Page 185 of Elemental Becoming

Because this isn’t only about love. It’s about tonight.

The attack. The bodies. The shadows that breached a place we believed was untouchable. I can still feel the echo of it beneath my skin—the fear, the helplessness, the unbearable weight of how close we came to losing everything.

And I can’t carry it alone.

I need him. Need the warmth of his body beneath my hands. The soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. Something real enough to hold onto while the rest of the world feels like it’s splintering apart around us.

He breaks the kiss, a rough breath leaving him as his hands tighten at my waist. His eyes search mine. When he speaks again, his voice barely rises above a whisper.

“Every time I close my eyes now, I see what could have happened tonight. You dying. You gone.” His grip flexes hard against my waist. “And I wouldn’t survive it, Amara.”

The confession hits me hard enough to ache. Not because it frightens me, but because of the depth of it. Of what he’s beentoo stubborn, too afraid to admit for so many months at the outpost.

He exhales unevenly, his fingers sliding slowly up my spine like he needs the reassurance that I’m still here. I need him to know that I will always be here.

“When your magics almost burned out and I saw you falling with the light fading from your eyes . . . ”

He breaks off, dragging a hand through his hair before forcing himself to continue.

“It felt cruel,” he admits quietly. “Like the gods finally placed something precious in my hands only to threaten to take it away before I could even hold onto it.”

My chest tightens painfully.

“I’ve lost people before,” he says, his forehead lowering against mine. “But this was different.” His voice drops lower. Rawer. “Because it was you. And the thought of losing you after everything . . . ” His breath shudders. “I swear I felt the world tilt under my feet.”

His words loosen something deep inside me, unraveling a knot I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying since I lost my parents.

Tears prick my eyes. I blink hard, but one still slips free, trailing down my cheek. Thane cups my face gently, brushing the tear away with his thumb.

“I need you, Amara,” he says again, his voice stripped raw of every defense he’s ever tried to hide behind. “Not just tonight. I need you like air . . . like the blood in my veins. And if I lost you . . . ” His breath comes unevenly. “I don’t think there would be anything left of me afterward.”

Emotion burns thick in my throat. I squeeze my eyes shut briefly, overwhelmed by the depth of it. By him.

This is what we both needed tonight. Something tangible and solid to hold onto after everything nearly fell apart.

I open my eyes.

“Then stop looking at me like you’re afraid I’ll disappear,” I whisper against his lips. “I’m still here.”

I press closer, my fingers curling into the fabric of his tunic.

“And I’m not going anywhere.”

He exhales a low, ragged sound—half growl, half sigh—barely holding himself together.

His hands move to the clasps at my shoulders, unfastening the ruby-red dress with practiced ease. The fabric slips slowly down my body in a whisper of silk before pooling around my feet. His palms follow its path, skimming over newly bared skin, each touch sending sharp waves of heat through me.

“You’re driving me insane,” I manage, breathless enough that the words dissolve into a shaky laugh.

Thane’s mouth curves slightly, desire flashing through his smoke-gray eyes. “Likewise.”

Then he kisses me again. Harder this time, the last of his restraint snapping.

And I want it—all of it.

I tug impatiently at his tunic, needing the barrier between us gone. He pulls back just long enough to drag the garment over his head and throw it aside.

He smiles. “No magics this time?”