I melted down one of my knives and helped Laughlan craft three skeleton keys for the meranium boxes, then prepped my backpack for the mission. While the others geared up and stocked their bags and satchels with fresh supplies of healing powders and the invisibility spell, courtesy of Vesta’s gathering skills, Laughlan proceeded to etch specific markings onto each key.

Most of the group didn’t even notice when Blaze withdrew into a corner behind one of the bookcases enclosed in our cloaking spell, out of sight. They were too busy sharpening their blades and replenishing their satchels, counting the available red lenses and wiping Jax’s chalk map from the floor.

I walked over to Blaze, noticing his brooding shoulders as he stared out through a hole in a stained glass window. His dark hair was ruffled, casting deep shadows over his forehead, and his midnight-blue eyes carried a sadness that made my heart ache. I joined him by the window, trying to get a glimpse of his view through the five-inch gap that had once held a piece of colored glass.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, giving him a faint smile.

He looked at me, and I felt an instant heatwave spread through my chest. I was never going to get used to the way he made me feel. And that was a wonderful feeling, because every time our eyes met, I had the impression that the novelty would never wear off, that we would always be surprised by one another.

“I’m just thinking about what comes next,” he said, his voice low. “The risks, the lack of options. What choice do we have but to fight, tooth and nail, until we manage to reach out to GASP?”

“None whatsoever,” I replied with a shrug. “Normally, I’d say failure is a great opportunity to learn something and gain experience. But, unfortunately, in this case, failure isn’t an option. We either do this, or we die.”

He nodded. “I agree. And I will burn this whole place to the ground before I let anything happen to you or the team, Caia. I just want you to know that.”

My chest tightened—a frequent effect of his words on me, particularly when he said my name out loud. It sounded so different, as if he put his very soul into the one consonant and three vowels that represented me. “I know,” I whispered, then gently squeezed his shoulder. His muscles were rock hard, my fingers unable to even dig in. But still, he reacted to my touch, his lips parting as his gaze found mine. “And each of us will do the same for you.”

He scoffed, then resumed his study of the outside world through the gap in the stained glass window. We could see the white marble terraces and buildings unraveling beneath, and the flat, reddish land surrounding Kerentrith. If I inched closer, I could even spot the brick-colored sand dunes in the south.

“And that’s the problem,” Blaze muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“Technically speaking, I am this team’s biggest, deadliest weapon,” he replied. “And yet, you’re all worried that you’ll lose me somewhere along the way. After the Infernis debacle and Rewa’s mind-bending stunt, it’s no wonder. I feel like I’m more of a liability than anything else.”

I shook my head, then crossed my arms in a bid to get my point across. Given that I was basically half his size, I felt as though I had to employ dramatic body language just to underline my statements, especially when talking to Blaze. “That’s nonsense! You are crucial to our survival. You’re essential, Blaze. You have no business beating yourself up like this,” I cajoled him as softly as I could.

“All it took was a few words from Rewa, and I almost killed you,” he breathed, then closed his eyes. His pained expression as he relived that moment back in Azure Heights threatened to bring tears to my eyes. He was still punishing himself over that.

I moved to face him, tilting my head back, and firmly gripped his shoulders. His muscles didn’t give in to the pressure, but the look in his eyes told me I had his full attention. “I’m just as susceptible. And so is Hansa. Vesta. Patrik. All non-vampires and non-Maras can fall prey to these mind-bending tricks. It’s not like you’re defective or weak!” I scoffed. “In fact, you’ve got more strength than all of us combined, and I’m not talking about your dragon form here! If anyone can keep us safe and get us through to the end, it’s you, Blaze.”

He sighed. “I can’t help but feel useless. Look at what went on in Draconis, for example. I couldn’t even go full dragon because I would’ve crushed the prisoner boxes around us. I could’ve turned and ended it all there.”

I couldn’t help but smile, slowly moving my hands over his broad chest. “There’s more to you than your dragon form, Blaze,” I replied softly. “In some instances, you’re better off without turning. But, once we reach Ragnar Peak, you can go wild and dragon out as much as you want. We’ll certainly need you up there with us to protect the fortress.”

“Way to see the bright side,” he said, the shadow of a smile crossing his face.

“It’s true. We can’t all be fully functional at all times,” I insisted. “That’s why they assigned us like this. Our team has varied skillsets and abilities. Each of us is trained for a specific situation, not for all of them, and that’s okay. But don’t think for a second that just because you’re susceptible to mind-bending and too big in dragon form for the narrow spaces we sometimes deal with, you’re less useful. That’s crazy, Blaze. We’d already be dead if it weren’t for you.”

He took my words to heart. It was written all over his handsome face that the handful of honest thoughts I’d just given him meant the world to him. I found his reaction quite endearing. For a young man as strong and powerful as he was, Blaze still seemed to need a bit of validation once in a while. But, then again, didn’t we all?

His gaze darkened, and we stood there for a minute in heavy silence. Then he brought his hand up and tenderly cupped my cheek. “Caia, I think it’s time I tell you something,” he murmured.

My breath hitched. Somewhere, deep in the back of my head, where all my surprisingly accurate premonitions lived, a crazy thought started to take shape. I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to say. Or, better yet, I hoped I knew what he wanted to say. My heart turned into an Olympic gymnast, performing exquisite backflips and kicking my stomach.

“What? You don’t like avocados? Because that’s a deal breaker for me,” I joked, and mentally slapped myself right after that. What in the world is the matter with you? Let the guy tell you what you’re hoping to hear!

That, somehow, made sense. I was nervous. The thought of hearing him say what I’d been waiting for him to say for days now put me on edge. It wasn’t him saying it that stretched my nerves, actually. It was the crippling fear of disappointment. Of Blaze not saying what I yearned to hear from him.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he stifled a smile. His brows furrowed, and I braced myself. Whatever he says, it’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. No, I won’t. I’m crushing hard on him. I won’t be okay. Disappointment will sting worse than a Lamia’s bite. And I’d had my fair share of those during my early training days on Calliope.

“I don’t know what will happen from now until we get back home to The Shade,” he said, his voice raw, and clutching at my throat. “I mean, let’s be honest. Failure may not be an option, but it’s a possibility.”

I opened my mouth to protest but changed my mind and pressed my lips into a thin line. I gave him a brief nod instead.

“Something might happen, or it might not. We may survive all this, or we might end up in meranium boxes with the others,” he continued. “I think it’s only fair that we maintain a sense of realism here. What I’m trying to say, even though I’m still having trouble finding the right words for it, is that we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Hell, we don’t even know what the next hour holds! I know I’ve sworn an oath of celibacy, and I would like nothing more than to keep it, but I can’t forgive myself if I let another minute pass without telling you that… that I’m head over heels for you, Caia.”

My heart stopped.

Like marbles falling out of a broken bowl and rolling onto the floor, my words left me. I was speechless. My brain was unable to process the statement, even though it was exactly what I’d been longing to hear him say.

I blinked several times, but still, I couldn’t speak. Blaze waited for what seemed like an eternity, carefully analyzing my expression, hoping to see something, anything.

“I know, maybe you didn’t expect this,” he continued, not ready to give up just yet. “I didn’t either. I mean, I’ve had a thing for you since we were kids, back in The Shade. I just never had the courage to speak up, and we barely saw each other, anyway. Then I took the oath, and now we’re here, in the middle of an absolute nightmare, and I’m afraid that if I don’t tell you how I feel now, I’ll never get another chance. I don’t know what I’ll do with the oath, or even if it means much at this point, in these circumstances. But what I feel for you is all too real, Caia. I’ve fallen for you, and I can’t deny it or keep it to myself anymore.”

Without any warning, my heart took over. My heels pushed me upward, and I threw my arms around his neck so I could pull myself closer, and kissed him.

The moment our lips touched, it was over for the both of us. I surrendered, and he yielded almost instantly, capturing my mouth. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and almost crushed me against his chest. I exhaled sharply but didn’t let go.

Blaze intensified the kiss, taking me higher and higher, to the point where I could no longer feel the solid ground beneath my feet. A groan escaped his throat as he tasted everything I had to offer. I took my time with his lips as his tongue worked mine. For someone who’d sworn an oath of celibacy, Blaze was a phenomenal kisser. Not that I had any experience in that department, but it just felt so… incredible.

“That makes two of us, then,” I managed, drawing a breath before reattaching my lips to his. My heart was thumping maniacally, my pulse racing as I ran my fingers through his hair.

I felt weightless, and, despite our current location and difficult predicament, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. Blaze pulled his head back for a brief moment, his dark blue eyes drilling into my very soul. “Good, because I would’ve been so miserable otherwise.”

Only then, as we gazed at one another, did I realize that I was literally off the ground. Blaze held me up, tight in his arms, my toes far from the stone floor. That weightlessness took on a whole new meaning as he bit his lower lip, then kissed me again.

Whatever came next, it almost didn’t matter. For only a couple of minutes throughout the entire fabric of time, I experienced sheer bliss. I’d fallen for a dragon, and the dragon had fallen for me too. We burned bright, consuming one another as if we would never get another chance.

In that precise moment, as he pressed his lips against mine, with one arm around my waist and his other hand coming up to hold the back of my head so he could kiss me deeper, I made a promise to myself—and, secretly, to Blaze, too.

Whatever came next, I was going to make sure that we’d survive it. No matter what obstacles Neraka wanted to raise before us, regardless of all the wrenches that the Exiled Maras and daemons wanted to throw at our wheels, I was going to beat them. We were going to beat them.

I had a dragon to love, and there was no way in hell I’d allow Shaytan or any of his cohorts to tear us apart.