I'd taken my time down at the river, making sure to get every inch of dirt and grime off my skin with the soap Maven had given me. I really, really didn't want to be gross the first time I slept in the same bed with Tristan. Not that I'd think she'd care after everything we'd been through together, but still. It was gentlemanly.

When I finished, I walked back through the village. Contrary to the drama I knew was unfolding around us, the village was as serene and idyllic as I could imagine. The babbling of the river, the sounds of farm animals settling in for the night, the echoes of laughter through the trees, it was hard to believe anything could go wrong there. I took my time and enjoyed the sights and sounds.

When I arrived back at the chief's house, I saw that all the Templars' tents were up, and the sounds of snoring filled the camp. Only one Templar was awake. He was sitting around a small fire, eating some kind of meat on a stick. When he saw me, he nodded sleepily, yawned, then went back to tearing at his meal.

Stepping into the house, I was struck by how weird it was that we were sleeping there. The guy who owned it was both dead and in some sort of secret society. It felt wrong. I'd asked earlier if we really knew whether or not he had some sort of black magic permeating the place, but I'd brought my concerns up to Maven, and she had Na-Ya swing. The priestess said that I was being paranoid and that she didn't feel any magic anywhere in the house.

That made me feel better, but only a little.

Apparently, it was normal for villages without inns or taverns to put guests up in the nicest houses in the village, and since we were the biggest babies of the bunch, we got the honor of the best bed. Lucky us.

Setting my gear and used clothes by the fireplace, I walked to the room that I knew housed Tristan. She'd bathed first and was already within. As I approached the room that Tristan and I would be sharing, I felt my heart hammering against my ribs in a completely different way than it had earlier. I didn't know what to expect.

I knew we'd be sleeping in the same bed. Tristan was insistent that I sleep with her. I also knew she wouldn't be in her robes. I'd never really seen Tristan out of her big brown robes, and I was quite nervous about breaking that seal. From the glimpses I'd seen of her through them, I knew the sight of her would be quite pleasant. Unforunately, my shitty mind had begun filling in the gaps with countless images while I was bathing, and they were filtering into my mind tenfold now.

Mental Tristan was a total babe. Enough that I had to pace in the living room for a while before entering our room.

Finally, when I'd calmed down a little, I set my pack and dirty clothes next to the fireplace, reached for the bedroom door's handle, hesitated, then knocked.

"Come in."

With a deep breath, I opened the door and entered the room. The room was dimly lit by a couple of candles burning on an end table. A small bed was pushed against one wall, and a desk rested against the other. And there, sitting at the desk, Tristan was brushing her long, wavy black hair back. And she was wearing a long white nightgown that was far more sheer than I was ready for.

When I entered, her sapphire eyes met mine. They almost looked like they were glowing in the dim light. She smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," I said back as I entered the room. Shutting the door, I walked to the bed and sat down.

"Don't mind me. I'll be done in a moment." She turned back and continued working on her hair.

As she did, I couldn't help but take her in. The night gown was so much more flattering than her acolyte's robes. Her body, toned from the countless hours of training that we'd done together, was visible through the tight material of her dress. Her arms were muscular, her shoulders feminine but strong, her waist narrow, and her hips were wide. Her breasts were small, perky, and perfect for her body.

"Like what you see?" She was smirking.

"Sorry." I felt a little guilty. "I'm as bad as Jorn."

"No one's as bad as Jorn. And don't be. Do you have any idea how many times I've eyed you down when you thought I wasn't looking? I swear, you've spent half of the time I've known you without a shirt on, and I've seen you plenty of times in the baths. I've had my fill."

I laughed. "Fair."

"So." She tied her hair back into her signature ponytail. "While I still have the confidence, I want you to answer me. Do you like what you see?" She kept her arms lifted like a goddamn supermodel and fluttered her eyes.

My throat caught, and I knew I'd need to take another walk, and a long one, if she kept this up. That, or maybe we'd end up... Pushing the thought away, I grinned. "I do. Very much so. You're gorgeous."

She blushed. "Tomorrow, you should thank Maven."

"Why?"

"Because she let me borrow this night gown, and it took everything I had to dress like this for you. You owe her. Now, I'm going to get under the covers and pretend like I'm not dying inside. So move." She stood up and swatted me off the bed, ripped the covers up, and glided into the bed. She pulled the covers over her head and groaned.

"Do you need a minute? Or would you like me to sleep out in the living room?"

"Yes, I need a minute, and no, I really want you here. I know I'll have nightmares if you're with me." She kept the blanket pulled over her head. For a few minutes, all I could hear was her heavy breathing. Then, I heard her giggle, and she pulled the covers off her head and looked at me. "Okay, I'm good now. Sorry. I'm nervous."

"Don't worry about it." I started pulling my tunic off. As the fabric pulled over my head, I could feel her eyes on me. That felt validating. Throwing my shirt to the ground, I reached for my belt and asked, "Like what you see?"

"Do you need to ask?"

"You avoiding the question?"

"Yes."

Unbuckling my belt, I dropped my pants. That left me standing in my briefs in front of a gorgeous woman. Realizing I was in imminent danger, I adjusted my briefs before crawling into bed next to her. She scooted over as I crawled into the admittedly comfortable bed. The mattress was soft, probably stuffed with feathers, and infinitely more comfortable than the bedroll I'd been using for the past week. Her body heat had already warmed up the sheets, too, which was welcome. It was getting nippy out.

"Blow out the candles."

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"Okay." I did as I was asked, then flopped around for a bit to find the right position. Once I'd gotten comfortable, I stared at the ceiling, and we fell into a comfortable but tense silence. I could feel her breathing next to me, and her foot was pressed to mine. For a long time, we sat like that, existing in the same place, feeling what I was sure were mutual feelings. And mutual tensions.

"Alex?" Tristan's voice was soft in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

She rolled over to face me. I could see her sapphire eyes reflecting the moonlight streaming through the window. "Thank you. For carrying me today. I'm sorry for being dead weight."

I rolled over. "You could never be dead weight. And you don't need to thank me for that. It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing." She shifted closer. I could feel the warmth radiating from her body. "I'm so grateful. You have no idea. You were quite literally my hero today. I'll never forget it." Her eyes, bright and shining in the dim light, never wavered.

I tried to find the words. "I'd do it again. No matter the circumstances, I'll always be there when you need me."

She smiled. "I believe you when you say that. You sound just like my..." Her eyes fell away. I was sure they shimmered before she blinked the tears away. "I believe you."

"I'm glad."

"I'm amazed at how much stronger you've gotten. When we first met, when I found you on that roadside, you were so hurt. Even after months of healing, you struggled so much. But now, you're like a completely different person. It's been amazing, watching you grow."

"I feel stronger," I admitted. "Not just physically. Everything feels... different."

She smiled, and even in the dim light, I could see the pride in her expression. "I'm proud of you. For everything you've accomplished. For taking down that monster today. For protecting me. I'm so proud of you, and I'm blessed that it was you who ended up being my aranán."

I thought I'd heard that word before. "What does that mean?"

Her smile grew. "Let's talk about that another time, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay. But you should know that I feel the same way about you. You've completely transformed this year. You're more confident, you're happier, and you're just as strong as me."

"Well, I had to keep up with you." She grinned. "You said early on that you wanted to go on adventures. After you talked about it enough times, I realized I wanted to go with you. So, I had to train hard, too."

"So you did it for me?"

She shook her head. "No. I did it for myself. But you were always in my mind. You were the spark."

I liked that. "And now that we're on our first quest? How do you feel? Did you make the right choice?"

Her smile faded a little. "It's honestly kind of scary. It's not going how I thought it would. I kind of hoped we'd go out and do something simple. Get some easy experience. Have fun. Instead, I think we're in way deeper than either of us knows. But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it. I feel... alive. You know?"

"I do." I felt more alive in that moment than I had in my entire life.

She scooted closer. "I never asked. How did you take down the monster?"

The memory of the fight flashed through my mind, the moment when the gloomfang had struck her down, the pure panic that had flooded through me. The fire... "When you went down," I said quietly, "I couldn't think straight. All I could think was how I was going to keep it away from you. How I hated it for hurting you..." I swallowed hard. "I saw red. I've never felt anything like that before."

A blush spread across her cheeks, visible even in the moonlight. "They say that when two trees' roots grow together, when one tree feels pain, the other feels it, too. I wonder if that means..." Her eyes grew brighter. "Thank you for protecting me."

I didn't know anything about trees, but I did know how I felt. "I'll never let anything hurt you again. I promise you that." Something deep in me said I couldn't actually make that promise, but I didn't care. Every ounce of my spirit meant it.

"I'll be there, too. To help. You don't have to do it alone."

"Good." I reached out for her hand. When our fingers met, hers wove into mine. "I can't imagine doing this without you. Any of it."

"I'm glad." She was quiet for a long moment, then reached up to touch my cheek. "There's no way I could have slept alone tonight. Not after everything. I'm happy we're staying together."

"I'm happy to be here," I said, covering her hand with mine.

We fell into silence after that, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was the kind of tense silence that felt full of possibility. When every movement and sound and gesture felt like everything in the whole world. I could hear the things we weren't saying. I listened to the sound of her breathing, watched how the moonlight caught in her hair and sparkled in her eyes.

She shifted closer, close enough that I could feel her breath on my face. Her sapphire eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. We didn't speak. We just looked at each other, and I memorized every detail. Her eyes were shimmering, and I could see so much emotion there. Gratitude, fear, something deeper that made my chest tight.

Her hands warm in mine. She shifted again, and I let her come closer until there was barely any space between us. Still, neither of us spoke. The only sounds were our breathing and the distant sounds of the village settling in for the night. I realized I could have stayed like that forever, just watching her face in the moonlight, feeling the connection between us grow stronger with each passing moment.

Finally, she parted her lips, and I leaned closer to hear what she was going to say.

"I want you to kiss m—"

I cut her off before she could finish, my lips finding hers in the darkness. She made a small sound of surprise, but her body melted into mine, and she kissed me back.

Unlike our first kiss, this kiss was hungry, and passionate. Her lips were soft and warm, and when her tongue brushed against mine, I felt like I got hit by lightning all over again. Every nerve in my body tingled. We explored each other without restraint. Her hands found my chest, fingers brushing the muscles there, finding and tracing the scars that she'd healed a year before. I grabbed her lower back, pulling her closer until there was no space left between us. Her leg wrapped around mine, and she pulled her hips to mine.

The kiss seemed to go on forever, deep and desperate and full of everything we'd been holding back. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

"Alex," she whispered, her voice shaky.

"I know," I said, though I wasn't sure what I was agreeing to.

She kissed me again, harder this time, and I lost myself in the sensation. Her hands were everywhere. My chest, my shoulders, tangling in my hair. I could feel the heat of her body through the thin linen of her shift, could smell the clean scent of her skin. She smelled amazing.

When we broke apart again, she was looking at me with wide eyes, her cheeks flushed. "I'm not..." she started, then stopped, looking frustrated with herself. "I'm not ready for more. Not yet."

"I know," I said, reaching up to stroke her cheek.

She leaned into my touch, closing her eyes. "There's so much I want to tell you. About me, about... everything. But I'm not ready for that either."

"You can take all the time in the world," I said, meaning every word. "I want to spend all my time with you, so we'll have plenty of it."

She opened her eyes, and I thought I felt her throat hitch. After a moment, she asked, "Promise you won't go anywhere?" Her voice was quiet, strained.

"Promise."

She kissed me again, softer this time, and I could taste the salt of tears on her lips. When we broke apart, she rolled over and scooted back until her body was pressed to mine. "Hold me?" she asked quietly.

I shifted, trying to push my hips away from hers, but when I did, she scooted back against me, seemingly not minding feeling any part of me.

"Tristan..." My voice was as strained as another part of me.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I want you close."

She was warm everywhere. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She settled back against me with a contented sigh. Her hair smelled like jasmine. Jasmine was my favorite scent now. Forever. Jasmine was life.

Within minutes, I could feel the steady rhythm of her heartbeat against my chest. Slowly, her breathing grew deeper and more regular. She began twitching, and I felt as she drifted into sleep. I pressed a soft kiss to the back of her neck. She made a small, sleepy sound that echoed in my heart.

As I lay there in the darkness, holding her close, I thought about how much had changed in such a short time. A year ago, I was nobody. Literally roadkill. Today, I was stronger, more capable, and somehow, impossibly, I was here with this incredible girl who trusted me enough to sleep in my arms. Someone I'd die for without a second thought. It felt like a dream.

However, the weight of her body against mine, the soft sound of her breathing, the way she fit perfectly in my arms, it all felt real. More real than anything I'd ever experienced. If it was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of her breathing, felt the rise and fall of her back against my chest. Outside, the village was quiet, peaceful. Despite everything going on, it was as if the problems of the world were on pause. I knew tomorrow would bring new challenges, but that was then. For now, in this moment, everything was perfect.

I pressed another soft kiss on her shoulder and let myself drift off to sleep, holding the most important person in this new world of mine safe in my arms.

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