29. Cinis

"No peeking now," I mutter.

Gripping Serena's hand in my rocky arm, I lead her down a wide cavern corridor filled with lanterns and candles, careful not to mislead her toward any of the open flames. Her thoughts scream at me, but understanding her boundaries, I stop just short of actually hearing them.

Perhaps this new skill is better used on our enemies.

"Just please tell me where we're going, Cinis," she says. "It's so hot."

Her skin glows orange in the light of the cavern labyrinth, and every bead of sweat on her exposed chest is tempting to me. I imagine what it'd be like to perform this ceremony in my home world, introducing her to the wide-stretching caverns, lava lakes, and endlessly stretching ceilings I've known so long. But she would not survive there, and they wouldn't understand her there anyway.

And I suppose she's not missing out on much anyway.

If she'd only believe it, perhaps I'd tell her how ravishing she looks. Her red blouse juts out over a white bodice, accentuating the crimson gown she lifts with every step.

"You'll see soon enough," I urge her, guiding her over a small drop in the cavern floor.

The amulet around her neck jingles with every step, a small reminder of the meager barrier separating my flames from burning her. I thank the architects of this realm for allowing us to coexist, however impossible such an alliance should have been.

Perhaps there's a magic to this realm greater than any I understand.

The passages begin to open up, and I can hear idle chatter as we approach.

"Shh. They're coming!"

The chatter stops.

"What was that?" Serena asks as I help her step over a gap in the path.

"Nothing but the wind," I lie. "We'll be there soon."

Surely, she can feel the temperature rising and knows that we're not on the surface. Even through her blindfold, she can see the darkened passages - can feel the uneven floors and shifting corridors.

But she's explained the joy of surprises and gifts to me on several occasions. And I'm not one to question her traditions, whether those traditions are small and seemingly inconsequential, or life-altering and impossible to replicate ever again.

It has to be perfect.

Admittedly, I don't know the first thing about weddings or mating ceremonies. But I know they're important to her, so they're important to me.

We cross a small path, walking across a narrow strand above the guests who've come to spectate the ceremony. While she's been asleep, I've come here every night, hollowing out this cavern with the help of my avian friend. Once I figured out he created the hot spring cavern, I sought his guidance on safe tunneling practices.

On the opposite end of the room are two large torches and a chiseled arch, which I've carved into the cavern wall. I'm relieved when our guests remain silent, not spoiling the surprise.

"Alright," I tell her as I guide her to her place across from me. "You can remove your blindfold."

She slowly unwraps the fabric, and her eyelids part, revealing her beautiful azure and jade eyes.

At first, she doesn't know what she's looking at, when she glances at me in confusion.

"Where are we?"

"Just look around."

She turns her eyes to the room, noticing the path, and the two enclosures on either side of us. Her eyes struggle against the lights of crackling flames, both from me and from the ambiance.

She gasps, seeing everybody we've ever saved, huddled together in this small room. The towers all liberated, the dark elves driven from this continent for the time being, I figured they were the perfect witnesses to our love.

"What is this?"

"You're always talking about the customs of your people, and how much weddings mean to your kind," I explain. "And maybe I don't understand everything about you, but I'd like the chance to learn."

When I told them what I was planning after we liberated the final tower, not one of them turned me down. They were just happy to help.

The joy on her face is unmistakable, and I feel both relieved and elated.

But now I need to figure out how to put what I've learned into practice.

"So I wanted to make our bond official, in front of all of these humans we've saved together."

She chuckles.

"You don't have to call them ‘humans' anymore Cinis," she says. "They're your kind now."

My kind.

These frail, pathetic creatures are nothing like me. They crumble at the slightest bump, spilling their fluids at every inconvenience.

But I shake my head, stifling the immediate rage I feel.

Whatever my people were, they were nothing like me. They cannot presume to care about anything short of their immediate needs, and balk at every display of creation or raw emotion. To express one's individuality among my kind is to err.

"What's wrong, Cinis," she asks, noting my head shake. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

I'm not a human. Leaving the present company, others will always remind me of what I am with both terror and curiosity.

But whatever I am, and wherever I fit in, I'll have a lifetime to discover it by her side.

"It's everything I wanted," I reply, now fully convinced.

I take her hands, gripping them tightly with my malleable, fiery arms.

"And I wanted them to know it as much as I do."

She smiles, and her smile emboldens me.

"Like a sculptor - you just taught me that word - you saw the potential in me, and you reshaped me to my true potential. Before I met you, Serena, I was formless."

I stare deep into her eyes. In her cold, blue eyes, which somehow warm my soul, I can see the wonders of infinity with her by my side.

"I was functionless, and I was aimless. From my timeless realm, I was plucked and given meaning by your side."

I look out at the audience. Their reactions vary, from curiosity to admiration to amusement.

Without Serena, these people wouldn't have been given a second chance. They would have been transformed into the aberrations that roamed these lands, both no longer aware of what they were and left with nothing but their appetites.

Perhaps that would have been my fate too, had I not met Serena. I would have remained a purposeless beast, who indiscriminately terrorized the creatures that crossed my path.

"Perhaps I owe you some gratitude for that," I say. "You elevated my purpose, showing me the wonders my realm neglected to show me."

I grip her hands tighter, never daring to let go. Her warmth is my anchor, holding me solidly in this moment.

"And I don't know what the rest of our time together will yield in this realm, but I'm excited to find out. For as long as we both draw breath, I will cherish you."

I can't help but feel cocky, seeing the admiration in her face.

"Did I do good?"

She nods, grinning widely.

"You did very well," she replies.

"I learned some pointers from the bird fellow to the north."

Her expression becomes quizzical at that note. But perhaps she cherishes the mystery because she doesn't inquire further.

"Cinis," she says, gripping me in her hands.

I give her my full and immediate attention, never daring to leave her piercing gaze.

"You often hold me up as some pinnacle of humanity, but I didn't feel human when you met me," she says. "I was completely lost."

I think back on the despair she felt, having lost people she loved and cared about, and I'm reminded again of her strength.

"I don't know how long I'd been lost, because it wasn't just the one bad mission at the tower. I think, for the longest time, I've been running blindly forward, consumed by rage."

She scrutinizes me, as though afraid her confession might cause me to reject her. But I've always seen her pain.

It only makes her more beautiful in my eyes.

"Then you came forward, and you started asking me what it meant to live in this realm - what it meant to be human. And that only reminded me what I'd been hiding from, and what I so desperately wanted to reject about myself."

I'm starting to understand the importance of these ceremonies, and why they mean so much to her. Even peering into her mind, I see a beauty now that was hidden from me.

"I guess what I'm saying is, although you claimed to be totally lost in this world, with no idea how to acclimate yourself, your presence here made me more human. You reminded me what I was fighting for."

She looks out at the crowd, as though suddenly remembering their existence.

"So thank you Cinis," she says. "And I think now, we kiss."

I grip her tightly, then bend her down, pressing my face into hers as we embrace.

I feel potential I've always seen but never understood. Fires rage across my vision, as I close my eyes, cherishing her warmth.

As deeply and as passionately as I can muster, I kiss her.

As long as I can, I want to cherish this moment. I can feel bliss radiating from her like I've never known, and her bliss elevates me to new heights.

As we break our kiss, looking deeply into each other's eyes, our audience applauds.

We walk out of the cavern, hand-in-hand. I don't know what the fates of this realm might have in store for us, but if it's anything like what we've already seen, it's bound to be worthy of consideration.