Page 134 of Hunger & Harmony

The tattoo over my heart warms. I bring my hand up to it, breathless as I stare into his eyes. Even if she’s no longer here, she lives on. In memory, in heart, in song.

He moves closer. I tilt my head back again, urging him.

“Mark me,” I say. “Make me yours. Make you mine.”

“Are you sure?” he murmurs, voice directly next to my ear now.

I shudder, hands finding his shoulders.

“I’ve chosen forever,” I say, a gasp pulled from my throat when his tongue finds my skin. “I won’t live half-bonded. I choose this, I choose you.”

My fingers press into his cool skin. Silver turns to gold as his lips caress sensitive skin, fangs grazing.

“I’m ready,” I say, knowing he’s hesitating for my sake.

It’s irreversible, but my heart doesn’t waver. I press him closer to me, my eyes closing as a familiar prick radiates from my neck.

My breath hitches. Stinging subsides for bliss, not equal to last time, but better. Warm pressure builds from his ivories. Pleasure cascades down my body, every inch of me flooded by joy and ease. It’s an initiation—a shattered key whole once more and opening the door of fate.

The room stills, Niko’s skin to mine, anchoring me as he feeds. Beyond the sheer drapes, the singular candle flickers. I swear, it's the Vox Crown itself, brilliant and casting fractals of iridescence over the shadowed room. It knows my name and calls it as my limbs weaken.

Resonant.

Niko cradles me, his hold strengthening as my blood remedies the poison. I’ve never trusted so fully. Nothing has felt so instinctive.

Gold flickers along his skin, and it’s the last image before my eyes completely flutter shut. My heartbeat slows into silence.

Darkness settles over me. That’s when I see her. A shimmering pair of wings, blue and strong, cutting through the void. The butterfly comes from my left, dancing around me. She’s small, but not delicate. Music billows from her luminous wings, Resonant notes weaving into a wonderful harmony.

It’s not long before she leaves again, fluttering to my right until she’s out of sight.

Not the end, but metamorphosis.

My eyes open again.

“Cadence.”

The world is sharp, saturated. Shadows bend to my vision. I close my eyes again to feel my body. Strength hums under my skin, and where I once relied on breath, it’s not needed.

“Niko,” I whisper, calling him.

My voice is still my own. This body feels like home. So are the hands that cup my face, and I flutter my lashes again to meet his loving gaze.

“How do you feel?” he asks, and a smile pulls my lips.

“Better.”

I let my tongue run over my teeth softly. The beginnings of fangs press against my tongue, and Niko laughs quietly as I feel around.

“How do you feel?” I finally ask.

“Better.”

My eyes crinkle in amusement. Everything has changed. Yet, nothing has at all.

“Will I be able to sing now?”

His chuckle is louder this time.