Chapter 47
Chapter
Forty-Seven
brENTON
Morning came without rushing—just a quiet stretch over the trees and homes of Respandora. The city hummed faintly as the shifter mages woke and the steady rhythm of magic was restored.
I felt my magic with every inhale, the subtle stream between Finley’s and my bond flowing through me in quiet content.
She stood at a clearing in my yard, ready and waiting alongside Hoshiko.
Luana barked once, running in circles around Hoshiko’s tail.
Finley turned when I approached, her hand moving to touch Ashara’s outstretched wing.
The bracelet I’d mended gleamed against her wrist. Old stones dulled by time, new ones glowing like fresh promises.
I reached for her hand, my heart skipping when her palm slipped against mine.
“Ready?” I asked.
She tilted her head, her eyes glistening with mischief. “You’re the one taking a hundred years.”
“If you want to watch the sunrise properly, we need mimosas,” I said, lifting the small flask I’d attached to my belt.
Her laugh came freely—my favorite sound in all the realms.
It wasn’t just any sunrise we were to watch, but an addition to her list—the wish to watch the world come alive with me. I added my own amendment: atop a dragon’s back. Because what could possibly rival watching the sky catch fire while flying through it?
Mimosas added an extra flair Teddy insisted on.
Ashara’s tail twitched. “If you two are done flirting, the sky awaits,” she said.
“Have patience, young one,” Hoshiko said, his wings rustling. “They must first finish their ritual of unnecessary delay.”
“You’re starting to sound like Nalari,” I told him.
White smoke flared from his nostrils.
“Teddy swears you two are secretly in love,” I continued, unfazed by the growl that rolled through his chest. “I think I’m starting to see it.”
Finley smacked my shoulder. Hard enough to sting, soft enough for it to be affectionate. Her hand hovered before she rubbed the spot.
“Leave him alone,” she scolded.
“Do as your mate says, or I’ll leave you on the ground.”
I grinned. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
“You might deserve it.” Finley smirked.
“I can’t believe you two are turning on me.” I turned to Ashara. “You’re on my side, right?”
She snarled in answer, and Finley laughed in delight.
With fluid movements, Finley climbed Hoshiko’s scales and swung her leg across his back as she leaned against his neck. I followed, bracing behind her. My thighs tightened around the dragon’s sides.
The moment I settled, Finley leaned back, resting against my chest. I wound my arms around her, drawing her closer, and dug my face against her shoulder.
Without warning, Hoshiko took off. Finley’s laughter trailed us, wild and at last truly free.
The ground fell away, Respandora shrinking to nothing. Wind tore at us, and still Finley’s laughter carried us through it. Behind us, Ashara rose in pursuit. Smaller but just as fierce.
The tension that had lived in Finley’s shoulders was gone, replaced with a peace she never thought would be hers.
For the first time since I’d met her, she wasn’t carrying the weight of anyone’s expectations on her shoulders.
The guilt and heaviness of her forced duties no longer lingered, freed from her servitude to a magic she once loathed.
Where her magic was both life and death, she was simply Finley. My Lolli.
I watched the sunrise blaze across her hair. It traced along the line of her cheek, the curve of her lips, the faint scar at her jaw. Her eyes brightened as the sun rose higher, her hand clasping mine tighter.
She’d burned for this realm, for this kingdom, and she could still look at a sunrise as if it were the first one.
I’d seen her powerful, furious, broken, and untouchable. But it was this . . . this unguarded moment that truly undid me.
The sun climbed higher, but all I saw was the way it clung to her, reached for her, as if the light wanted to belong solely to her.
Freedom looked good on her. Love did too.
As she turned that triumphant smile toward me, I realized the truth I’d been running from my whole life.
Home wasn’t a realm.
It was her. My soul-bound mate. My everything. She hadn’t carved her way into my heart; she had always been its truth. And in joining my family, she made it complete.