YARIS

I wake slowly, utterly disoriented. I am sure something is wrong, but I really cannot remember what. It is bright in here and my eyes open wearily. I am in a plain room with a window overlooking a courtyard and the lush mountain side. Firs and pines stretch on for miles. The courtyard is empty and quiet and the isolation is not as strangling as one would think—it is more beautiful and comfortable. A bird sits in the window, watching me.

That stimulates something deep in my brain, but it sways away from me like a rope just out of reach. I blink a few more times and see the fire going in the fireplace, the unremarkable desk across the room and—

—Ruin seated in a chair next to the bed. He lays across the blue covers, obviously sleeping. I cannot quite see his face, but I suddenly do not care where I am. As long as he is here, everything must be fine.

I reach out to touch him and realize that my glamour is gone, but I do not think I could get it up if I wanted to. My magic feels weakened. I am unsure what that woman did to me or how opening the Veil compounded it, but I do not care. Not at the moment, not as I touch Ruin's golden hair and massage his head. He wakes with a jerk and sits up abruptly, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, fuck," he exhales harshly, and his eyes are suddenly glassy. "Oh, fuck. Yaris. You're awake. Oh, thank fuck."

He grabs my hand and kisses it, tears now falling.

"Oh, fuck."

To see him this shaken worries me .

"How long?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"Four days," he says, swallowing. "How do you feel? Can I hold you?"

"Four days?" I repeat, baffled. "Fuck."

"Yaris, please," he begs, trembling. "I need to hold you."

I nod and he pulls me into his lap, running his fingers through my curly auburn hair. It is so soothing that my eyes close for a minute and I start to feel sleepy again when something wet hits my cheek. I blink and look at my mate as he weeps in relief.

"Oh, darling," I murmur. "My darling. I am sorry."

He wipes his tears away before I can and shakes his head.

"No. No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given into Miguel or any of that. This is my fault. I'm so sorry, Yaris." Tears are falling faster than he can wipe them away. "This is all my fault."

I huff and sit up, pulling him close.

"Do not be obtuse," I say gently. "We had no way of knowing there was a blood witch. I have not encountered one in centuries, let alone a fucking dragon rider."

He shrugs.

"I should have known. I'm just… so sorry."

I kiss his hair, inhaling his scent.

"We are safe now. That is all that matters to me, Ruin. You, safe."

Ruin shudders and leans into me, looking at the wall and squeezing the blanket like it is a steadying rock.

"You…" He swallows and takes a long moment before speaking. "You can't die. Not yet." He turns his green orbs towards me, eyes wide and so intensely concerned that I can hardly hear him when he speaks again. "You can't. Not… not when I've learned that I'm going to live longer than I thought. Probably. Because I don't want all those years if… if you're gone. I've lost my parents and friends—warlock friends—and even a lover. But I didn't care about any of them as much as I care a bout you. So, you can't die. Not yet. You can't leave me, Yaris. I-I forbid it."

He says it like he has reign over death, which is ridiculous. None of us do. Death is the ultimate master—when it calls, we answer, no matter our status, age, magic, or race. I will likely not die as long as there is magic to feed me. I do not know if it is the same for Ruin, but… I understand what he is saying. I do not wish to live any more years without him, without my mate, either.

Then perhaps I should tell him. But something tells me he will not react well. Not right now. He needs time to process everything happening and it would be selfish to add something else.

I must bear this burden alone.

"Then I will refuse to die when Death asks me to join them," I say with a wry smile and he relaxes a bit, smiling as well.

"Good. You're stuck with me. For now."

I am about to ask what he means by that when a demonic presence fills the doorway. I look over and see a fuck boy standing there with a quiet confidence. His red eyes stare at us, a smile on his plump lips as he takes us in. His white hair is somehow perfect on his golden-bronze body, and I can only imagine how tantalizing he is under the red tunic and white breeches.

"I see you're finally awake," he says with a pleased nod. "Good. Didn't really want you dying."

He shifts and the demonic presence intensifies. He seems friendly but I cannot help but pull back a bit.

"Yaris?" Ruin sits up and looks up at me, confused. "This is Magnum. The man from my visions."

"Is he…?" I bite my lip. I am sure that not all demons are the same, but the way they make pacts and then burn through humans like paper bothers me greatly. I eye him, unsure what to make of him.

Magnum pauses and cocks his head .

"I'm half-demon," he offers. "My father is an incubus, and my mother was human."

My brow furrows.

"How the hells are you in this realm?"

Magnum shrugs as if it's not concerning in the least.

"Fuck if I know," he says dismissively. "I'll get you something to eat."

I nod vaguely and then he glances at Ruin, squinting.

"I'll get you something too," he says and then leaves.

"He is…" I search for an adequate word.

"Hotter than the Jarkosian Desert?" Ruin asks, worrying his lip. I laugh.

"That too," I say and lay down again, snuggling into his chest. "I…"

…cannot say the words that long to spill out and fill him up. Instead, I kiss his neck and rub his chest. He seems to relax again, confident in my affections. This warms me on some level, and he holds me tightly, rubbing my back.

"Are you well?" I ask softly. "When I found you, I… I regret I did not stop it sooner."

Ruin sighs quietly and looks down at me for a long moment.

"It's… not your fault and I'm fine," he says quietly. "You don't have to feel bad about that."

I huff.

"Ruin—" I start but he interrupts immediately.

"Look," he says firmly, so firmly that I am startled. "We both feel badly about shit that was out of our control. Let's just forget it."

I wish I could, but I can tell that he is done with this conversation, and I fall silent. We cuddle deeply for a while, me watching the birds outside fly around. A few rest on the window before taking off. They are mostly blue jays, robins, and crows and it strikes me as odd that there are so many of them. One would think with the demonic magic that this place would be silent and still, instead of full of song and flight .

"Yaris?" Ruin eyes me warily. "What's wrong?"

I glance at him and then back at the window.

"Why are there so many birds?" I blurt, confused.

Ruin frowns.

"Something to do with Magnum, I think. Why?"

I cannot quite put my finger on it or the way the magic bends in the ground and the air. Something is… off and it is unpleasant. The magic is so thick that it should be growing even thicker, feeding into itself like a crescendo. There is something here. I am certain of it. But what it is, I do not know.

"I need to go outside," I say, sitting up and untangling myself. Ruin shakes his head.

"Absolutely not. You need food and rest," he insists.

I rub my face, trying to stay patient.

"Ruin—"

"—I have stew, sourdough, and warmed mead," Magnum declares as he enters with trays. He watches the stew as he delicately steps in to make sure that it does not spill. Despite the fact that he has at least half a foot on me, he is somehow more graceful than I. I am pristine grace at my core, but he seems to be grace incarnate, all fluidity and gentleness, nothing like the brute he seems to be. It is hypnotizing.

So is the tray he sets before me. As the scent of rich spice and meat hits me, I concede that Ruin is right and, at the very least, I need food. I pull the tray onto my legs and start to eat eagerly, the strange magic forgotten for the moment. Magnum strides over to the window and whistles, a raven landing on the sill. He pets it as he watches the yard and glances occasionally at us as we eat. I finish before Ruin and start to feel exhausted again, but I cannot fall asleep. Not yet.

"So, you really do not know how you are here?" I finally blurt with very little politeness. Ruin chokes, looking mortified, and coughs violently.

Magnum smiles wryly and shrugs.

"Not really. Probably because I'm half-demon. Why?"

I huff .

"Your…magic is…" I try putting a finger on it. "…it is everywhere, I think. Like a massive shadow, pulling everything around it into it. I think it is you, is it not? Or is it something else?"

I cock my head curiously. Magnum rubs the back of his neck. I am certain he is at least a century old, but this type of blatant hesitation makes him seem younger than even Ruin. He sighs softly.

"Look, I'll explain everything soon, but you need to be well-rested for that conversation," he says honestly, surveying me sharply. I scowl. I know he is right. I am moments away from more exhausted sleep. "Finish your mead and then sleep. I put rejuvenation potion in yours—it'll help."

I barely manage to stop myself from asking if it is demonic in nature. What stops me is Ruin's look. He seems extremely anxious and is watching me intently and I can tell I am going to upset him further if I get up.

I scowl at my mead and chug it. It takes seconds for me to down it completely and when I am done, I set the tankard aside. Ruin and Magnum are gaping at me, and I cannot help a smirk.

"What can I say?" I say, winking at Ruin. "I am a champion swallower."

Ruin bursts into laughter and something inside me unfurls to hear it. I did not realize how tense I was until this moment.

"You're so ridiculous!" He beams at me. "And old!"

I snort.

"It just makes me devastatingly experienced, Ruin. You cannot hope to catch up with my superior swallowing skills."

He laughs some more and shakes his head.

"Utterly ridiculous."

I smile at him, Magnum entirely forgotten.

"You will sleep with me?" I ask, reaching for a hand. Ruin takes it and nods.

"I will. "

"No sex," Magnum interjects.

I huff and look at him.

"Who put you in charge?"

"Your boyfriend when he asked for my help saving your asses," Magnum says mildly, crossing his arms. "No sex. Not yet."

"I did not take a lust demon for a prude," I say dryly and eye him suspiciously. Magnum snorts.

"I'm not. I just want you resting instead of hurting yourself for one measly orgasm."

"You say that like it would only be one," I counter, feeling oddly shameless around him. It is… very strange.

Magnum winks.

"Trust me, old man, you'd pass out from the effort. Rest."

I want to tell him he is wrong but then I see how exhausted Ruin looks. He is smiling now, but I can sense the fatigue and nod slowly.

"Fine. You win. For now. We will rest," I relent and Magnum nods. Ruin finishes with his food and mead and Magnum steps forward to gather the dishes, still ghosting along the floor like an ethereal being. I pull Ruin into bed and spoon him tightly.

"I'll be down the hall if you need me," Magnum offers. "Your guards are down there too, petting the cats, I believe."

I will have to ask him about the animals at some point, but I am much too comfortable to care at the moment. He leaves and closes the door softly and we are enveloped in silence for a long moment.

"He really is quite nice," Ruin says with a yawn. "You don't have to be so… standoffish."

"It is the magic," I say softly, kissing his hair. "It disturbs me. That is all."

Ruin grunts and his breathing deepens.

So does mine.

Something in me settles as we drift off to sleep together, Ruin pressed to me just as he should be, and my arms around him, holding my home.