends.
I’d watch over each of them as fiercely as I would my own blood.