Page 285 of Elemental Becoming

His arms tighten around me.

His voice breaks.

“It has always been you. Even before I knew you.”

Tears burn at the edges of my vision, but I don’t let them fall.

“I love you, Thane. All of you,”I whisper through the bond.

And this time, he doesn’t just let me in. He pours into me through the bond. A flood of emotion. Devotion. Longing so deep it steals the air from my lungs. The bond fills with him, wrapping around me, holding on as though I am the one thing keeping him tethered to this world.

Then his voice comes, quiet in my mind and filled with reverence.

“You are my home, Amara.”

I press my lips to his. Desperate. Aching. Trying to pour every ounce of love I feel into the kiss. Every unspoken promise that he will never feel alone again. That he will never have to question where he belongs.

That he belongs with me.

When he kisses me back, his hands tangling in my hair, his body pulling mine closer, I know he believes it.

He is home.

And I will spend the rest of my life making sure he never forgets it.

LISTEN TO THE WIND

THIRTY-NINE

As these new truths begin to emerge, I find myself wondering whether they will be enough to spark change. And if they do, who will welcome it? Change seldom comes unopposed; those who hold power rarely surrender it willingly. So now I look to who has the most to lose if these revelations arebelieved.

—VALEN’S JOURNAL

AMARA

An hour later, the warmth of Thane’s arms still lingers on my skin as I step into Valen’s quarters.

The room overflows with ancient tomes, scrolls stacked precariously on every available surface, and there is anever-present scent of parchment, ink, and burning sage.

Valen is bent over a massive spread of books and loose parchment, his fingers brushing across the pages of a leather-bound journal I recognize instantly. It’s the one we found in the Starlit Chamber.

I knock on the open door to draw his attention.

He looks up, eyes sharp, assessing. Then he smiles. “You’re late.”

“I was . . . ” I hesitate, clearing my throat. “Busy.”

Valen’s smile deepens as he leans back in his chair. “I’m sure you were.”

I huff, refusing to take the bait. “If you’re done poking at me, maybe we can get back to the part where you explain what you found?”

Valen chuckles, but his expression quickly sobers. He gestures to the journal, flipping it open with careful hands.

“I’ve spent the past two weeks going through every record I could find, cross-referencing this with what we pulled from the Starlit Chamber.”

He taps a passage near the bottom of a worn page.

“And?” I prompt, stepping closer.