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Jaren’s lips twitched. “Maybe a little.”

He, of course, still managed to look as perfect as always, even dripping a river’s worth of water. It was painfully unfair, she thought, scrunching her nose at him.

Jaren chuckled and reached for her, the intent in his eyes saying he couldn’t care less how wet they both were, or even that they’d finallyreached their destination. She knew they should be looking for the ring, but with the storm raging outside, they wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. They had time. They could take this moment to enjoy each other, they could —

Kiva’s thoughts halted when she saw the blood on his hand.

“What happened?” she asked, taking his palm in hers and moving closer to the cave entrance, seeking the light so she could inspect the wound.

“It’s nothing,” Jaren said. “The edge of the crevice was sharp, that’s all.”

Kiva thought back to how he’d helped pull himself up — he’d been hurt the whole time since then, and she hadn’t noticed.

She looked at him now, having to make another decision. This one should have been easier, given everything they’d just gone through, and the declarations they’d made to each other. But nerves still tumbled in her stomach as she held his eyes and summoned her magic, the golden glow appearing instantly, lighting the cave and flowing softly from her into him.

Kiva wanted to look away, afraid of what she might see in his expression. It was irrational; he knew she had healing magic — he’d watched her practice it for weeks. He’dhelpedher practice it. But using it on him, for the first time since the night she’d saved his life... It was irrevocable proof of who she was.

A Corentine.

His once sworn enemy, turned traitor to her own bloodline.

She had no idea how he would react, whether he would suddenly realize what she had feared for so long: that there was no hope for them, the challenges against them too great.

But that wasn’t what happened.

Instead, Jaren cupped her face with his free hand, her golden glowlike a halo surrounding them both as he whispered a single word: “Beautiful.”

Kiva closed her eyes and swayed toward him, unable to bear up under the weight of her emotions. She felt his lips press against her forehead, a gentle, tender brush, just as she sensed her magic fading, his wound now fully healed. Only then did she open her eyes, seeing the affection shining clear in his expression.

“So beautiful,” he murmured again. But this time, there was no golden light. He wasn’t talking about her magic now — he was talking abouther.

His face softened as he saw the realization hit her, as he watched something settle deep within her, the final broken pieces of her sealing back together, healed by a different kind of magic that could only come from him. A quiet sigh left her and she leaned forward, tucking her face into his neck and just holding him as the storm continued outside, neither of them needing more than that, the simple, heartfelt embrace comforting them both after so long apart.

They didn’t move for a long time — long enough for the thunder to fade and the rain to ease, even if it was still falling too heavily for them to risk the descent just yet.

But regardless, Kiva eventually made herself pull away and say, “We should probably look for the ring.”

Jaren exhaled and nodded his agreement, loosening his hold but staying close as they turned and squinted into the darkness of the cave, moving forward together.

“I don’t suppose you noticed any luminium torches in our packs?” Kiva asked, the light vanishing the further they moved from the entrance.

“None that I saw,” Jaren answered. Dryly, he added, “Wouldn’t it be great if one of us had magic that glowed?”

Kiva flushed and immediately summoned her power again, ignoring Jaren’s quiet laugh as she held out her palm, illuminating the space around them.

The cave wasn’t deep; if not for the storm, they wouldn’t have needed help from her magic, but it kept them from tripping over the uneven ground as they headed toward the back wall. There they found a hollow carved into the rock, at the center of which was Sarana’s earth ring resting at stomach-height, the emerald glinting as Kiva’s glow reached it.

Her skin prickled when she noticed an unnatural bluish light contained within the hollow, reminding her about the ancient Mystican who had spelled it safe. Navok never would have been able to steal this ring, Kiva realized, not without a Vallentis and a Corentine together. But that didn’t matter. She still knew it was best for them to have all four in their possession. And now that Kiva and Jaren were back to being...Kiva and Jaren... nothing had changed about her wanting to return his magic. That was still her priority, even if it was no longer needed for his forgiveness.

“Do we just... grab it?” Kiva asked, eyeing the blue light with trepidation.

Jaren took her hand in his. “Only one way to find out.”

Together, they moved their arms forward, their fingers passing into the hollow without resistance, allowing them to collect the ring and pull it back out again.

Kiva shifted nervously, waiting for a sign that what they’d done would leave them trapped or cursed or something equally troubling. But nothing happened.

“That was easy,” Jaren noted, sounding as relieved as she felt.