Page 302 of Elemental Becoming

Thane chuckles softly, then presses a kiss to the top of my head. A simple, fleeting touch, but one that sends warmth curling low in my stomach.

Then we turn the corner and nearly collide with Rowena.

She stops abruptly, her sharp gaze flicking between us before one brow lifts.

“Ah. There you are.”

Her attention settles on Thane.

“I’ve been looking for you, little brother.”

Thane smiles, lighthearted, easy. “And you found me.”

Rowena rolls her eyes, but Thane only grins. Then his gaze flicks back to me, and just like that, everything shifts.

His smile softens, and for a moment, it’s just us. I don’t just see the love in his eyes, I feel it in the bond. In the way his hand finds mine without thinking. In the quiet certainty that no matter who else is standing around us, part of his attention is always on me.

The realization still feels new. And a little miraculous.

Rowena crosses her arms and studies us, her sharp gaze moving between Thane and me.

“Okay, lovebirds, you’re grosser than usual. What’s—”

Her words cut off as her gaze drops to my hand. The dark metal catches the light where my fingers are still curled around Thane’s arm.

“Oh.”

A beat passes.

Then her eyes widen.

“Oh! Thane, you gave her the ring!”

The grin that spreads across her face is immediate. Before I can react, Rowena launches herself at me and wraps me in a bone-crushing hug.

“You gave her the ring!” she practically shrieks in my ear.

I let out a strangled laugh as my ribs protest. My arms flail before I manage to return the hug.

“Rowena—breathing—becoming a problem.”

She ignores me entirely, only squeezing me tighter. For someone so small, Rowena is alarmingly strong.

“Do you even know what this means?”

I blink, still trying to regain my breath. “That I might notsurvive this hug?”

She pulls back just enough to grip my shoulders, her eyes alight with a mixture of mischief and deep significance.

“No, you idiot. This isn’t just a ring.” She points dramatically at my hand. “It’sthering.”

Thane clears his throat, but Rowena barrels on. She gestures toward the ring on my finger, her expression shifting from excitement to borderline reverent.

“This ring has connected warriors across battlefields. It has led lovers home through war and ruin. It doesn’t just mark a promise.”

Her fingers brush the edge of the dark metal.

“It ensures it.”