Chapter 42
Chapter
Forty-Two
brENTON
For the past week, Finley trained in both combat and magic until her breath shook from the exertion. And every day, Eiran pulled on our threads harder, forcing us to stretch past where I normally might have broken.
But Finley needed me at my best, so I pushed past the exhaustion and head pain, determined not to let her down.
Every night, I felt the way her magic quaked through our bond. Just as spent but unwilling to give in. The way she curled inward every night, as the weight of all the realms lived in her spine, made my blood roar with the need to end this.
If not for the dragons, then for my mate.
Tomorrow was what we’d been training for—Finley, Alastor, and me.
To face the goddess in Eiran’s domain.
On our terms, if such a thing existed where gods were concerned.
She’d never say it, but she needed a break. And for once, I wanted to give her something she hadn’t had to claw out of the world with bloody, torn hands.
So I did what any seasoned warrior about to step into battle would do. I asked Teddy how I could go about reserving a day of pampering and painting nails. She didn’t just deliver but helped me book a spa day, something only Respandora had.
A couple of the shifter mages who’d moved to Respandora opened a small bathhouse with soft steam, hot stones, and scented oils. While they didn’t have anyone for manicures and pedicures, the female who owned the place asked around, and we were set.
Now here we were. All of us, including Alastor, who insisted he wouldn’t participate but would attend for moral support.
Or not all, since Zayne and Caspian had stayed back with Kieren.
Javier’s friend hadn’t only proven to be a good warrior and dragon rider but also an excellent babysitter who knew how to keep chaos under control without diluting the fun.
When I walked Finley through the door, she stopped so suddenly that Etienne nearly crashed into her back.
Her hair was still damp from her quick shower after training with Everly and Teddy.
Loose strands stuck to her neck and flushed cheeks.
She blinked at the soft light streaming across the hot stone benches, the bowls of water scattered around the expansive room, the bundles of herbs steaming in the corners, and the large, heated tub that sat in the middle.
“What is this?” she asked, eyes wide and voice wary.
“A spa day.” I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “You can get your claws painted after all of this.”
She huffed out a small, airy laugh. “I don’t know what all of this is.”
“It’s a day of relaxation.” Teddy hooked her hand around Finley’s arm, guiding her toward the center of the room. “There’ll be massages, meditation, and soaking in the hot tub. And we end it all with a manicure and pedicure.”
Finley’s expression softened when she turned back to me. It was an unshielded softness she didn’t let many see.
“You did this for me?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Technically, all I did was ask Teddy about someone painting our claws.”
Teddy snorted, rolling her eyes at me like she’d been waiting for a reason to call me out. “Don’t let his modesty fool you. The second I mentioned this place, he dragged me here like a man on a mission.”
Finley closed the small distance between us with two steps and wound her arms around my neck, her fingertips grazing the base of my head. Her lips found mine in a soft, tender kiss.
Meanwhile, Alastor lingered outside the edges of the room, eyeing his surroundings like he’d been lured into a trap.
His shadows stretched along stones and swept cautiously around the large tub, where Elias sat at the edge, his boots off and feet already in the warm water.
George kept his position at the door, arms crossed and muttering to himself until Jasmine and Juanita took his hand and led him to the tub Victoria had already dunked herself in.
Finley took it all in, her cheeks warming while her magic flared through our bond. It wasn’t bright or sharp, but a quiet pulse that made my chest both ache and ease.
“Looks like the tub’s the place to be,” I said, gesturing toward it. “Shall we?”
I offered my hand, and she took it without hesitation, her fingers sliding against mine and squeezing.
Everyone eventually moved toward the tub. Some with eager laughter, others with quiet steps. Shirts were removed, with shorts clinging to our damp bodies. The closer Finley and I came to it, the more I felt the steam against the cool air.
Etienne hesitated the longest. His hands fisted in the hem of his shirt, his knuckles white. When he finally inhaled deep and pulled it over his head, my heart stalled. Thin, jagged scars lined his chest and back like someone had carved their cruelty into him.
It had to be from his time in the human realm. Human hands. Human brutality.
Thankfully, no one said anything, and he rushed into the tub with the rest of us.
When Finley sank into the water, she closed her eyes and grinned up at the ceiling. She looked at peace, as if the world had finally given her a sliver of mercy.
I couldn’t stop staring at her. At the way she let herself unwind. Her shoulders loosened, her lashes fluttered as the warm water lapped against her skin.
“Alastor,” she called, her head tipped back against the ledge of the tub, eyes still closed, a devious curve pulling at her mouth. “Do you remember Brenton and me wrestling in the ocean?”
An unimpressed sound rumbled from where he lingered against the wall. “I recall offering Brenton as a sacrifice to the water gods.” Each word came out slow as his shadows flowed at his feet.
Finley cracked both eyes open where silver flecks danced around the hazel. “Then you’ll appreciate what comes next. Get in the water, or we’re shoving you in here.”
Teddy snorted as she made her way toward Elias, bracing herself between his legs. “I like the idea of shoving him in here.”
“I’m getting in,” he grumbled, although his mouth twitched like he enjoyed the threat. He stripped off his shirt, and after stepping in, he splashed Finley. “And here I thought, you’d end up being the less annoying one.”
Finley’s smile bloomed, gorgeous and impossible to look away from.
“Wait until you get to know her better,” Etienne said, dryly, draping his arm over the rim. “Then you’ll learn how relentlessly annoying she can be.”
Finley let out an exaggerated scoff and flicked water at him.
Victoria tugged at the seashell bracelet around my wrist, the tiny shells spinning under her thumb. “What’s this, Uncle Brent?”
“Finley and I made bracelets out of the seashells we found in Vistos.” I scooped her up, and she twined her arms around my neck in a way I hoped she’d never outgrow. “I made each of you one, too.”
“What about Cas and Zayne?” Jasmine asked, her brows piercing together in that little fierce way of hers. Always the first to make sure no one got left behind. And the first to stage a tiny rebellion if they had.
“I made them one too,” I said, shooting her a quick wink over Victoria’s shoulder. “I think Mama Teddy should hang on to them until they’re a little older.”
Teddy smiled, thankful, as she pushed a wet curl from Jasmine’s forehead. “Yeah,” she said gently. “We don’t want tiny treasures ending up in their little mouths,” she explained.
Finley watched us with something I couldn’t name crossing her features.
It wasn’t quite amusement nor longing either.
After passing Victoria into Elias’s arms, I knelt behind Finley.
She leaned back without a word, letting her back rest against my chest. I swept her short hair to the side, fingers tracing her warm skin, and I pressed a slow trail of kisses from the curve of her neck to her shoulder.
“You okay?” I whispered.
“This is nice,” she said, her words soft. “A little weird.”
“Good weird, though?”
She turned to kiss the corner of my mouth. “Good weird.”
Laughter and chatter echoed in the room. Not loud but soft and real.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed this during our time in Vistos. My family.
While the others would wait for us in our realm, Finley, Alastor, and I had to finish what Zaicha had put in motion.
Some of us might not return.
So I let the sound of their laughter linger. Let Finley lean against me. Let this moment stretch a little longer than war and battles allowed.
This . . . this was a memory worth surviving for.
The house was quiet with Etienne in my guest room, probably already under the covers with Frisky at his feet.
Finley stood on the balcony where the night wind tugged on her hair. The village was still alive with neighbors, who would visit long into the night.
Without my asking, she had pulled on one of my shirts and shorts as she’d done every night since we came back to our realm.
I let my hands linger on her sides before I drew her in and kissed her cheek. “You look tired.”
She nipped my chin, and when her canines pulled low, she grazed them across my throat. I stretched my neck, my heart thumping harder as I offered myself to her. Her lips trailed softly across my skin to the hollow of my throat.
“I want you, Brenton,” she said, voice husky.
I stilled, my heart pounding harder.
A faint blush bloomed across her cheeks, but then she kissed me.
“I want everything with you.” Her fingers curled at the hem of my shirt before she slid her hand beneath, making me shiver when she raked her nails across my chest. “I want to claim you,” she breathed out.
“I want you to claim me.” A shiver ran down her spine.
“I want to know what it truly means to be yours.”
Her words settled inside me. Consuming and irrevocable.
My chest cracked open, and I slipped my hands beneath her thighs and lifted her. Her quiet gasp brushed against my ear, and I carried her inside, her fingers in my hair and my mouth on hers.