Page 292 of Elemental Becoming

Then his response finds me. Warmth unfurls through the bond, familiar and reassuring, like sitting beside a fire after a long day in the cold.

He blinks lazily and unhurried, as if still caught in the haze of sleep. His lids lift, revealing smoke-gray eyes softened by the last remnants of it. Dark hair falls across his brow, tousled and unruly.

He looks at me with sleepy eyes, and through the bond I feel it. The quiet affection. The contentment. The way his emotions curl around mine like embers glowing in a hearth.

Finally, his lips part, his voice rough with sleep as hemurmurs, “Hi.”

Just one word, simple and quiet, but it sends a warmth through me all the same.

His eyes linger on mine, heavy-lidded, soft in a way I don’t often get to see.

I smile, unable to help it.

“Hi.”

He leans toward me and presses a lingering kiss to the tip of my nose.

Before I can say anything, he wraps an arm around me and pulls me close. He tucks me under his chin, his embrace steadfast.

I close my eyes, breathing him in. Smoke and cedar. The scent settles deep inside me, and for a moment I let myself memorize it. Brand it in my senses, holding on to it with the same desperate certainty I’ve been clinging to all morning.

We stay like this for a few moments, wrapped in warmth, neither of us in a hurry to move. The bond hums softly between us, peaceful and content.

Thane’s voice rumbles low against my hair. “What do you have to do today besides train with Valen?”

I sigh, nuzzling closer for just a moment before answering.

“I’m helping him with some research. We’re trying to figure out where the ledger might be in the Air Clan.”

I told him everything after Valen pieced it together. The truth about General Veyne, about how he didn’t just document history, he sent evidence to his allies. The possibility that the Fire Clan didn’t simply rewrite history, but buried it beneath centuries of carefully crafted lies. And somewhere within the Air Clan, the proof may still exist.

The ledger.

Veyne’s final notes hinted that the Air Clan was entrusted with the truth, but they never named a person or a place. For allwe know, the ledger has changed hands a dozen times over the centuries.

And that’s the real danger. We don’t know who to trust. The wrong person learning what we’re searching for could be just as dangerous as never finding it at all.

Thane’s fingers move along the inked patterns of my Elemental tattoos. He starts with the Earth Clan’s mark, his touch featherlight, as he follows the familiar path upward.

Earth, Water, Air, Fire.

He always does it in the same order as though he’s tracing the story written across my skin.

I shiver but don’t stop him. I never do.

“Can I take you somewhere after breakfast?” he asks.

“Mmm.”

I nuzzle closer, my nose brushing his skin, clinging to the stillness we’ve carved out from the chaos beyond these walls.

Thane chuckles softly. “Is that a yes?”

I smile, my lips grazing his skin.

“It’s a yes . . . but can we stay like this a little longer?”

His arms tighten around me.