When Timothy woke, the first thing he became aware of was the sensation of warm skin against his own.

He was smiling even before he opened his eyes, filled with the deep joy of being complete at last. His mate was resting in his arms—but the connection went even deeper than that. He could feel Liana’s presence in his heart as well.

It was like an ember burning within him, filling his chest with constant light and warmth.

For the first time in his life, he felt utterly at peace.

Before, there had always been a strange restlessness, driving him from ocean to ocean and from city to city as he sought out parties, festivals, and galas. And while he’d loved the company of people and the excitement in the air during all those events, it had never lasted.

Even on a perfect tropical island paradise, even when swimming through a coral reef, surrounded by the colorful, glistening underwater life in all its glory, the restlessness had returned after a few days, driving him on.

But now, for the very first time, that restlessness had left him.

His lips curved into a smile as he turned his head and pressed a kiss to the top of Liana’s head.

In answer, she moved a little, snuggling closer with a contented sigh, still lost in her dreams.

So this is what it feels like to be mated. No wonder Gregory and Damon kept teasing me.

He couldn't even be mad at them anymore. He hadn’t known that it was possible for a soul as restless as his own to feel at once so utterly quiet and so full of joy.

The dragon within him was curling his tail proudly, possessively around his body. Timothy felt the same disbelieving pride and tenderness as he looked down at Liana asleep in his arms.

It wasn’t at all how he’d thought his mating would go—but she had been right.

To hell with silks and pearls and jewels. The only treasure he needed was the light of her love that warmed him even now.

Carefully, he flexed his wrist a little. There was no pain. The injury had completely healed as he’d slept.

It was strange that he’d been wounded at all. His water shield should have protected him from fire—but he distinctly remembered the sensation of the fire dragon’s attack effortlessly penetrating his shield.

And yet it hadn’t truly felt like fire. The heat had been wrapped in darkness—an unsettling sensation of shadow and smoke.

Thoughtful, Timothy reached out again and pressed his hand to the bare rock. He sent a small pulse of energy into the stone—and after a moment, he felt a tiny, answering burst of power against his fingertips.

Damon. The dragon of the earth had received his earlier message—and had probably been waiting impatiently for more.

With a deep breath, Timothy closed his eyes.

It wasn’t easy to build a connection like this. Stone sang, just as water did—but each in a voice of its own.

To send a simple message, an image of him and Liana safe and hidden away in a cave to heal, had been relatively easy.

But to try and actually talk to Damon through water and rock was a different matter.

Safe, he sent again. Escaped. Healed. Mated.

A burst of jubilant, overwhelming happiness escaped his dragon, vibrating through the rock.

A moment later, the stone seemed to rumble in answering amusement.

Of course Damon would think it’s hilarious that I’ve settled down at last.

Timothy couldn’t quite suppress a grin, even though he knew the fire dragons hadn’t yet been defeated.

A moment later, the stone sent him a different image.

Dragons soaring through the sky. Escape. Freedom.

Timothy exhaled in relief. As he’d hoped, the others had been able to escape easily after he’d distracted their powerful enemy.

Then the rock pulsed against his hand again, and in his mind, a different picture formed.

A towering mountain crowned by clouds. A giant cave. Someone waiting.

He was being summoned to Sky Home, the seat of the council of elements. Just as he’d expected.

Timothy sent back an affirmative pulse of energy.

And then, a hesitant, final picture formed in his mind, as if the rock was reluctant to be the bearer of bad news.

A griffin soaring in the sky—alone. Someone lost. Uncertainty. Sadness.

The griffin was Jared. Jared, who’d been carrying Braeden in his claws the last time Timothy had seen him.

Timothy clenched his fingers, a sudden surge of helpless anger and betrayal flooding through him.

Braeden was lost. Jared hadn’t been able to carry him to safety.

Timothy couldn’t even say why he felt grief. Braeden had betrayed them. Braeden had tried to run back to the fire dragons.

He was never our friend. He was our prisoner.

But it was hard not to feel a personal sense of betrayal after sharing your blueberry pancakes and your Netflix password with someone. The fire dragon had come to feel more like an annoying younger brother, as much as Timothy hated to admit it.

I should have known better. He’s a fire dragon. They won’t change, no matter what.

Reluctantly, Timothy sent a final burst of acknowledgment. Then he carefully sat up.

The cave behind the waterfall was still filled with a gentle blue light. Water was lapping at the rock below them. Through the curtain of falling water that shielded them from the outside world, he could see that it was still light outside.

How long had he slept? It had to be afternoon now. He was fully healed; they’d easily be able to make it to Sky Home before nightfall.

And then they’d have to find a strategy of dealing with their new enemy. A mere fire dragon should never have been able to injure him so severely.

“Hey,” Liana murmured sleepily, stretching with a yawn. “How are you feeling?”

“As good as new.” He held out his wrist for her to inspect.

“Hmm.” Liana wasn’t happy until she’d given his chest the same examination.

But there was nothing for her careful fingers to find. His skin was smooth, completely healed except for a tiny scar on his chest.

That shows how close they got to killing me. At least the chimera will find that interesting.

Who knew, maybe the chimera could even get some information from the scar the attack had left...

“It looks fully healed,” Liana admitted at last.

She looked gorgeous, her skin and bare breasts illuminated by the soft light that filled the cave.

“You look like a mermaid,” Timothy murmured, gently trailing his fingers up her side. “Like a siren.”

She laughed softly, her eyes filled by tenderness and growing heat as she looked at him.

“Not a siren. I couldn’t care less about luring sailors to their death. After all, I’ve already got all I want.”

“So have I,” he said hoarsely, tumbling her back onto the cool moss.

Her soft body relaxed against his own, her lips parting as he kissed her hungrily. Need rose inside him, as if a part of him still couldn’t believe that she was truly his...

And then the light in the cave began to slowly pulsate. When he reluctantly drew back and looked at the water, he saw that with every pulse, the blue light grew dimmer.

The crystals that filled the cave were losing their luster as well. The luminance slowly faded away, as if the cave was saying goodbye.

“Is something wrong?” Liana asked when she breathlessly sat up again.

Timothy chuckled, more amused than annoyed.

“Nothing’s wrong. But I think the river that rescued us believes it’s time for us to leave now. And it’s probably right. It has protected us well.”

“And it saved your life.” Liana moved forward until she reached the water. She lowered her hand into it.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

For a moment, blue light ran up her arm, enveloping her until she shone with it.

Timothy felt his breath catch in his throat. He’d joked about the mermaid earlier—but at that moment, she truly looked like an ocean goddess, or perhaps a nymph guarding a spring.

She was more beautiful than anything he’d ever seen—and the water was singing for her, as it was singing for his dragon, the melody full of joy.

“The Lady of the Water,” he whispered as he looked at her in proud amazement. “That’s who you are.”

Liana laughed and got up, holding out her hand to him.

“I don’t know about that,” she said, “but I know that this river was good to us. And I also hope that it still remembers where it found us—because that’s where our clothes are.”

Timothy chuckled and moved closer, until he could wrap his arms around her. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

***

Fortunately, their clothes were still by the side of the stream, and the river carried them right back to that spot.

Timothy couldn’t feel any sign of fire dragons in the area—but then, the fire dragons had surprised them before. This time, he was determined that wouldn’t happen again.

After hastily dressing, he shifted and they took off together.

He was fully recovered; his right wing moved without the slightest twinge of pain. Pleased by that discovery, he quickly gained height until at last they broke through the clouds. Then, they soared through golden sunlight.

Timothy breathed in the air, his dragon delighting in the freedom of being aloft once more. This was where his dragon was meant to be.

Moreover, his dragon had come into his full power at last. With the mate bond pulsing between them, his dragon was more powerful than ever before. Even though he flew as fast as he could, he didn’t tire at all.

And the tiny molecules of water in the clouds beneath them sang out to him, ready to follow his every command.

Any other day, he might have shown off for Liana. He could make it rain; he could even pull the raindrops towards them until rainbows would spread around them in the light of the sun.

But today, they had to be careful, and so Timothy focused on carrying Liana as quickly and as safely towards Sky Home as possible.

When they landed on the outcrop of rock that led into the council chamber, he could feel that someone was already waiting for them inside. The cave vibrated with the familiar power of air and earth.

“Don’t let the chimera scare you,” he murmured to Liana as soon as he’d shifted back. “He’s intimidating at first, but he’s really not all bad.”

Liana raised a brow. “That sounds inviting. But I bet he won’t be half as scary as my year in customer support.”

Timothy snorted in surprise and amusement. “And no one here can fire you, even if he does scare you. You’re my mate. You’re the Lady of the Water now.”

“The Lady of the Water,” Liana repeated and took a deep breath. Then she gave him a soft, tender smile—the same smile she’d given him when they’d woken in each other’s arms. “Lead the way, my ocean dragon.”

When they walked into the large cave that housed the council of elements, he saw that Damon and Gregory were already waiting for him. They were in their human form, and their mates were standing by their side.

At the back of the cave, shadows flickered—Gareth, the chimera, was in attendance.

Pressing Liana’s hand in reassurance, Timothy walked forward.

Damon was looking very earnest, but Gregory smiled as soon as he saw him, taking a step forward to clasp his shoulder.

“You made it!” Gregory said. “And you’re looking good.”

“All healed,” Timothy confirmed, giving Damon a nod.

He hadn’t always gotten along well with the dragon of the earth—but they were allies in the fight against the fire dragons now. Their usual squabbling could wait until they’d dealt with this threat.

“This is Liana, my mate,” Timothy then said, unable to hold back a wide grin as happiness welled up inside him once more.

Let them tease him for being the last to find his mate. None of that mattered, now that he’d found Liana.

Or perhaps, they could gang up on the griffin together, who wasn’t really a member of the council—but still, he was the last unmated shifter in Sky Home now.

With the exception of the chimera, of course—but then, cursed Gareth would never have a mate.

“Liana, this is Gregory, the storm dragon, and his mate Naomi. And this is Damon, dragon of the earth, and his mate Autumn.”

“I’m so glad we finally get to meet you,” Naomi said brightly. She was quite visibly pregnant now. An infectious smile spread over her face as she shook Liana’s hand. “I’m sorry our little get together didn’t work out. We were all worried for you. But now that you’ve safely made it back, you must be tired.”

“We’ve prepared a room for you,” Autumn added, “or, well, tried to help Ginny, as much as she’d let us.”

“Which wasn’t much,” Naomi said dryly.

“But there’s food in the kitchen. You must be starving, both of you.”

As if on command, Timothy’s stomach rumbled. It had been a long, long time since breakfast.

“Dragon of water, come forward,” the voice of the chimera boomed from the shadows. “Let me hear what has come to pass.”

So much for food...

With an apologetic smile to his friends, Timothy walked towards the end of the cave, where shadows gathered. Liana’s hand was still in his.

“Fire dragons attacked us. You’ve probably heard all about it already,” Timothy said. “But what is important is that there was one among them who was different. He was more powerful than any fire dragon I’ve encountered before.”

“How different?” the chimera asked thoughtfully.

“He was a creature of fire and smoke. Of shadows.” Timothy hesitated, then touched his chest. “When he attacked, he effortlessly penetrated a shield of water. Fire shouldn’t have been able to do that. But it was fire wrapped in darkness.”

“And the darkness wounded him,” Liana added softly. “I saw it spread across his chest. Like tendrils of shadow.”

“Shadow and smoke,” the chimera’s voice grumbled. “That is familiar.”

“I felt the same sense of shadows and smoke when they attacked Sky Home,” Damon said. “The stone should have told me what was going on—but they were wrapped in shadow, and even I couldn’t see them.”

“Our suspicion was correct,” Timothy said. His eyes went to the mysterious fourth plinth bearing the symbol of fire, which had mysteriously appeared in the council chamber after the fire dragons had attacked Sky Home. “There is a great new threat. A master of fire. And his power is great enough to interfere with our own.”

The chimera roared.

“It is as we feared,” he growled. “We need to deal with this threat. The world is in greater danger than ever before. They are no longer content to hide—and if there is a master of fire among them, the first for as long as this council has existed, then we need to eliminate this threat. Imagine the destruction he could cause if he were to attack a city of humans...”

“I’m stronger now than I was before,” Timothy said. “I have found my mate. Whatever he did to me—he won’t break through my defenses again that easily.”

“All three of you are mated,” the chimera said thoughtfully. “Three alpha dragons, master over air, earth and water. Three human mates. Such a thing has never happened before, either. I wonder...”

The chimera’s voice trailed off. Again shadows flickered. Timothy saw a serpent’s tail swing back and forth, and then a goat’s head appeared for a split second, before that shadow flickered and morphed into that of a lion.

“Leave me,” the voice boomed. “I need to consult my books.”

Just like that, the shadows vanished abruptly, the end of the cave filled with impenetrable darkness now.

“That was all?” Liana asked after a moment.

Timothy shrugged. “I was sure he’d want to talk to you...”

“Can’t say I’m sorry I missed that opportunity.” She grinned at him, although there was a hint of insecurity in it.

“He’s really not as scary as he likes to pretend,” Timothy said. “Anyway, I bet he’ll go through old prophecies, and tomorrow he’ll call for a council meeting and it turns out we’ll have to find a cursed ring or something.”

“If he wants to send you guys to Mordor, I’m coming along,” Liana said firmly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that fire dragon has a lair in a volcano,” Timothy muttered. “And I’m not flying you into a volcano.”

“Let’s not worry about volcanoes just now.” Naomi’s resolute voice broke through their argument. “You guys need food. I know I’m hungry, at least. I’m eating for two now, remember? And I want some company.”

“Yes. Let’s all have dinner together,” Liana said, smiling at the pregnant woman.

With the attack and the scary chimera, she’d almost forgotten how much she’d looked forward to meeting the other dragon shifters’ human mates. There were so many things she wanted to know.

“We nearly forgot,” Damon said once they were all settled down around the huge kitchen table. “Congratulations on your mating!”

He raised his wine glass, and everyone else followed suit, Naomi raising a glass of Ginny’s homemade lemonade instead.

“It was about time,” Gregory said, grinning at Timothy. “How does it feel to finally be a responsible adult?”

“Hey, I’ve always been responsible,” Timothy said, crossing his arms in consternation. Then the same simple, overwhelming happiness welled up in him once more as he turned to Liana. The mate bond between them pulsed with warmth.

“It feels great,” he added softly, taking her hand. “Perfect. Like finally coming home at the end of a long journey.”

Liana returned his smile, her eyes shining with happiness.

From across the table, Ginny, who’d been quiet so far, raised her own glass.

“Congratulations,” she said softly. “I’m so happy for all of you. Sky Home feels like a real home now, with all of you here.”

“Do you live here?” Liana asked curiously.

Ginny shrugged. “I was only supposed to help out for a few weeks. I live in Mountain View, Gregory’s town. But with the recent attack, the chimera’s old caretaker is afraid to return right now—and someone needs to be here to take care of things.”

“Is it just you and him?” Liana frowned. “I’d be bored.”

“It’s a lot better since Autumn helped me to convince him to get satellite internet up here.” Ginny laughed softly. “I can finally watch my shows again. Just imagine, last week he was asking me what I was watching, and I think I’ve got him hooked on Game of Thrones now.”

Liana giggled helplessly, and Timothy couldn’t bite back an amused snort of his own.

“Really? I can’t imagine him watching that...”

“Oh, he’s not watching it.” Ginny grinned. “Every day, he asks me about the latest episode I’ve watched, and then he rants about everything they’ve got wrong about dragons. I think he’s quite enjoying that, actually. I’ve been thinking about getting him the audio books.”

Gregory leaned back, wrapping his arm around his pregnant mate. “I feel that’s the most contact to another person he’s had in ages. It was a good idea to get some internet up here—and not just because we can finally keep in contact by email now.”

“Braeden definitely profited from binging on Netflix,” Ginny said, then suddenly fell silent and swallowed. She turned towards Damon. “No news of him yet?”

Damon silently shook his head.

Timothy suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen the griffin shifter since they’d arrived in Sky Home.

“Where’s Jared?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” Damon reassured him. “But I think he blames himself for losing Braeden. It wasn’t his fault—what’s a single griffin to do against twenty fire dragons? But he immediately went back out to patrol the area. I think he’s hoping to pick up a trace of where the dragons might have taken Braeden.”

“Well, where would they take him?” Timothy forced himself to ignore the lingering sense of worry for their fire dragon. “I bet they’re happy to have him back. He’s probably telling them all our secrets right now, all safe in their secret lair.”

“No,” Autumn said firmly. “I can’t believe that. They wanted to kill him. I was there when they broke into his cell, remember? They were definitely out to get him.”

“What if that was all part of their plan?” Timothy said. “What if they just wanted to make us believe that he was on our side, so that we’d trust him and he could find out our weaknesses?”

Autumn shrugged. “We won’t know until we find him again. But I was there. He saved my life. No matter what you say—I trust him. He’s changed. He doesn’t want any humans to come to harm.”

“If we find him again,” Timothy said darkly. “I don’t like the thought of Jared all alone out there.”

“He’ll be fine,” Damon said. “Given the pattern of their attacks, they were going after the three of us—trying to keep us from finding our mates. Because they knew how dangerous we’d be to them once we’d be able to access our full power.”

“They didn’t succeed.” Liana leaned into Timothy’s embrace. “But they nearly killed Timothy. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“It didn’t feel like fire—at least not like the fire they used before,” Timothy said quietly. “It felt—tainted, somehow. Dark.”

“Who knows what they got up to in those centuries they spent in the darkness.” Damon gave Timothy a thoughtful look. “I felt that same sensation when they attacked Sky Home. I didn’t question it at the time, because I only thought about saving Autumn. But you’re right—it felt as if their power was tainted by darkness.”

“Maybe that’s what happens when there’s finally a master of fire,” Gregory said. “Either way, it doesn’t matter where it comes from. We’ll have to deal with it before they can wreak destruction all over the world.”

“And I’m sure the chimera will come up with a plan for you,” Naomi said firmly. “But for now, I believe we should let these two rest. And who knows, maybe Jared will return during the night.”

“It was great to meet you at last,” Liana said when they got up.

Timothy stretched when he got up. “Let’s have breakfast together tomorrow.”

Even though his right wrist was completely healed and he’d regained his full power, it had been a long and exhausting day. And as beautiful as their secret cave behind the waterfall had been, he was looking forward to a full night’s rest with his gorgeous new mate in his arms.

Tomorrow they’d start worrying about the fire dragons again. Tomorrow, the chimera would probably come up with some dire, ancient prophecy that would mean more hard work for them all.

But today, all he wanted was to rest with Liana in his arms and listen to the soft sound of her breathing—knowing that she was finally his, and that nothing and no one could come between them ever again.