Page 121 of Elemental Becoming

Melt into the floor.

Die.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Rowena says smugly, arms crossed as she leans further into the archway. “But thisisa ball for the Spiritborn, you know. People are expecting to actually see her.”

Her grin widens.

“You can’t keep her all to yourself . . . at least not for a few more hours,” she says slyly.

Thane drops his forehead onto my shoulder with a groan, taking a ragged breath.

“I hear you,” he grits out. “Can you go away now?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see much. I just got here,” Rowena says with exaggerated innocence. Then, grinning like a wolf who just found fresh meat, she adds, ”Do you need a minute . . . to collectyourselves?”

“Fuck off. Give us a few minutes.”

Laughing, Rowena pivots on her heel and saunters back inside, still chuckling to herself.

Thane lifts his head and looks at me sheepishly, his cheeks flushed, his hair mussed beyond saving.

I meet his gaze.

And then lose it.

Laughter explodes out of me. Within seconds, I’m doubled over, clutching my sides, struggling to breathe.

“Amara, this is not funny!” Thane hisses, gesturing sharply to the very obvious problem straining against his pants. “I’m very uncomfortable right now.”

Which only makes it worse.

I wheeze between fits of laughter, “You think I’m any less unsettled?”

“Amara!”he groans.

But then—Thane starts laughing too.

A deep, glorious laugh rumbles out of him, low and rich, echoing through the alcove and pulling another helpless laugh from me. Moments later, we’re both doubled over in our finery, breathless and completely losing our composure.

It feels like forever before it finally fades—first into chuckles, then to lingering, giddy smiles.

I straighten, still trying to catch my breath, and find his eyes. Without thinking, I step closer, cup his face in both hands, and press a kiss to his lips, a soft, lingering promise.

“I love you.”

Thane smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“I love you too.”

Then he glances down with a grimace.

“I’m going to need a few minutes.” A beat. “Maybe don’ttouch me for a while.”

And just like that, the laughter bubbles up again, bright and impossible to stop.

About ten minutes later, after our breathing has steadied and the haze between us has finally begun to clear, Thane presses one last lingering kiss to my forehead before taking my hand.

Tucked behind a carved screen at the back of the alcove, a small retiring room waits, no larger than a dressing chamber. A polished basin of fresh water sits atop a marble stand beside neatly folded linen towels, while a vanity holds powders, perfumes, hairpins, and a small pot of the lip color Elira had painstakingly painted onto my mouth earlier that evening.