A few idyllic days later, Farrah enjoyed the comfortable routine she and Arsenic had fallen into. Currently, they were on the couch together, watching TV.

She liked hearing his thoughts about the human world when it still confused him, liked cuddling against his hard body and, in general, just pretending they could go on like this forever. Like the little world they’d created could just go undisturbed by outside forces.

But that was all interrupted when Arsenic’s phone buzzed, signaling a text.

He got it out with a roll of his eyes, as if expecting nothing important, but then froze when he looked at the screen.

He barely had time to get up from the couch when a whooshing sound filled the room, like rushing wind, and a purple portal opened in the middle of Farrah’s small living room.

“What the—”

“The text was from Cadmium,” Arsenic explained. “Warning me the oracle was on her way. She doesn’t always give a heads-up before visiting.”

“So that’s—” But before Farrah could finish her sentence, the oracle was stepping through, followed by Marina.

The oracle looked better than the night Farrah had seen her, more put together but still tired, with deep lines under her eyes, even more than would be expected with her age.

“My dear,” the oracle said, stepping forward. Farrah noticed with dismay that the woman was now using a cane for support as she walked.

Marina, however, looked beautiful, tall, impervious as always, and she rushed forward to hold out her arms, offering Farrah a hug.

Farrah took it, still grateful for how kind Marina had been to her the night she was rescued. She’d also been the one to arrange for Arsenic to come here and guard her, and Farrah didn’t know whether to be grateful or angry about that.

Grateful, she supposed, since she knew Marina had only the best of intentions.

Apparently, no one had expected her to get ideas about the dragon guarding her. No one expected her to fall in love.

The oracle’s eyes darted to her curiously, and she continued to stare eerily at Farrah as Marina led them all to the living room to sit down. She even gave the disgruntled Arsenic a hug, asking him how he was doing, to which he answered with only a grunt.

They sat, Marina and Farrah on one couch, the oracle on the other, and Arsenic on a chair nearby.

“So,” the oracle said, leaning forward, white and purple robes glistening. “How have you been doing? I presume no one has bothered you?”

Farrah nodded hesitantly. “No.”

“And of course Arsenic has been a perfect protector?” the oracle said.

Farrah hoped she wasn’t blushing as she nodded.

“Good. Congratulations on a successful mission,” the oracle said, turning to Arsenic. “Now, we come with an update, and hopefully you won’t be needed anymore.”

Farrah looked quickly at Arsenic, trying to gauge his reaction to the news, but he was impassive, simply raising his chin haughtily as he waited for more news.

“What do you mean?” Farrah asked, clasping her hands together and intertwining her fingers.

“We’ve been watching the castle where you were held. We sent a team of double dragons—those are the regional ones—to check it out shortly after you were rescued. The place was already torched to the ground. Bodies everywhere, no signs of anyone left.”

“Wow,” Farrah asked.

“Seems the other side didn’t approve much of what they were doing or didn’t want any evidence of them at least.”

“The man who tortured me, Crios…?”

“There is no way to know for sure,” the oracle said. “But it is likely he died in the attack. There were so many bodies. Regardless, since you aren’t a dragon-heart and you were never supposed to be taken, we doubt his superiors would ever support him in coming after you. It would be a waste of resources and time.”

Farrah didn’t know whether to be offended or not that the shifter community thought so little of her that she wasn’t in danger of being captured.

“We are relatively confident that you will be safe here, but just in case, we intend to relocate a group of double dragons to the area, and they will be told to keep an eye on you. I will also put up barriers, of course. So even if you lose your memory, you shouldn’t be in any danger.”

“Oh,” Farrah said. A part of her doubted Crios would ever give up. Anyone who hadn’t seen him with her wouldn’t know that he was so obsessed. But at the same time, the oracle was probably right. Crios didn’t work on his own. If he’d lived, with his lab gone, he’d have to work somewhere else, under a boss, and she doubted they’d let him pursue a human who was no more than a pet project.

Perhaps she really was free.

The oracle leaned forward, her chin on her hand, her misty eyes shrewd. “I thought you would be happier to hear the news.”

“No, I am happy.” She looked over at Arsenic, wondering what he was thinking, but his expression was still blank.

Then he ran a hand through his black hair and stood, looking around him. “I should… go check on the barrier, just in case.”

He walked out the front door before anyone could say anything, slamming it behind him with a loud thud.

“Perhaps you should go check on him, Marina,” the oracle said mildly. “While I have a chat with Farrah.”

Marina nodded silently and went to the door, opening it and going out after Arsenic.

A bit of jealousy went through Farrah, but then she reminded herself that Marina was already mated to another dragon. Besides, Farrah had no right to say who should be alone with Arsenic.

“Hm,” the oracle said, sitting back in her chair and resting her cane across her knees. “So… have you told him how you feel?”

Farrah blinked. “What?”

“I have to admit this is highly unexpected. Given your hatred of the shifter world, I thought a shifter mate was the last thing you’d want. Especially one as difficult as Arsenic. But it seems I was very wrong.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t need to protect him,” the oracle said. “I can already tell you two have gone far beyond the realm of protected and protector. The question is what you now want to do about it.”

Farrah bit her lip. “I don’t know.”

“Perhaps you should talk to him,” the oracle said.

“About what? He will surely have a mate waiting somewhere, and that’s not me. We both agreed to do this until I was ready to forget and move on afterward.”

“Sounds painful for him,” the oracle said.

“Well, he said it was worth it,” Farrah said. “And it helped me move on.”

“And that’s all it did?”

Farrah looked into the old woman’s eyes and knew there was nothing she could hide from her, so she might as well tell the truth. “No. Obviously, it did much more.”

“Why don’t you let Arsenic tell you who his mate is?”

“You mean he has one?”

“That’s something you’d have to ask him,” the oracle said. “Even if he does have a mate, it’s up to him to make the move to do what it takes to be with her or not.”

“So he could choose not to be with her,” Farrah said, wondering at the possibility. How it would screw over the woman out there that was meant to be with him.

“Yes, but it’d be better if he didn’t,” the oracle said. “Dragons need to be with their mate. They can barely function if kept away from them.”

“I see,” Farrah said.

“But as I said…” The oracle stood, brushing her hands off and leaning on her cane. “That’s something you would have to talk to him about. I am willing to accept whatever you two decide. I simply didn’t think staying in our world would be something you wanted. But I’m obviously sorry enough about what you’ve experienced in our world that I would do anything I could to help.”

“You’re right,” Farrah said. “I have to just talk to him.” Scary as it was, she had to bring up all the topics they’d avoided with awkward silence, pretending any issue could just go away if they didn’t approach it.

“You’ll figure it out, my dear,” the oracle said, following her to the doorway. “You’re strong.”

Farrah really hoped she was right, because confronting Arsenic about whether he really wanted her forever would take everything she had.

* * *

So it was all over.

Arsenic had been in some bad spots, from the moment he was abandoned in a literal pile of garbage by his parents, who were on the run, to the day his uncle had been hung for treason.

He’d never expected much of a life for himself, and what he’d worked for was more than he’d ever imagined.

But he shouldn’t have allowed himself to get detached from reality. To be delusional enough to think that a human who’d been traumatized by the shifter world would give up a free chance to escape her past just for a worthless dragon assassin like him.

It felt as though his world was collapsing around him, like the sky could fall on him at any moment.

He’d known that finding and then having to lose a mate would be agonizing, but he’d assumed the other agonizing things he’d had to do throughout his life would prepare him to take it like a champ.

He’d been wrong.

Nothing could have prepared him for the soul-rending pain of the oracle saying he wasn’t needed anymore and that Farrah would be free.

And Farrah insisting that, while shocked, she was indeed happy for the news.

Why on earth had he thought that perhaps Farrah would be upset as well? What had he been expecting, that she would say she wanted to be his mate and didn’t mind remembering all the needles and pain?

Not to mention leaving her world behind, the world she’d fought so hard to return to.

Because he knew that no matter what, he probably wouldn’t be allowed to stay here. He belonged in the shifter world, alongside his friends.

But there had been moments with her that were so special. Almost… sacred. Now he wanted to treasure every one of them, pack them up into a tiny chest and carry it around forever in his heart without ever looking inside it.

He didn’t regret anything, not if he really thought about it. Given the chance, he would do it all again. Rescue her, stay with her, fall in love with her, share a few precious days together before it was all taken away.

So why did he feel so hurt?

Perhaps it was because her rejection validated all the feelings of unworthiness he’d fought his whole life. He’d always been a lowly metalloid, a half metal who would always be below the other dragons, despite his skills and the tenuous acceptance he had gained as part of the dragon guard.

He’d experienced a lot of pain and rejection in his life and faced it with a stony demeanor that said he could never be hurt.

But it wasn’t something he could do this time. Not when he was losing his mate.

He sat on the steps of the porch because his knees were feeling weak. The door opened, and he jumped, surprised it was Marina.

“What do you want?” he asked grumpily, folding his arms on his knees and glaring out at the horizon covered with trees.

She sat down next to him, her gentle energy soothing him against his will. One couldn’t help but feel the change in the air when Marina was there. “I just wanted to check on you.”

“Hmph,” he said. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine. You stormed out of there.”

“I had to check the barrier,” he said.

“It’s pretty cool you can make those,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t think you realize how cool you are.”

“I’m not cool,” he said.

“Don’t tell Mercury this, but I think you are. I have since I met you. You keep it inside and you aren’t one to brag, but I can tell you are always watching out for your friends and family.”

“I don’t have any family,” he said with a snort.

“Yes, you do, at the mansion. All of the dragons there see you as family. You know that, whether you want to acknowledge it or not.”

“I suppose I do,” he said.

“So if you go back there alone, they’ll all be there for you.”

He remained silent, staring at the tree line as if there were some kind of answer to his problem out there.

“Have you told her you’re in love with her?”

He shook his head, then looked at her aghast. “Wait, I thought your kind couldn’t read thoughts.”

“I don’t need to read thoughts to see that your heart is breaking at the thought of being separated from Farrah.”

He nodded slightly. “I suppose.”

“Is she your mate?”

He was quiet at that, then nodded. “I think so.”

“Have you told her?”

“No,” he said. “She has been clear all along about her wishes. She likes me, she enjoyed getting to know me, but she wants to go back to her world. After what she’s been through, she deserves to.”

“I think, before she makes any big decisions, you should at least give her the option,” Marina said. “You should at least let her know what’s at stake?”

“Why, so she can think I’ve been manipulating her all along, pretending I supported her getting her memory erased while hoping I could convince her to change her mind and be my mate? No, I’m going to be honorable, as I have tried to be my whole life. I told her I wouldn’t stand in the way of what she wanted, and I won’t change that now.”

“But if you haven’t given her all of the information, how can you know what she wants? Have you asked her how she feels about you?”

“No,” he said. “Because it doesn’t matter. She wants her world back. If she throws that away for me, she’ll regret it. And she’s never brought that up as an option herself.”

“Did she know it was one?”

“What?”

“Leaving with you. Being with you.”

“I mean, she should know just from how I’ve treated her. I wouldn’t do that with just anyone.”

“I don’t know,” Marina said. “I still think there are things left unsaid, and you will regret leaving them that way. Even if you are determined to go through with letting her forget.”

“You’re right,” Arsenic said.

“Besides, can you really live without your mate?”

Arsenic shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. All I care about is her happiness. The rest is just something I’ll have to endure.”

Marina let out a sigh. “Arsenic, not all of life is suffering. There are breaks in the storm.”

“Not for me, apparently,” he said angrily.

“What about your time here? You seem to have had a good time with Farrah. Hasn’t this been a break?”

“No,” he said. “Not at all.”

Being here with Farrah, being allowed to fall for her, was like being given a taste of sunlight just so he could know what he was missing when he went back to his cave.

He gave Marina a dark look. “It’s been torture. The sooner Farrah forgets the better.”

Then he could go back to the mansion with the other dragons and figure out some way to survive the rest of his life.

Arsenic heard someone clear their throat and realized the door had opened without him hearing it. He’d been so deep in thought.

“If that’s the way you feel, maybe I should just forget now,” Farrah said, looking at him with folded arms, the oracle standing beside her.

“No, wait,” Arsenic said, standing. But Farrah shook her head and rushed back into the house, slipping past the oracle and slamming the door.

“Oh dear,” the oracle said. “Marina, I think we should head back. I can open a new portal and close that one at the same time. Arsenic, are you okay persisting in your duty for a few days, or do I need to send another dragon?”

Heat burst through Arsenic. He hated that anyone else was witnessing this. He hated that he had hurt Farrah, right at the end, when she was so close to being happy again.

“Aren’t you going to make her forget?”

“I said I would give her a couple days to think about it. Perhaps things are a bit more complicated than I thought.” The oracle raised an eyebrow at him. “I would go talk to her if I were you. Figure out what both of you want.”

What did that mean? Hope began to wind its way through him, and he did his best to resist.

Before he could ask more, Marina and the oracle were through the portal, and it was already closing.

So he ran toward Farrah, thinking she must have the answers instead.

He told himself not to hope for too much. After what she’d just heard, she seemed to hate him. But he had to at least clear that up for her, if nothing else.

He slammed his fist on the door. “Farrah, let me in.”

She opened the door, looking at him furiously before turning and heading for the stairs.

“Farrah, wait,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “We need to talk.”

She whipped around to glare at him. “I thought so, too, but then again, I didn’t know being with me was torture.”

“It’s not what you think,” he said.

“So it’s not torture being with me?”

“No, it is, but—”

“I should have known,” she said. “You tried to turn me down. You tried to say we shouldn’t. You knew you had a mate and you had to go back to her—”

“I do have a mate, and—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “I should never have pushed you for more. I should have just told the oracle to help me forget.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked, following her as she went up the stairs. By the time she reached the top, he was halfway up them.

“Because you made me think there was something worth remembering. I guess I was wrong about that.” Then she opened the door, ready to go in and end the conversation.

Arsenic just stood there, shocked by her words and what they meant about her feelings, as he suddenly heard a crash of breaking glass. Before he could even turn in the direction of the noise, he heard a whoosh and a thud, along with sharp pain as something stabbed into his back.

He slapped his hand to the spot, feeling some kind of dart, just as the world spun and he felt the ground disappear from under him.

He toppled back and rolled down the stairs, landing in a crumpled heap, overcome by weakness and pain, trying desperately to identify the poison spreading through his blood, burning him from the inside out.

It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and for the first time, even with his exceptional resistance to poison, he wasn’t sure he was going to make it.

But then he forced his eyes open and saw Farrah staring down at him.

His mate.

He had to fight this for her.

He summoned all of his strength, trying to push back the darkness, hoping that just once more in his life, he could overcome impossible odds.