Page 12

Chapter Twelve

C allie

“You have shown progress in emotional honesty,” the Committee member announces during our morning check-in. “This merits a reward.”

My gaze meets Aries’ across our small breakfast table. This is the first mention of rewards rather than requirements or punishments in over two weeks of trials. Before either of us can ask, a small crystalline container materializes on the table between us.

Something inside emits a soft, pulsing glow.

“This is a shimmerling ,” the Committee member explains.

“A companion creature that responds to emotional energy. Its care will require cooperation and harmony between you. More importantly, it will serve as a barometer of your genuine connection—attempting to deceive us while caring for a shimmerling is impossible, as they reflect the truth of their caregivers’ bond. ”

The container dissolves, revealing what looks like a floating orb of light about the size of my palm. As we watch, it shifts from pale blue to a pastel yellow, then drifts closer to investigate us .

“It’s beautiful,” I breathe, enchanted by the way it seems to dance in the air. “But how do we…?”

“Care instructions will appear in your Manual. The shimmerling must be fed twice daily, with both partners participating. It requires specific environmental conditions for rest. Most importantly, it is highly sensitive to emotional discord.”

As if to demonstrate, the creature swoops closer to Aries, its glow deepening to rich gold as it bobs around his horns. A smile tugs at his lips—the most unguarded expression I’ve ever seen from him.

“Hey there, little one,” he murmurs. The shimmerling practically preens, trailing sparkles as it loops around his head.

Really? Little one? I’ve seen him in many moods, though truth be told, he’s usually granite-faced. But tender? I didn’t have that on my bingo card.

“Show off,” I mutter good-naturedly. The creature immediately zips over to investigate me, its color shifting to an undulating purple. When it nuzzles my cheek, the touch feels like sunlight and champagne bubbles.

“The shimmerling will help guide your progress,” the Committee member adds. “Its wellbeing reflects the harmony between you. We will return for evening meditation.”

After they vanish like a dream at dawn, we spend several minutes watching our new companion explore the cottage. It seems fascinated by everything, leaving trails of shifting color as it investigates corners and cupboards.

“According to the Manual,” Aries says, consulting the pages that have newly appeared, “feeding requires one person to provide sustenance while the other… sings to it?”

“Sings?” The word comes out as a squeak. “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket!”

The shimmerling swoops down to hover between us, its color rippling with what looks suspiciously like amusement.

“You hum constantly, which admittedly is usually a little off key, but I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Aries offers diplomatically.

“Oh really? Remember that traditional song we had to learn for the Blessed Peace Day several years back? The one where Captain Beast asked if someone was strangling a mronck while he looked pointedly at me?”

A startled laugh escapes him—deep and rich and devastating to my composure. The shimmerling spins in delighted circles, trailing sparkles.

“Fine then,” I say, fighting a smile. “ You can do the singing part.”

Working together, we manage to figure out the feeding process.

Aries’ voice is surprisingly good as he croons an old gladiator training song while I hold out the special nutrient solution.

The shimmerling darts through the liquid, absorbing it while performing elaborate aerial acrobatics to the music.

“Show off,” Aries’ tone is fond. The creature responds by shifting to a smug pink color and doing a backflip.

“It needs a name,” I realize. “We can’t just keep calling it ‘it’ or ‘the shimmerling .’”

“Any ideas?”

“What about… Spark? For Sparkle?” I ask. The creature immediately brightens, its glow intensifying. “I think it likes that.”

“Spark it is.” As Aries consults the Manual again, Spark performs delighted somersaults. “Looks like it needs both our energy signatures to rest properly. We have to… oh.”

“What?”

“We have to each touch one side while it’s in rest mode. It uses our combined energy to recharge.”

My pulse quickens. “But the rules about touching…”

“The Manual says as long as the shimmerling is between our hands, it counts as prescribed contact for its care.” His voice sounds carefully neutral, but I notice the slight flush creeping up the bronze skin of his neck.

Spark bounces between us as if to say “Yes, exactly!” Its color shifts to a warm rose gold that somehow feels… expectant.

“Should we try?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s been exploring for a while. Might be tired.”

Aries nods, and we position ourselves on either side of where Spark is hovering. Following the Manual’s instructions, we each extend a hand, palms facing each other with the shimmerling between them.

The moment Spark makes contact with both our hands, a gentle warmth spreads up my arm, but there’s something else—a tingling awareness that seems to connect directly to Aries through our shared contact with the creature.

The creature’s glow softens to a peaceful blue, and it seems to melt into a perfect sphere of light between our palms.

“This is…” Aries starts, his voice catching slightly as the sensation deepens. Our hands are so close I can feel the heat radiating from his skin, close enough that when he shifts slightly, the air between our palms seems to crackle with electricity.

“Intimate,” I finish quietly, unable to look away from how our hands frame Spark’s peaceful form. The energy flowing between us feels like more than just caring for our companion—it feels like we’re sharing something fundamental, something that makes my breath shallow and my heart race .

The energy flowing between us through the shimmerling feels intimate in a way that should probably be uncomfortable, but isn’t.

“I can feel your heartbeat,” Aries murmurs, wonder and something darker threading through his voice. “Through Spark, I can actually feel your pulse.”

My cheeks flush as I realize he’s right—there’s an echo of his life force pulsing through the connection, steady and strong and utterly masculine. “This can’t be what the Committee intended when they gave us a companion creature.” My voice is filled with awe.

“Can it not?” His golden eyes meet mine over Spark’s glowing form. “They said it responds to emotional energy. Maybe it’s showing us what we’re not allowed to acknowledge.”

We stand like that for several minutes, hands not quite touching but connected through our sleeping companion.

The intimacy of it is almost overwhelming—I can sense not just his physical presence but something deeper, the warmth of his affection, the careful control he maintains over stronger feelings.

When his thumb twitches, just barely, I feel the echo of that movement through our shared connection.

Every tiny shift sends awareness skittering across my skin. When he draws in a slightly deeper breath, I feel it through Spark’s form like a caress. When my own breathing quickens in response, I watch his pupils dilate as he senses the change through our link.

When Spark finally wakes, it shoots straight up toward the ceiling, trailing jubilant sparks of gold and pink. We step apart quickly, both a little flushed.

“That was interesting.” Aries clears his throat and tips his head, one horn tip catching the light. How is it that over the past five years, I’ve managed to ignore how startlingly handsome this male is ?

“Yes. Very interesting.” Moving to check the Manual again, I hope he can’t hear my racing heart. “Looks like we’ll need to do that twice a day.”

The thought of repeating that intimate connection makes my stomach flutter. Spark darts between us, its color shifting to the same rose gold from earlier.

“Are you… matchmaking?” I ask it incredulously. The creature manages to project an air of complete innocence while still glowing that telling color.

Aries’ startled laugh joins mine, and Spark spins in obvious delight at our shared amusement. For a moment, the usual tension between us eases into something warmer.

“You know,” he says thoughtfully, “I think we’ve been set up.”

“By the Committee?”

“Maybe. But definitely by this little troublemaker.” He gestures to Spark, who is now performing elaborate loop-de-loops while trailing what looks like crimson hearts. “Pretty sure this ‘reward’ is just another trial in disguise.”

“Probably,” I agree, watching Spark zoom around Aries’ horns again. “But at least it’s a cute one.”

The day develops a new rhythm with Spark’s presence. The creature seems to have appointed itself official tension-breaker, choosing perfectly timed moments to do something ridiculous whenever the atmosphere gets too heavy.

When I get frustrated trying to prepare lunch in the tiny kitchen, Spark creates the illusion of juggling by weaving light patterns around the floating utensils until I laugh.

When Aries tenses during afternoon meditation, it drapes itself across his horns like a glowing scarf until his shoulders relax .

“You’re shameless,” I tell it after a particularly dramatic performance involving the Manual’s pages. “Absolutely shameless.”

Spark just preens, then rockets over to where Aries is reading and drops into his lap like a contented cat. Its glow shifts to a deep, peaceful blue.

“Traitor,” I mutter. “I feed you and this is the thanks I get?”

The shimmerling lifts just enough to stick out what might be a tongue made of light, then settles back into its chosen spot. Aries’ lips twitch as he pretends to keep reading and tries not to act smug.

“Don’t encourage it,” I warn him. “It’s already developing an attitude.”

“Wonder where it gets that from,” he murmurs, and Spark’s delighted color change suggests it knows exactly who he means.

By evening, our new companion has thoroughly wrapped us both around its luminescent little appendages. The second feeding/singing session goes more smoothly than the first, and the energy exchange during rest time feels less awkward.

Still dangerous, still intimate, but… natural somehow. Like maybe we needed this small being to help us navigate the space between careful distance and necessary connection.

As Spark drifts off to sleep between our palms, its peaceful glow reflecting in Aries’ eyes, I realize something has shifted. The cottage feels warmer, more like a home than a testing ground.

Maybe the Committee knew exactly what they were doing with this particular “reward.”

And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.