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Thirty-Two

S he lay still in the cradle of his arms, limbs entwined with his, the silken sheets cool against her damp skin. The shell-like bed curved protectively around them, an enclosure of shimmering aquamarine that glowed faintly in the dim light of the sanctum. Outside the curved glass, the stars hung suspended in the velvet night, twin moons casting their pale silver glow.

Karian didn’t move. His chest rose and fell slowly, rhythmically. Asleep? She couldn’t be sure.

Majarin physiology remained a mystery to her, even now—especially now. But his hold around her, with his strong arms and ever-present, coiled tentacles, felt natural. Instinctive. As if some part of him refused to let her go even in unconsciousness.

She didn't mind. Not at all.

Her cheek rested against the warmth of his chest. The fading glow of the intricate blue markings still shimmered faintly beneath her fingers, beautiful and strange. They pulsed with life, delicate and hypnotic, like constellations etched into his skin.

He was magnificent.

She couldn't deny it.

Powerful. Fearsome. Alien.

And yet, in this moment, lying against him, she felt something she hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever.

Safe.

No one could hurt her here—not with Karian wrapped around her like a living shield. Not when she’d seen what he could do. Not when she knew what he was.

The Marak.

One of seven.

Ruler of this vast, incomprehensible world.

And now... he had claimed her .

She should have been terrified. Some part of her was , still. But it was a distant echo now. Drowned beneath the memory of his touch, the deep, guttural sounds he made when she gave herself to him, the way he’d held her afterward as if she were something rare, delicate, sacred.

She sighed softly.

Could this truly be real? This surreal palace in the sky, the stars beyond the windows, the impossible creature curled around her as if she were his mate?

It felt like a dream. The kind you wake from with tears in your eyes, trying to claw your way back into sleep.

But this time, she didn’t have to wake up.

For the first time since her abduction… since the auction… since the fear —she didn’t want to go back.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.