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“Let our flames entangle and let us burn as one.”
Enfolded in the same pale blue traditional garb as Axur came Ayla, sweetly tucked behind the cauldron, who held her own flickering flame. The child’s teal hair glittered, as did her lavender eyes.
Katie let out a sobbing sound, and they exchanged another look. She looked overwhelmed with jubilation. Axur’s own heart mirrored the feeling.
They walked together, hand in hand, then parted with Ayla standing in the middle. Axur lifted her with one hand and slipped her onto his waist as they stood before the mouth of the cauldron, hot coals pulsing in anticipatory ghostly blue and coral.
“Now, just like we practiced,” Axur whispered to Ayla.
All three of them blew out their flames at the same time. Then, while the wax continued to melt, they poured it into the cauldron. Axur explained to Katie that the wax used was different compared to the wax of candles back on her planet.
There was something ethereal and ancient carved from the mountainside of their ancestors, something nearly supernatural. It rendered the flame embodied within the sconce itself and transferred the heat and spark into another homestead where it would mingle and swell into an even more transcendent and expressive element.
They stood back from the cauldron and watched as the pale blue light blended with the tangerine blaze that swirled and swam upward into the sky above. It was an inferno of prancing colors.
“My God,” Katie gasped, bringing a hand to her chest.
The spectators stood in awe and applauded the artistic display. Axur took Katie by the waist and pulled her into him. She turned, her eyes trailing along his lips while Ayla was distracted by the radiant display.
“I love you,” he said firmly.
“I love you too,” she responded instantly.
Their lips met with the zeal of the combustible firestorm. Ayla clapped and laughed as they all finally became one.
TWENTY-TWO
KATIE
“All right, set the timer for fifteen minutes,” Katie instructed Ayla. The girl nodded and set off to do her duty. Katie couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It was so good to see Ayla so full of life and energy.
It was much rarer now for the girl to get that dull, faraway look in her eyes. She still remembered her old life with her parents, of course, but she’d been able to move on. It made Katie immensely proud of the little girl and her bravery.
Herlittle girl now …
Katie smiled at her daughter softly. She was everything and more than she could ever hope to have. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t given birth to Ayla. She loved the child just as much and was so grateful to have her.
“Timer is set!” Ayla bounced back to her, a wide smile on her face.
“Good. Now we just have to make some final preparations, and we’ll be all set.”
Just then, she heard the sound of the door unlocking and someone walking in.
“He’s home!” Ayla raced out of the kitchen, and Katie took off her oven mitts and followed her. She came around the corner just in time to see Axur swing Ayla up into his arms and hug her tightly.
“It’s good to see you too. Did you manage to stay out of trouble today?” he asked.
Ayla pulled away just enough to give him a mischievous grin and shrug. “Mostly.”
Axur chuckled, and the sound made Katie’s heart flutter. She couldn’t believe even after three months of being married to this man, he could still manage to do that. How the sound of his laugh, or the smell of his cologne, or just one look from those amber eyes could make her melt.
As if hearing her thoughts, Axur turned those eyes on her and smiled lovingly at her. She strode over to him, and he pulled her into his embrace along with Ayla.
He kissed her and then cupped her cheek. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She was fully aware they were acting like teenagers experiencing their first love. But she couldn’t help it.
She had yet to fully get over the fact that he was really and truly hers. That he’d chosen her and this family. That they had this wonderful life together.
