They didn’t make it back to Wing Island until the next day. Everyone was still exhausted from the confrontation with the fire dragons, and so they made use of the guest rooms in Sky Home instead.

Liana slept for almost ten hours, nestled against Timothy. When they finally got up again, everyone else was getting ready to leave as well.

During their entire flight back to Wing Island, Liana felt anxious about the fire dragon’s mission. Now that she’d seen just what Steele was capable of, she didn’t like the thought of Braeden flying into danger.

Still, the chimera was right: someone needed to stop him. And as much as she didn’t want to see her new friend in danger, right now she was also relieved that it meant that she’d have Timothy to herself for a while.

So much had happened during such a short time that she was more than ready to collapse on the beach and nap in the sun for an entire week.

Only my boss won’t like that...

“Everything okay?” Timothy asked, pouring her coffee before she’d even asked.

She drank gratefully, then shook her head.

“Just not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, that’s all.”

She’d told her boss there’d been a family emergency. He’d reluctantly granted her three further days off—no more than that. But those were almost over. And Liana knew that he expected her to make up for it with lots of overtime during the next week.

Ugh. He’s pushing for that stupid update which no one wants. People keep complaining and quitting the game. No one’s going to invest fifty dollars into getting a virtual dragon.

She gave Timothy a small smile. “It all seems quite silly now. Virtual dragons, when I know what the real deal looks like. I shouldn’t care that our new policies are dragging the game down. But it used to be a game I loved working on...”

“No one likes seeing things change for the worse,” Timothy said.

He rummaged in a drawer until he found two bowls, and then got a tub of ice cream out of the freezer.

“What would you do if it was your game? You’ve worked on it for quite a while. You must have thought about what changes you’d make.”

“Go back to our beginnings,” Liana said promptly.

She reached out for a small basket of strawberries, then began to wash and cut them.

“In the beginning, it was a game where everyone could succeed. All players could collect all of our dragons if they were willing to invest some time into it—and obviously you could also take a shortcut by throwing us some dollars. Because we like getting paid for our work.”

She shot Timothy a quick grin. “I suppose that approach is not very businesslike, and not how you become a billionaire CEO. But people loved our game. It was a really tight-knit community. You should have seen our players talk in our forums. Everyone was having fun with it, because it was—well, fair.”

“And now it’s not fair anymore?”

Liana shook her head. “I know it’s a business. But still... It feels wrong. Like all our new company overlords care about is money, money, money. And they don’t realize that our players aren’t stupid. I’ve stopped playing my fair share of games when I could feel it losing the magic and turning into just another rip-off. That’s how you kill a game.”

Timothy put the tub of ice cream back into the freezer, and Liana divided her strawberries among the two bowls.

“I’m not an expert when it comes to the gaming industry,” he finally said when he turned back to her. “But I’ve seen that sort of thing before, many times. You buy a small company that’s doing well. Not great, perhaps—but well. And then you start squeezing money out of it. Brutally. There are protests, of course—but the new CEOs don’t care. Because they don’t care about the company and its customers. They just want a year or two of the highest possible profits. Then, when the market is squeezed dry and the company is falling apart, they just drop it. Because there are always new companies to take over for them.”

“Or new games,” Liana said softly.

She swallowed, suddenly feeling unbearably sad when she thought of her virtual ocean dragon.

Of course it was just a game—but it was a game that contained years of memories. She’d made friends in it. It had been her first real job as a coder on an actual game.

And to see it all crash and burn just because someone didn’t care about their game, but just about the highest possible profit...

“Well, I guess there’s nothing to be done now,” she said sadly. “Our players are seeing the writing on the wall. I don’t give it more than two years. I guess it’s as good a reason as any to start using my free time to work on my own code. If I can’t rescue my dragon game, at least I can start working on my own game. I’ve been putting it off for way too long, because there was always something else coming up.”

Timothy took hold of their bowls of ice cream. Together, they went out to the sun-lit deck that stretched right across the water of the ocean.

Liana sighed with pleasure when she got her first taste of ice cream. It was the real deal—a tub of vanilla ice cream from a shop near Chameleon Coffee, where a hipster cat shifter with bristling whiskers prepared fresh, handmade ice cream in five different flavors every day.

There were dark spots of real vanilla beans in it. The ice cream melted luxuriously on her tongue, rich with real cream from a nearby farm on the mainland.

She smiled as she watched Timothy enjoy his own dessert. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she feared if the game went under.

In the end, it was just a game, just a job.

And she could make new memories with her new life. Find new friends. Get attached to real dragons instead of virtual ones.

Although she couldn’t imagine that the real dragons she knew would let her dress them up with all sorts of crowns and armor and ribbons of silk...

She giggled softly at the thought.

Timothy had pulled out his phone and was hastily typing away at an email, but now he looked up.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, his eyes suspiciously narrowed.

“Oh, nothing,” Liana said innocently.

Then, before Timothy could get her to confess her terrible mental image, she jumped up and grinned at Timothy.

“First one in the water gets to finish the tub tonight!”

She’d made it to the stairs leading into the water before Timothy’d even gotten up.

The water was empty for as far as she could see.

With a teasing grin at Timothy, she pulled off her shirt and the white skirt she’d worn—and then wiggled out of her underwear.

Timothy froze in place, his eyes going wide and dark. Through the pulsating mate bond, she could feel the sudden heat of his desire. The sensation was overwhelming. Even now that they were mated, it made her feel breathless, her chest tight with need for his touch.

Instead, she went down the stairs until she stood in the water.

“I win,” she called out softly, her heart pounding in her chest when Timothy came after her at last.

“No. I win,” he said huskily as he stared at her, and then he stripped as well.

He didn’t even bother with the wooden stairs. He plunged straight into the water, splashing her.

Liana laughed as she brushed her now-wet braids out of her face. And then she joined Timothy in the water

Breathless and flushed with need, she let the ocean carry her for a moment. The water was clear and calm. There were no waves, the surface reflecting the sky like a mirror.

Then Timothy reached out for her hand. Together, they dived.

It had shocked her the first time she’d tried it. She could stay underwater for a long time now—but as an average human who’d never been a particularly great swimmer, the human part of her was still scared of drowning.

As the lady of the water, her body didn’t feel the need to breathe when she was in her ocean dragon’s element. Which was just what she’d once hoped for. It was an amazing power.

But it took a lot longer for her human brain to come to terms with it. The first time, as soon as she’d realized that she’d stayed underwater for way too long, instinct had kicked in and she’d hastily made her way back to the surface, gasping for air that she didn’t even need.

Little by little, she’d learned to relax and trust the water.

The last time, she’d played underwater with Timothy and a group of dolphins for what must have been at least twenty minutes.

And this time... Maybe this time, her human brain could fully relax into the embrace of the water. Because the ocean was glorious.

She was swimming next to Timothy, easily making her way out into the ocean by his side. Beneath them, the ground gently sloped downward, but the water was so clear they could see all the way to the bottom.

Every now and then, a swarm of fishes appeared, but they paid them no heed.

There was still the sizzle of need between them. Even the ocean water couldn’t cool that. Even underwater, she could feel the heat of his gaze on her, something inside her tight with want for him.

Perhaps, once they made their way back up, Timothy would find them another convenient sandbank...

Below them, the bottom of the ocean suddenly dropped away sharply. The water there looked much darker—the trench was so deep that they couldn’t see the bottom.

Timothy headed straight towards it. And after a moment, Liana could feel what had pulled him there.

The ocean was singing to them in a low, deep melody. Single notes of indescribable beauty pulled them forward.

The ocean wanted them to come explore. And even though she still hadn’t quite overcome her fear, Liana hesitated only for a moment before she followed.

She could feel the ocean’s love for them. It wanted them to admire its treasures.

She’d be perfectly safe in the embrace of the water. Even without Timothy, because she was now the lady of the water. It was her element, too.

And perhaps now the time had come to prove that she trusted the ocean, no matter what.

They swam downward for a long time.

At first, Liana wished that they’d brought some kind of waterproof flashlight, but after a while, their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Or perhaps it was just the ocean gently helping them, because she now thought that she saw a faint blue light illuminating the darkness before them.

It grew brighter the deeper they swam.

There were more fishes now—strange creatures she hadn’t encountered before. But even though once, she would have been scared of them, something inside her knew that these were her friends. They were all a part of the ocean, and nothing of the ocean could ever harm her or Timothy.

She waved at a shark, who ignored her, and then barely kept from colliding with a toothy fish with bulbous eyes.

The fish stared at her for a long moment with obvious disgust for the clumsy land creature who had invaded its realm of quiet darkness. Then it turned around, speeding off as if it was afraid that she’d crash into it again.

Liana laughed silently. Perhaps not every fish was her friend, but that was okay. She was just a visitor to their realm, after all. And the dolphins she’d met last week had been happy enough with their company.

Out of the eerie glow beneath them, she could now see a strange outline appear.

At first she thought that they were swimming towards a strange rock formation. Then, when they came closer, she saw that it was not a rock, but a sunken ship.

An old ship—from an age when ships were made of wood instead of steel, with tall masts and sails.

This ship’s sails were long gone. If it had once had a name, it was now covered by a thick layer of corals and shells.

The one remaining mast was broken—perhaps that was what had sunk the ship in a storm centuries ago.

Cautiously, they swam closer.

They could now see that the light came from the ship. Even though there shouldn’t have been any light down here, Liana was able to see the ship clearly. There was a large hole in its side—and from the hole, more light pulsed.

She could hear the sweet notes of the ocean again, calling out to her and Timothy.

For a moment they hovered in the water outside the hole. Timothy looked at her, and through the mate bond she could feel his question.

Instead of an answer, she reached out for his hand and pressed it in encouragement. And then, hand in hand, they swam inside.

Slowly, they made their way past several rooms that had been taken over by the ocean.

Every now and then, they found a sign of the people who’d foundered with the ship long ago: a mirror here, a silver hairbrush there. Once, they saw a sword dangling from a nail, and Liana’s eyes widened as she imagined herself exploring a pirate ship.

And in fact, that was exactly what the ship seemed to be.

Several minutes later, they reached the largest cabin they’d found so far.

It had to be the cabin of a pirate captain, Liana thought in awe—for there, in a heavy chest at the end of a collapsed bed, an incredible treasure of golden coins and jewels was gleaming.

Her heart pounding, Liana rested her hand against the wood of the chest. Perhaps, centuries ago, a pirate captain had stood where she stood right now.

What sort of battles had this ship seen? What sort of romances and desperate fights?

All of it was forgotten now. The ship and its treasure were all that remained, carefully conserved by the ocean.

And perhaps it had been conserved for them. Perhaps that was why the ocean had called out to them—because it had a gift for them.

Liana stared at the jewels.

There was a tiara decorated with sapphires. Wouldn’t that be exactly what the lady of the sea would wear? It would be a gift from the ocean, too. And even though she’d seen Timothy’s hoard, and he’d decorated her with diamonds and sapphires and chains of gold, this would be even more precious.

This would come from the ocean. And it would be something they’d found together.

Liana had just begun to reach out for the tiara when she heard the notes of the ocean’s song change.

She couldn’t even say what made her hesitate. She could feel that the ocean wouldn’t mind if they claimed its treasure.

Still—there was something else still calling out for her in its song. A gentle promise, a note that was so low and sweet that she hadn’t even been aware of it until they reached the captain’s cabin.

Something inside her knew that the note would fade away as soon as she took hold of the tiara.

But why wouldn’t she take the treasure? She was the lady of the sea, and her mate was the ocean dragon. She had a right to it.

Still, she couldn’t stop feeling a sudden yearning inside her. A need to keep exploring—even if it meant that the treasure would be forever out of her reach.

A moment later, she turned away. After all, what worth had a pirate’s treasure when she’d already found the most precious thing that life could offer?

Timothy was frowning at her, as though he couldn’t understand what was going on. A moment later, understanding dawned on his face.

He was hearing the same thing she’d heard now.

She held out her hand again, and without hesitation he took hold of it. Together, they turned away from the treasure, searching for a new adventure.

The soft melody and the eerie light drew them almost to the end of the ship. The cabins were less luxurious here—perhaps this was where the ordinary sailors had slept.

At last, they came to a small door at the end of a corridor. There was no name on the door, but light seemed to gently pulse from the keyhole.

It wasn’t locked. When they pushed it open, they saw that the mysterious room must have once been a simple storage room, not much larger than a cupboard.

But there, on an old, wooden box, rested the largest oyster Liana had ever seen in her life.

As they watched in awe, the light intensified, and then the shell slowly began to open.

Little by little, it revealed its treasure to them: a pearl of perfect white, shimmering in the blue light that seemed to pulsate around the oyster.

The pearl was as large as a hazelnut and without a single fault.

Liana swallowed as she looked at it, tears welling up in her eyes, which were immediately carried away by the salty ocean water.

This was the true gift of the ocean to her.

This was a treasure meant for the lady of the water.

As she reached out for it with trembling fingers, the ocean’s song swelled all around them, the notes jubilant.

Timothy’s eyes were shining, too. He pulled her against his body, and then he kissed her, his lips hot after the coolness of the water.

Liana held the pearl tightly against her chest as she parted her lips for his.

And then, there was the sensation of a gentle current when before, the water had been calm. As they held on to each other, they were carefully carried back out into the corridor, past the sunken rooms they'd explored earlier.

Then they were sucked out of another hole in the ship’s hull. The pearl kept pulsing in Liana’s hand, the ocean’s song now like a soft caress, wrapping around them both.

Gently, the current began to carry them away from the ship. They were rising again, lifted upward towards the light by the water itself.

And when they finally broke through the surface, clutching at each other and laughing with disbelieving joy at the ocean’s gift, they found that the water had carried them back to the sandbank Timothy had shown her before.

“Look at it,” Liana said breathlessly as they collapsed together on the beach.

The sand was warm beneath her skin, the sun strong enough that she didn’t feel any cold.

She held out her hand, slowly opening her fingers. And there, in the center of her palm, the pearl was gleaming, flawless and beautiful and huge.

“I didn’t even know pearls could grow that large.”

“It must have grown down there for centuries,” Timothy murmured, awed. “A secret treasure of the ocean—hidden behind another treasure.”

“The water wanted me to have it.” Liana couldn’t stop smiling. She’d never felt happier.

For the first time in her life, she felt fully accepted. She felt at home. The ocean had accepted her as the ocean dragon’s mate—and it had given her an incredible gift to celebrate their mating.

“You deserve it.” Timothy’s eyes were the dark blue of the depths of water they’d crossed together.

There was a heat in his gaze Liana knew all too well. It made an answering heat rise in her own body.

All of a sudden, she became aware of the press of his naked, wet body against her own—and of the way she could feel his arousal pushing hard and heavy against her thigh.

She reached out to rest a hand against his chest. His skin was hot. Against her fingers, she could feel the rapid beating of his heart.

His eyes were still gleaming with the blue light of the ocean, but at her touch, they darkened further. She could feel his own need for her through the bond. Even though they were mated now, her desire for him hadn’t changed.

If anything, it had increased, now that she knew how overwhelming it was to be fully joined with him, their bodies entwined as their souls already were.

His hands rose to her shoulders, and then she felt his mouth on hers. At the same time as his tongue invaded her mouth, she felt herself gently pressed to the ground.

With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn’t want to ever let go of him again.

His hands on her skin felt unbearably good as they traced a path from her shoulder down to her wrists. She could feel herself breaking out in goosebumps, every nerve in her body suddenly so sensitive that the slightest touch sent little pinpricks of pleasure through her.

She made a sound of disappointment when Timothy broke the kiss—but it was only so that he could press kiss after kiss to her throat, along her collarbone, down into the hollow between her breasts.

Her nipples were already stiff and aching before his mouth sought them out. As soon as he swirled the tip of his tongue around a nipple, she gasped and arched against him. It felt like electricity sizzling through her, a current of heat that raced straight from where his tongue touched her to her clit.

She could feel wetness trickling from her folds. Her body was ready for him—and his was more than ready for hers, still hard as a rock against her thigh.

But instead of hurrying up to claim her, Timothy went even slower, as if he was actually intending to drive her insane this time.

He kissed his way further down her body, her clit throbbing in aching anticipation while she buried her fingers into the warm sand, desperate for something to hold on to.

And then his fingers spread her wet folds open, and his tongue began to slowly explore her.

She arched against him, trembling at every slow, careful swipe of his tongue. Through the bond, she could feel how much he loved her reaction to him.

Even if she’d wanted to hold back, it would have been impossible. As gentle as his mouth was, every touch was demanding, his tongue circling her and dipping inside her until she thought that she’d really go insane from need this time.

And then, at last, he showed some mercy. He’d driven her so far that she felt as if she was walking on a tightrope, barely able to hold herself together under the onslaught of pleasure. At the first, teasing lick of his tongue over her clit, she could feel herself falling.

Pleasure rushed up to meet her. It raced through her entire body as she trembled and cried out from the force of the sudden climax.

And while she was still trembling through her orgasm, his tongue kept circling her clit, teasing and demanding until she felt herself coming again and again, her body writhing helplessly beneath him.

When he finally released her she felt utterly exhausted. She was still shivering with pleasure, her clit swollen and so sensitive that the smallest touch would set her off again. But she didn’t want his tongue. She wanted more. She wanted to feel him inside her—and she wanted to feel him find his own pleasure, with her, inside her.

He groaned when his hard shaft pressed against her folds. She could feel the way his powerful muscles contracted.

In encouragement, she ran his hands over his shoulders, pulling him against her—and then, at last, he finally pushed inside.

Liana cried out at the sensation. She was so sensitive now that even the feeling of him sliding inside was almost enough to set her off again.

But she wanted to come together with him. She wanted to feel his pleasure, and so she dug her fingers into his shoulders, moaning at each of his thrusts.

His skin slid against her own, still wet. He smelled like saltwater, a scent that was clean and wild and powerful, all mingled with the virile, warm musk of his desire.

Desperately, she pressed her mouth to his shoulder to muffle her moans. She could taste the salt on his skin. As she kept clutching at him, she felt his muscles contract every time he pushed into her.

He filled her perfectly, her inner walls clutching at him as if to keep him inside her forever. She could feel the pleasure building and building and building.

There was a faint ringing in her ears now, a haze of golden light surrounding them. Wherever their skin touched, the light grew more brilliant.

It was the mate bond—fully in place now, stronger than steel and diamonds. Through it, she could feel his overwhelming love and desire.

Again he pushed into her, and she wrapped one thigh around his hip as she arched desperately, wanting, needing him even deeper. Again he thrust, and again. Every thrust sent almost painful sparks of pleasure through her, every nerve in her body feeling raw from the repeated onslaught of pleasure.

And then the light grew so brilliant that she had to squeeze her eyes shut. At the same time, she could feel Timothy’s pleasure rise, the sensation sweeping through the bond like the first gust of wind moments before a storm breaks lose.

She gave herself up to it, crying out as she was swept away. Her entire body tightened as pleasure pulsed through her. She couldn’t even say whether the pleasure she felt was her own or Timothy’s—and it no longer mattered.

Through the bond, she could feel the intensity of his own climax, at the same time as she felt the heat of his release inside her. Breathless, overwhelmed, she dug her nails into his skin, crying out his name while the ocean lapped at their feet.

Again and again her body throbbed. Pleasure filled her to the tips of her toes and the roots of her hair, her entire body burning with a heat that seemed nearly unbearable while Timothy’s hips jerked against her as he groaned.

And then, at last, the storm subsided.

His lips were warm against her throat. He was still inside her, slowly softening while she ran her hands over his shoulders and his back, too exhausted to speak.

At last he slipped out of her and rolled to his side, and when he looked at her, there was a grin on his face.

“What are you looking so pleased about?” she demanded, although there was an answering grin on her face.

Who knew that sex could be so damn good. No wonder her sister had kept teasing her about her single status.

“Nothing. I’m just happy,” he said and reached out to playfully tap the tip of her nose with his finger. “And you?”

She giggled. “Do you have to ask?”

The bond was surrounding her with warmth and comfort. It was like resting in a pile of warm, fluffy towels just out of the dryer. Everything felt overwhelmingly good and perfect.

But of course, everything was not good and perfect.

Her friend Braeden had been sent off on a terribly dangerous mission to Mordor, or wherever it was the fire dragons were hiding. The game she’d invested so much time and energy into would probably sink under their new management in a year or two, and then she’d be without a job.

And as much fun as it was to be the lady of the water, she loved her job. Maybe not this particular job—but she’d always dreamed of working in the gaming industry. Making it through college and getting this job had been hard work. And she’d liked the feeling of making people happy.

“I’m just amused that I ended up with my own ocean dragon. Just when we released our virtual one.” She laughed as she ran her hand down Timothy’s chest.

There was definitely nothing virtual about him.

“Hmm. So how do I compare?”

Liana pretended to think. “I’m not sure how well you’d deal with getting dressed up by hordes of twelve-year-olds,” she said. “So that’s a strike against you.”

Timothy gave her look of mock outrage. “You mean I’m losing to a virtual dragon?”

“You’re pretty handy to have around,” Liana admitted. “Let’s see... You get a point for being useful for beach barbecues. And for bringing me coffee in bed. Oh! And getting a dragon lift into the city wins every time against any Uber driver.”

“Three to one for me,” Timothy said smugly. “I guess I can live with that.”

Liana pulled him close—close enough that she could brush her lips against his mouth and feel the immediate surge of desire as his hands came up to frame her face and he deepened the kiss.

“Plus ten points for being a damn good lover,” she said, laughing breathlessly when she managed to come up again for air. “Or twenty points. No—a hundred.”

“A hundred, huh?” He grinned at her with that intoxicating mix of pride and possessiveness. “In that case, I’d better show myself worthy of that rating some more...”