Kaida.
My heart leapt at the opportunity, and I all but shoved Theo off of me. I rushed to my feet to get dressed, feeling a little bad at my immediate rush to leave our little bubble to ensure Kaida was okay. “I love you, but I?—”
I stopped mid sentence, realizing what had just come from my mouth. Was it too soon to say that, after everything that happened?
Shit.What if it was?
We stood there, staring at each other in the near dark, me with wide eyes and Theo with absolutely no expression on his face, but his cock hardened again as the seconds passed.
It seemed he wasn’t against the words, but he didn’t rush to return them, making my anxiety grow doubly in my chest. My hands came together, my fingers twisting around each other as I fought the urge to look at the ground.
“I mean, I love you as a person,” I back-tracked, heat rising to my cheeks and the tips of my ears, the flames of embarrassment too big to hide. “I?—”
He took one long stride toward me, grabbing my face roughly and cutting me off. “Don’t you dare take it back. Say it again.”
A lump swelled in my throat at his demand, but I swallowed it down, reaching for the bond between us to quell my nerves. What did I have to hide? We were already married and now had a mate bond between us. These were just words.
So why was I so nervous?
“Fine,” he said quickly, cutting off my nervous internal battle. “I’ll say it. I love you, Siyana Takkar. You are the air I breathe, the ice that fills my veins, and the reason I wake up each day, looking forward to what it might now bring to me. Beforeyou, I existed in the shadows of my own life, wishing that I could find a way out, but too afraid to take the steps.”
An array of emotional and heartfelt thoughts swirled through my mind, but my mouth let out the first sassy thing that came to it. “Takkar, huh? I don’t recall agreeing to change my name.”
My words were in complete jest, but truly I had never even thought of such a simple tradition, considering we’d skipped the formal wedding ceremony.
He raised a brow as his hands fell to my waist. “I don’t recall asking you if you agreed to our marriage either, but here we are. You should know by now that I will claim you in every way I can. If they aren’t a beast that can smell my scent on you at all times, I will ensure they at least know you’re mine through name.”
A chuckle rose within me. That was my possessive mate.
“I love you, Theo Takkar,” I admitted, my voice clear and confident this time as I brought my arms up to rest around his neck. My fingers threaded in the soft, white waves of his hair at the base of his neck. “Thank you for seeing the good and bad?—”
“Bratty,” he corrected, smirking.
I ran my tongue along my top teeth before clicking my tongue at his cheekiness. I deserved that.
“Yes, thank you for loving my stubborn and bratty sides, as much as I likely drive you crazy with them,” I relented before lifting to press a quick kiss to his lips, melting into him briefly before dropping back onto my heels. “You challenge me and make me a better person, and I hope you never stop. I hope we continue to push our boundaries of comfort, growing from the discomfort it brings. I hope we are strong enough to fix the damage between our peoples now, uniting the two halves that were always meant to be a whole.”
“We will, darling,” he promised, “We will do it all.”
While I’d forever love being his wench, the new, softer nickname had a nice ring to it, making my heart flutter. I hatedpushing past the feeling, pushing past what was a momentous occasion, but the undine god still had Kaida, and our life wasn’t complete without him.
Quickly, we threw our dirty clothes back on, making me long for clean clothes and our bed. Soon enough, I promised myself. For now, I’d just remain grateful that this trial was over and that we were all going to leave here together–as long as the elemental stopped toying with us. The curse was broken and we had no use for him, but I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d demand next for the sake of entertainment. We’d passed his trials, and I wanted to go home.
Would he truly just let us leave that easily?
After tugging my fur vest on, I pulled my damp hair over my shoulder, wishing for the first time that Theo had the fire of an ember, so I could dry my hair.
“I heard that. Don’t you dare wish for a different dragon or we will never leave this room as I remind you why I have everything you’ll ever need,” he warned before tossing my boots at my feet.
“But I didn’t say it!” I defended as I watched him pull on his clothes, sulking a bit that we couldn’t continue to get lost in each other's bodies. “I didn’t even think it to you mentally!”
He tied the strings of his black trousers before tucking in the bottom of his white tunic. “You didn’t have to. Perks of the bond being complete. You can still learn to block me out, though.”
My mouth popped open. “So you heard my entire internal panic about saying I love you?”
“Yes, now let’s go see our little menace,” he said, grabbing my hand as I stood back up, pulling me toward the door.
He didn’t give me a chance to dwell in my embarrassment, which I was thankful for. As digesting this new aspect of our bond took every iota of my brain power.
