Page 209 of Sokâr

His eyes held no pain at the admission. No regret. Centuries had robbed him of the immediacy of the ache, perhaps, but not the scars. In that moment, she saw the truth in his vast azure eyes—the isolation, the years without a single genuine touch. She reached for him.

“Because Iseeyou. Not the mask, not the runes, not the god—but themanbeneath.”

Piece by piece, Auryn unbuckled and unclasped his armor. Chest piece, belt, pauldrons, bracers, boots. One by one, she stripped the title from the man. As she did, Morvane released its grip upon his runes. The blue glow faded from his gaze, but his eyes remained brilliant and breathtaking. He stood before her wearing only his black underlayers, Auryn’s hands shaking with emotion as she looked uponKailorien.

Not the Resh’Agar.

Not even her Silari.

Just the man.

She took his hand and led him to the Lustral bath, steam curling upward in ghostly ribbons. After they both undressed, he sank into the water, the scent of Sahtra lifting from his skin. She slipped in behind him, legs bracketing his hips. Coaxing him to tip his head back against her chest, she smoothed her palms down his shoulders until he relaxed against her.

She started with his hair, pouring water slowly down the length of it. Careful fingers combed through the thick locks, working the heat and water through them.

“You’ve always allowed me touch your hair,” she smiled. “When I first learned of the significance of hair in this world, I could not fathom how you’d let me touch it from those first days in the Moores. A stranger. A girl you knew nothing about.”

His hand came up to cover one of hers.We were never strangers.

She laughed. Soft. Resigned. Surrendering.You’re right. Even from the first, you were always my path.

Next, she worked oils into his shoulders, massaging his neck and temples. She lingered on Hjarta on his upper arm, tracing its sharp edges, catching Krâthar with her fingertips as she thanked both runes for protecting him from cold and giving him the strength to fight. Her heart beat faster and faster with each touch, the image of where she wanted this to lead both thrilling and overwhelming.

But shewantedit. Wantedhim. Not just to receive his love but to give it back. Her resolve settled, whole and strong, within her chest. When she murmured for him to shift to the ledge above, he obeyed without question. Auryn rose. Her hands rested on his thighs for a heartbeat, eyes holding his.

“I wore your colors to that den of wolves to show the world beyond the curtain that I was yours.”

She guided him to sit, the warm water streaming from his skin in rivulets, catching on the hard plane of war-forged muscle. Her fingers brushed over his runes. Dark, still, and unknowable.

“Tonight, I will have you wearmy color,”she promised, and with each syllable of her vow, silver starlight bled from her fingers into his veins, the magic tracing the dips and curves of the symbols carved into his soul.

His Runesgram flared, transforming from black to shining white—the Sokâr’s color. Her purity. Her flame.

“You’ll wear it in your skin,” she breathed, kissing Kenaz between his brows. “In your heart,” she trailed her lips down his neck and pressed them to Ansuz on his chest. “In your soul.”

Finally, she trailed her fingers down his sides, her body sliding down between his thighs, her lips touching Perthro over his ribs.

“Because you aremine,”Auryn sighed, her mouth caressing Dregnr at his hip.

He shuddered, gooseflesh rising on his forearms. With utmost gentleness, his fingers twined into her hair. She slid farther down, palms skimming over the rigid planes of his abdomen. And then, seamless, her hands wrapped around him.

A pause as fear struck her chest.

Not of him.

Never.

He was beautiful.

Her mountain. The forge of her soul. The shore where her heart would always find its berth.

But she fearedherself. How small she was. That she couldn’t take enough of him. Could not hold all he was.

She hesitated only for a blink, and yet—immediately—he was there.

His hands cupped her face, coaxed her to look up at him.

“Auryn,” he whispered. Took a long, stuttering breath. As though he was building towards something.