“Let’s get back to bed and sleep. And if either of us gets out of line, I can just bring up Rewa.” I chuckled. “I mean, she was always an excellent wedge, don’t you think?”
Blaze thought about it for a couple of seconds, then scoffed and climbed back into bed, pulling the comforter over the both of us. “I think Rewa is what Jovi would refer to as a ‘boner killer’.”
We both laughed wholeheartedly. Blaze pulled me into his arms, and we cuddled beneath the covers. I raised my head and kissed him, softly. He exhaled, his gaze clouded but his tone mildly reprimanding. “You’re not making this easy, Caia.”
“That was just an innocent goodnight kiss, Blaze. We’re going to see Rewa tomorrow, for sure. I would at least like to sleep in your arms tonight before that,” I muttered, then rested my head on his broad chest.
I listened to his heartbeat for a while, as he held me close and ran his fingers through my hair.
“We’ll have to be careful tomorrow,” he said.
“I know. I promise I won’t go off script and reduce her to ashes,” I grumbled, relaxing in his embrace, his body heat enveloping me and disrupting gravity itself.
“It’s actually this fiery side of you that makes it difficult for me to respect my celibacy oath.” Blaze scoffed, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
“I can’t shut it down, darling. But I can keep mentioning Rewa instead.”
A couple of minutes went by as we settled and got comfortable with simply holding each other. It was a significant challenge, since we could both hear each other’s frantic heartbeats. Self-control was key, however, no matter what lay ahead. If we couldn’t keep ourselves in check, then we certainly couldn’t pull anything off tomorrow in Azure Heights.
Giving in to our impulses could spell doom, not just for Blaze and me, but also for the rest of our team. As disconnected as our budding relationship was from the Nerakian mission, it was a good test of our resolve. I was falling hard and fast for the dragon, and he felt the same. It was the one thought that gave me the strength and patience to pull myself back whenever we caught fire.
“When we go back to The Shade, I’ll talk to my father,” Blaze said, his voice barely audible.
“About what?”
“What do you think?”
“Oh, the oath,” I replied, then breathed out and locked my arms around his waist. His hand came up to caress my face, his knuckles gently brushing along my jawline. It made my heart sing—a midnight lullaby that spread through my thoughts and added weight to my eyelids.
“I don’t know what to do, Caia, but I do know that now isn’t the time to worry about it,” he murmured. “I’d rather focus on making sure those bastards don’t win, so we can get back to The Shade and then address my celibacy vow.”
“I completely understand,” I whispered, feeling myself slowly drift away.
Just as I surrendered, allowing the darkness to swallow me, his voice rippled through the nothingness preceding my dreams. “I love you.”
I wanted to open my mouth and say something, but I was already submerged in a dream. A shapeless mystery which I’d yet to untangle or understand. Voices hummed around me. Smudges of color streaked across my field of vision. I followed the stream of my subconscious, wishing I could shout it from the bottom of my lungs, so he could hear me in his dreams.
I love you, Blaze.
Harper
This is bliss.
I opened my eyes, ever so slowly, as if worried that nothing that had happened during last night was real. That Caspian wasn’t really there, and I was stuck in some cage in the depths of a daemon city. But he was. He lay on his back, keeping me close with one arm.
This was the epitome of love for me—this fluttering moment in time, where Caspian and I were together, bonded in every possible way. Our union went beyond the realm of the physical. My heart soared as I admired every inch of him, until my gaze found his, and I realized that I didn’t want to leave this place.
We’ll have to. At some point.
He gave me a lazy smile, then kissed me deeply. We hummed in marvelous unison, our souls attuned to one another. “It’s the most wonderful thing to wake up next to you,” he said, then rolled us over until he pinned me under his body. “Good morning, sunshine,” he added.
“This is incredible,” I breathed against his lips, bathing in the golden light of his aura. “I can feel what you feel on top of everything I’m already feeling.”
He paused to look at me, his jade eyes filled with love. “I can feel you, too. I can see what you feel. I see the gold aura you’re wearing, much like what you described seeing in me.” He sighed, shaking his head slowly. “You were still figuring out what each color meant at the time. Do you know now?”
I nodded, running my fingernails up both sides of his torso. He groaned softly, the jade pools beneath his black eyelashes suddenly darkening. His golden aura burst even brighter, mingled with streaks of hot white.
“It’s love, Lord Kifo. Gold is love. White… I think is desire,” I muttered.
He grinned, then chewed his lower lip as he pulled the bedcovers away and tossed them on the floor, leaving us both naked.
“Good grief, Miss Hellswan, you are positively glowing like the sun this morning.”
There was a hint of playfulness in his tone that did things to me. My blood rushed, my heart throbbing. “I could easily blame you for that,” I whispered, tracing the contour of his lips with one fingertip.
“I take full responsibility, you extraordinary creature,” he replied, then kissed me passionately.
Before we started this fire, however, I wondered how our union had affected him. I caught his face in my hands and gently pushed him away—just a couple of inches, so I could see his face.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, my brow slightly furrowed.
Caspian blinked several times, then smiled, as if finally catching up with the conversation. We were both spiraling into a delicious daze with every second that passed.
“Different,” he replied. “My soul is bound to yours for life, Harper. I can feel everything you feel, and… and it’s the most incredible experience. I never thought I’d ever live through something like this. Also, this,” he added, then stared at the empty glass on the nightstand.
I heard his subtle grunt, then watched a faint pulse ripple out of him. It knocked the glass onto the floor. It didn’t break, landing on the carpet with a thud. I gasped, then smiled at him.
“Was… Was that a barrier?” I croaked.
He nodded. “I think so. I’ve been trying it out for the past hour,” he said, then pointed at several other objects he’d managed to knock off nearby furniture and onto the floor—a vase, a picture frame, and a molten candle.
We both laughed, utterly entranced by this new development.
“I think you’re becoming a Mara-sentry of sorts,” I replied, beaming at him. “The first of your kind.”
“I don’t care if I grow an extra head, too, as long as I’m with you, Harper,” Caspian murmured, then suddenly turned serious. “Please, don’t dump me if I grow a second head. I’d be lost without you.”
I stifled a chuckle, then resumed my new favorite activity—caressing his gorgeous face, my fingers tracing the sharp contours of his high cheekbones. “I’m even more into you now than I was before.” I giggled like a teenage girl, my cheeks flaring as he dropped kisses down my neck.
“This is forever, Harper,” he said, slightly amused. “I really hope you’re not easily bored. Otherwise, I’m screwed.”
We laughed again, rolling over onto our sides.
“I’m a lifetime deal, Caspian,” I replied, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
He smiled. “Good,” he whispered, and then all the joy seemed to drain out of him, as he remembered what still lay ahead of us. “If anything goes wrong tonight, we may not get another chance to be like this.”
“Don’t say that—”
He shushed me gently, pressing two fingers agains
t my lips as he tightened his hold on me. “Yes, I know, we’re shooting for victory and whatnot, but let’s be realistic. There is still a chance we won’t succeed. I just want you to know that… if we fail, if we lose tonight… I’m thankful to have had these moments with you, Miss Hellswan. I now have a piece of you, a sliver of your precious soul inside me, in a way. It gives me energy and strength like nothing I’ve experienced before. So, allow me to further enjoy you… us, this morning, until someone knocks on our door and drags us back to reality.”
Tears glazed my eyes, and I pressed my lips tight in an attempt to stop myself from crying. I didn’t think such happiness existed. I almost felt guilty for even experiencing something like this in the middle of our Nerakian mess. But I wouldn’t have changed anything from what had already happened.
Every secret that had come unraveled, every stolen glance, every drop of blood we’d shed, and every risk we’d taken in our fight for liberation—it had all led to this singular, absolutely perfect moment, when it was just me and him. Forever compressed in one night and one lazy morning.
Caspian lowered his head to kiss me, but stilled, his lips barely an inch from mine, when we heard a knock on the door. We waited, quietly, as if conspiring to keep quiet and wait until whoever that was would leave so we could resume our lovemaking. I desperately needed more of him, and he could barely hold himself back at this point.
The second knock made me sigh.
“Who is it?” I called out, my gaze fixed on Caspian.
“It’s Caia. I need to show you guys something downstairs!” she said from the other side of the door. I couldn’t resist an eyeroll.
A couple of moments passed. My heart sank, dragged to the bottom by disappointment. The universe was cruel, and this was my reminder.
“I’ll meet you all in the dining hall in about half an hour, forty-five minutes, okay?” Caia continued.
Hope blossomed in my chest, a thousand thrills lighting me up from the inside. It was truly mesmerizing to see and feel myself through Caspian like this. Everything we experienced was shared. The closer we were to one another, the harder it was to recognize ourselves as individuals.
“That’s perfect,” Caspian replied, raising his voice. “We’ll see you there!”
“Okay, cool!” she replied.
I was willing to bet that she was smiling, without using my True Sight. I peeked through the door and chuckled at the sight of her leaving, a huge grin on her face. As soon as she went down the stairs, Caspian regained control of the situation and pulled me to him, loving me with everything he had.
I surrendered to him, body and soul, and regretted nothing, as we made love and gave ourselves a few more minutes of sheer bliss.
Harper
The whole group was gathered in the dining room by the time Caspian and I made our way downstairs. I briefly scanned the group, reading emotions where possible. There was grief coming from the Manticore mother-daughter pair, and concern and determination from Colton and Nevis, as well as the Druids. There was love glowing through Hansa as she stood next to Jax. And there was hope, a colorful ribbon, coming out of Caia, who stood next to Blaze and motioned for Ryker and Laughlan to come forward.
A lot had happened last night, and not just between Caspian and me. There were plenty of stolen glances and flickers of loving smiles fluttering across the room—enough to tell me that the dynamic had shifted significantly between the pairs involved. Seeing Hansa and Jax so close had a warming effect on my heart. They both deserved another shot at happiness, even if it only lasted for one night.
We’re shooting for longer here, though, I reminded myself.
Dion, Peyton, Wyrran, and Arrah were also present, while Alles was still locked in the room upstairs, for his own safety. We’d already agreed to leave him here with Wyrran to watch over him, as Dion was needed on our Azure Heights detail. He was one of the few Imen who knew the city, and Jax had already tested and confirmed that Dion had never been mind-bent like Alles.
“So I had a talk with Rush, Amina, Ryker, and Laughlan last night about possible ways to prevent Maras from mind-bending the likes of Blaze and me,” Caia said. “Given that we’re vulnerable to it and cannot afford a single mistake in the mission at hand, I started thinking about eye contact—the only way in which Maras can mind-bend someone.”
Blaze listened intently, clearly curious. Judging by the anticipation building up inside me, Caia had yet to reveal the Druids’ findings to anyone.
“The use of my wards is an obvious exception to the rule, of course,” Jax replied. “But yes, Caia, you are correct in your assessment. Maras need to look into a creature’s eyes for the mind-bending to have a full effect. But we have yet to figure out a way to stop that. I do know of a couple of instances from long ago where glasses were used to render mind-bending useless,” he added, then put on a boyish smirk. “But we never really looked into it, nor did we try to find out if it was an absolute fact. As Maras, we’re not really into publicizing ways to stop our mind-bending.”
Heron chuckled. “That would’ve cost us a war or two.”
“I totally get it,” Caia replied, “but this time it’s different. The times have changed, and our circumstances require that we use whatever method we have available to protect ourselves from the Exiled Maras. Thing is, even if we had glasses available, it wouldn’t work with these jerks. If Blaze and I get caught while covering Nevis, Neha, and Colton, they’ll take our glasses off and mind-bend us. They’re not stupid.”
“True,” Caspian replied, intrigued. “So what do you propose?”
Caspian was a bundle of emotions, all tucked beneath his dark, mysterious façade. It was a privilege to have access to it all, to feel it, thread by thread, as if flowing through me. The one thing he looked forward to the most was revenge. Nobody wanted to bring down the Mara Lords more than Caspian.
“Back on Earth, humans use contact lenses to help them see better,” Caia said, prompting all of us Shadians to instantly nod in agreement.
“Yes! Completely undetectable,” Avril chimed in, then pouted. “But we don’t have anything like that here. Contact lenses are made of special plastics, from what I remember.”
“That’s correct, but…” Caia replied, then nodded at Ryker, who took a step forward and placed a small porcelain plate on the table.
There was a pink liquid in the middle of the dish, where four small, pale blue, semi-transparent lenses were set. “There are several species of algae growing in the surrounding lakes that can be used instead,” Ryker explained. “Based on Caia’s description of the earthly contact lenses and the purpose they served, I figured the algae would be best to experiment with. I processed a few leaves with a couple of bonding crystals and anti-inflammatory powders at high temperatures, until I was able to produce lenses like these,” he added, pointing at the plate.
“We then tried them on ourselves,” Laughlan continued, unable to wipe the satisfied grin off his face. “I devised the pink liquid as a natural lubricant, with calming essences extracted from local flowers. We dipped the lenses, then wore them throughout the night. The color difference is barely noticeable, especially if the wearer has blue eyes, so they are quite discreet. And we experienced no irritation or discomfort whatsoever. So, as far as wearing these is concerned, we’ve got you covered.”
“But do they work?” Jax replied with a frown.
Laughlan smirked. “Well, we put them to the test, thanks to Rush and Amina, who were more than happy to assist.”
Both Rush and Amina smiled, then shrugged. “They do work,” Rush confirmed.
“We tried from different distances, we went full Mara on them, but we were not able to mind-bend them,” Amina added. “I believe we officially have a means to stop mind-bending.”
“Although, like Jax said earlier, we also advise that we keep this limited to this group,” Rush said. “The last thing we want is other species and potential hostiles knowing they can use such gimmicks. And I’m not ju
st talking about Neraka here.”
“We’re on the same page here, worry not,” Hansa replied. “We’re all well aware that peaceful Maras use mind-bending responsibly. Their ability is essential during investigations. GASP would never divulge this information unless hostile Maras were involved, as is the case here.”
“Oh, we also added a bit of Druid protection magic to these bad boys,” Ryker said, “to help preserve them for as long as possible before they need to be removed.”
Blaze was stunned, lighting up like a little kid in an amusement park after he was told he could try all the rides—even the ones he was too young to go on.
“Can I try them on?” he asked, moving closer to the plate.
“By all means,” Laughlan replied. “In fact, let’s do a brief demonstration. Jax, please do us a favor and mind-bend our good dragon here.”
Jax stilled, his gaze darting between Blaze and Laughlan. He then looked at Blaze with questioning eyes, demanding his approval. “Are you sure?” Jax muttered. Blaze smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Jax’s eyes glimmered gold as he unleashed his power over the dragon. “Blaze, I need you to jump three times on one foot, then three times on the other.”
Blaze’s expression went blank as he obeyed the command and jumped thrice on each foot. Ryker and Laughlan exchanged glances, crossing their arms and nodding in unison. These two could bring down an entire planet if left to their own devices. I liked them.
“Okay, Jax, can you confirm that Blaze responded fully to your mind-bending?” Laughlan then asked.
“I can definitely confirm,” Jax replied. “All the signs are there. Blaze, as we already knew, is susceptible to mind-bending.”
“Good,” Laughlan muttered, then motioned for Blaze to put on the lenses. Blaze caught one on his index finger, then carefully placed it over his iris. He took a deep breath, then proceeded to apply the other. We all watched, the excitement vibrating throughout the entire dining room.
It was one thing to have Rush and Amina tell us it worked, and something else entirely to see it with our own eyes. Blaze blinked several times as he adjusted to the contacts.