Page 124 of When Storms Collide

“I’ve got big plans for us, and none of those involve becoming so out of shape I can’t make it from Siraleth to Akra in at least two days’ time.” I told him, my eyes still on the grimoire.

He made a humming noise against my skin that sent a shiver down my spine. My magic swelled in my core to meet him, reaching towards my fingertips. Before I could stop it, my magic sent a spark against his skin.

His laugh warmed something deep within me, and it felt like healing. Like happiness.

Likehome.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me flush against him. I could feel him pressing against me in an entirely inappropriate way, and I let out a laugh of my own.

“Tsk, tsk. Always so ready for me,” I said, leaning back into him.

His responding laugh shook my shoulders as he tucked his head against me.

“Always, My Queen.”

“That will have to wait until later. We have lots of work to do.” I motioned to the surrounding rubble that covered the hilltop.

“Whatever you say, Diana.”

Annelise and Zion were only a few hours' journey behind us with Kenna and Saanvi. Tess and Puck had already gotten to work clearing the rubble at the port down the hill. Siraleth would be a bustling trade city again in no time.

Nik had promised me that we would visit the islands, too. Myrene and Drakellia were said to be beautiful, and I was anxious to see every inch of this realm now that I was its caretaker. No one had stepped foot on Dragon’s Way in decades, apparently, and I was anxious to visit that island, too. It came with its own lore and stories I couldn’t wait to hear.

I sighed into Nik, enjoying the touch of his warm skin against mine. Savoring this moment of peace that I wasn’t sure I would ever be granted with him at my side. The bond was stronger than it had ever been before. I had never thought it possible to send more than emotions down the bridge between us, but I was beginning to hear murmurings and thoughts as clear as if they were spoken that zapped their way down the bond. He was hearing the same from me.

If we continued to grow closer each day, I wondered if we would soon be able to hear each other’s thoughts. It was simple to block off the bond, but there was nothing that I wanted to hide from Nikolai.

He had all of me. Forever. Nothing would ever come between us again.

I had asked Annelise if that was the case for her and Zion, but she had simply replied that every bond was different, a knowing smile on her face. She wanted us to discover the ins and outs of the bond ourselves.

That was half the fun, she had told us.

I was enjoying seeing this side of Nikolai. I had never seen him so carefree and lighthearted. We hadn’t yet spoken about Zachariah, but he had told me he was slain in the battle. He had refused to surrender.

I wasn’t the only one that had spilled from my own bloodline that day, and I could see in the quiet moments, the way his eyes would darken, that it haunted him still. I was here for him when he was ready to talk about it, if that time ever came. His relationship with his father had always been strained,and it was entirely possible that it might be something he simply wanted to leave in the past.

The only thing that could heal those wounds was time. And love.

I was happy that the Araneoch and Noctani had fallen on the battlefield when Donika had, their life forces tied to hers through dark magic. I had wished we had the opportunity to cure some of the Noctani, but in the end, there were too many of them. The only way to truly stop them was for them to die with Donika.

We had burned every molecule of paper we found that spoke of siphoning and the making of monsters that we had found in The Stone Palace, hoping that we had purged everything to do with that dark magic.

There was one person we had never seen during or after the battle, and that was Corian. I had expected him to be at Donika’s side in her final stand, and when he wasn’t, I could only assume he had joined the battle down on the plains of Akra. Fighting among his Araneoch and Noctani. Nikolai had confirmed that he hadn’t been there, either. We had tried a locator spell though we didn’t have anything physical of his in nature to use, and had sent scouts out into the realm, but to no avail.

It was as if he simply… disappeared.

“Are you two going to help us or not?” Tess called out.

I turned and spotted her, standing in a ray of sunlight that poked between the cloud cover overhead. Her hand was over her brow, blocking the sun from her eyes as she peered at us atop the hill.

“You look like you have it well in hand,” Nik called, turning towards her.

He unwrapped his arms from me, but kept his hand at the small of my back.

Even from this distance, I could see Tess narrow her eyes at him, and a giggle bubbled to my lips. I was glad to see their bickering was back in place now that we had saved the realm.

“I’m not getting any younger down here,” she called up the hill, her gaze drifting towards me with a pointed glare.

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