The village was quiet.
Not like the city—no noisy merchants, no staring guards, no whispering townsfolk huddled in corners. Just wooden houses, a crooked fence, and a humble inn with flickering lanterns that barely lit the path.
Perfect.
We paid in silence. The innkeeper didn't ask questions, thankfully. Maybe he was used to strange travelers. Or maybe Vera's presence—fiery, divine, undeniably dangerous—kept his curiosity sealed behind his lips.
The room was small. A bed. A window. A washbasin. Nothing else.
But it was safe.
I was unpacking the supplies we'd salvaged, laying them out in some semblance of order when I felt it—that heat behind me. The weight of her gaze. I didn't need to turn around.
"I know you're staring," I muttered, voice low.
There was a pause, then a soft chuckle. "You make it sound like I shouldn't."
"I didn't say that," I said quickly, still not facing her.
She rose from her seat by the window, bare feet silent against the wooden floor.
"Then don't act so shy," she whispered.
Before I could move, she was there—pressing close, hands on my chest, her body impossibly warm.
She pushed me gently, and I let her. The bed creaked as I landed on my back, her weight following instantly as she straddled me, thighs sliding along my hips.
"You belong to me now, Auno," she said, her voice a promise wrapped in flame.
She kissed me—soft at first, then deeper. Her lips burned with need. And I didn't resist. Not anymore.
My hands found her waist, then her back, then lower—gripping the curves that no mortal man should've dared touch. But I wasn't just anyone. I was hers. And she was mine.
She gasped into my mouth, but didn't stop me. Her fingers explored in return, tugging at my shirt, tracing the lines of my chest like she'd waited lifetimes to do so.
Clothes melted away between us. Literally—hers vanished in soft licks of fire, leaving only golden skin, flawless and hot to the touch. Her chest pressed against mine, her breath hot on my ear.
And then… she rose just enough for me to see her fully.
Curves that defied logic. Breasts that looked far too perfect to be real. Too large for my hands. Too close to my face.
And still, I stared.
She smiled. "You look overwhelmed."
"Underprepared," I admitted.
She leaned down again. "Then let me teach you."
---
We didn't sleep that night.
We moved together like flame and air—twisting, curling, devouring.
Every kiss, every moan, every whispered word in my ear burned deeper into my soul than I ever thought possible. She wasn't just powerful. She wasn't just divine.
She was mine.
And the night… belonged to us.
But as our bodies collided, something strange began to happen.
It started in my chest—a deep, aching thrum like my heart was being tuned to a rhythm not entirely my own. Then it spread. Heat surged through my veins, too hot to be natural, yet it didn't burn. It coursed through me in waves, pulsing with every movement, every breath we shared.
She gasped as I held her tighter, and I realized I wasn't just taking in her warmth—I was absorbing it.
Power.
Raw, untamed, ancient.
Like the breath of a dragon forged in the heart of a star.
The fire of her essence seeped into me, flooding me from the inside out. My fingers twitched as sparks danced across my skin, and for a terrifying moment, I thought I might burst.
But instead… I grew stronger.
Every second with her—every touch, every grind of our bodies, every cry that left her lips—was feeding me. Charging me. As if the bond between us wasn't just emotional, or physical, but elemental.
I could feel her—her need, her magic, her overwhelming presence—sinking into my bones like heat soaking into steel.
She arched beneath me, nails raking my back, and whispered something in a language I didn't know. And yet I understood.
You are mine. I am yours. We are fire.
The room felt like it had vanished. There was only us—suspended in flame and sweat and breathless devotion.
Until there was nothing left to give. Nothing left to take.
Only the sound of our hearts beating in perfect sync. Only the scent of smoke and skin. Only her… curled against me like a goddess who had waited five thousand years to burn.
And now, she finally had.
---