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I touch the token. Its warm pulse of magic is a second heartbeat. “Truly, thank you, Ezryn. It’s like having a piece of Castletree with me.”

“One more thing.” His voice is low and breathy. Excited. He shifts behind me and grabs my wrist, brings it to my chest with palm closed, then stretches my arm out and unfurls my hand.

A hum rises in the air around us. Ezryn steps back. Light bursts outward in a halo of rose gold. I gasp.

Metal flows like water over my skin, a wave of shimmering light forming armor. First, bracers slip over my forearms. They’re the same rose gold as my token and etched with vines and tiny blossoms that shimmer with the slightest movement. Greaves rise over my calves, blooming with petal-shaped plates. A breastplate forms on my chest, contoured and strong, with the same tree from my token now carved in the center.

A shiver runs from behind me as my wings erupt forth. It wasn’t purposeful, but perhaps all the magic in the air coaxed them out. There are perfect slits in the back of the armor to allow them to unfurl, casting their golden glow around me.

A sash of translucent fabric wraps around my waist, fluttering like mist. My fingers flex, and gloves snap into place with a satisfying click, the knuckles reinforced with polished rose crystals. Lines of silver filigree are woven throughout.

At last, a helmet forms over my head.

I turn to the mirror and take a few staggering steps toward it. The helmet’s faceplate is open, forged into vines that curl away from my cheeks, but I can click it down for protection. The tree crest is etched into the top with its branches sweeping out to the sides, reminiscent of wings.

My breath is slow and steady as I take in my appearance.

I don’t look like a girl from Orca Cove. And I don’t look like Aurelia’s daughter.

I look like the Queen of the Enchanted Vale. A storm Sira never should have summoned.

“You are radiant,” Ezryn breathes, coming up beside me. His eyes trace over the golden shimmer of my wings, gaze still seeming in awe of this new development.

I shiver my wings away so I can tuck close to his body, our metal clinking together. “You have made me so.”

He gives an unbelieving scoff.

“In the Spring Realm, it means something when someone forges armor for their mate. Doesn’t it?” I ask breathlessly. “What does it signify?”

Ezryn drifts a finger over the small amount of my cheek visible within the helm. “To forge armor for your mate is the greatest honor and greatest responsibility one can ever embark upon. It is forging with the soul—casting your love, your dreams, your future into the steel. It is to twine your life with theirs, as long as the steel may stand.” His voice is a husky whisper. “And this steel will stand forever.”

Then he takes my hand and opens my palm up, illuminating the silver filigree woven within the rose gold. He holds his hand beside mine in the same position. Rose-gold filigree is embedded into his silver.

“My steel is your steel.”

“And my steel is your steel,” I whisper.

I look up into the dark T shape of his visor. Once, I was afraid. Now it feels like the greatest protection I could ever know.

I reach up and slowly pull his helmet off, revealing the thick waves of his hair, the intense stare. He follows my lead, removing my helm as one would lift a crown.

Fast and urgent, I tug him into a kiss. The hand not holding his helm snakes into his hair. He kisses me with that same fervor, clutching my neck as if I’d ever pull away.

We kiss until I’m gasping for breath, our mouths still close enough to breeze over each other’s lips. Ezryn pulls back slightly and blinks down at me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.

He smirks. “I’ve just always loved a woman in armor.”

I laugh. “Is that so?”

“And you are so much more than a woman in armor,” he murmurs, kissing my neck. “You are my queen.”

The light strokes of his lips against my skin are enough to send heat washing through me. “Then you’ll follow my command?”

“Anything.”

I step out of his grip and look him up and down with a lingering gaze. “Then I want you to fuck me while wearing this.” I hand him his helmet. “And only this.”