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I lowered my head between her thighs, eager to taste her.

A low growl thundered from my chest when I saw how wet she was for me already.

I traced my tongue along her lips, teasing her even more before finding that sweet spot in the center.

Her back arched off the cold, ancient stone as a gasp escaped Serena's lips, her fingers clenching in my hair with a mixture of surprise and need.

The taste of her was intoxicating, primal, and I delved deeper, losing myself in the symphony of her moans and the salty tang of her desire.

Each swirl and flick of my tongue across her clit sent shivers rippling through her, igniting a fire that threatened to consume every coherent thought. I could scent the pleasure building within her like a gathering storm, each touch electric and demanding.

As I brought her to the brink of pleasure, every muscle in her body tensed with anticipation.

Her breath quickened, mingling with the soft sounds of ecstasy that filled the chamber, echoing off the ancient walls.

When she shattered around me, a cry torn from the depths of her soul.

It was raw and primal, and the sexiest fucking thing I’d ever heard.

I pulled back and my lips instantly found Serena’s as I gripped her waist, pulling her into me.

“Tell me you want this,” I whispered, rough with need but raw with fear.

“Even if it breaks the mountain. Even if it breaks me . ” The intensity of needing her like I needed air to breathe was all-consuming. But I needed to hear her say it.

“I want you,” she echoed, and I nearly came undone. I needed her. Now. I settled myself between her legs and positioned my cock at her entrance. Her hips rose to meet me, and in one deep thrust I gave her everything. Everything.

We moved together, a furious rhythm that was wild and tender and more real than anything I’d ever known.

Each thrust took us closer, sent us spiraling into a release that was pure and raw and fucking beautiful.

The tension of the last weeks, the last years, melted away.

And for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was at war with the world.

For the first time, I let myself believe.

Serena wrapped her legs around my waist, squeezing tighter as her fingers knotted in my hair. Her walls shuddered around me, and I knew she was close to the edge.

“Tristan!” she cried out as her nails raked down my back, riding the wave of her pleasure.

Hearing my name on her lips urged me on as I quickened my pace.

I felt that familiar tingle creep up my spine and I knew I was close too.

My fingers braced Serena’s hips with a bruising grip, slamming into her harder and deeper with every thrust.

“ Fuck —” The word shattered from me as I came, every piece of me pouring into her, like I was finally free.

Like I was hers. Our birthmarks lit up as we finally found the edge, glowing so bright they almost hurt to look at.

They pulsed in time with our bodies, with the frantic beating of our hearts.

We tipped over, falling, falling, lost in each other and the glow that surrounded us.

It was freedom and fulfillment, a claiming and a release. It was us, finally, without restraint.

The stones around us responded, flashing in colors so vivid I wondered if the walls would hold.

It was like the whole ruin came alive, a frenzy of light and power that fueled us, pushed us further, drew us in.

We found it together, the edge, the brink, the everything.

It was sweet and painful and perfect. It was us.

Time slipped away, the outside world forgotten in the haze of tangled limbs and shared breath.

We were sweat-slicked and exhausted, both of us unguarded in a way I’d never imagined possible.

My coat was beneath us, and I realized she’d wrapped me in it, the warm weight covering both our bodies.

She was wrapped around me too, our heartbeats slowing, falling into sync.

I brushed her golden auburn hair back, tracing the delicate line of her jaw, the smooth curve of her shoulder, the faint crescent on her wrist that shimmered in the dim light.

It didn’t seem fair, how beautiful she was.

How impossibly lucky I was to be here with her, with us, with everything we could be if I didn’t fuck it up.

I pulled her closer, unwilling to let go.

The glow of the stones softened, the pulse of magic quieting until the ruin was a shadowed cocoon around us. It felt like peace, like possibility. But even in the silence, even in the comfort of her body and her touch, I knew we weren’t safe. Not yet.

Moonlight streamed through tiny cracks in the stones, illuminating the chamber just enough to make out some of the runes. My gaze focused on a particular carving, a crescent shape that felt familiar.

“Wait—Tristan, the crescent rune,” Serena said. “The moonlight just hit it.”

A metallic grind shattered the calm, a hidden compartment in the wall sliding open with unexpected force. We both tensed, the moment of reprieve evaporating. I sat up, ready to protect her from whatever fresh hell was coming. But it wasn’t a threat, not exactly.

Inside the chamber, an ancient scrying bowl sat on a ledge, filled to the brim with dark water. Moonlight caught its surface, and an image swirled into focus. It took a moment to register, a moment for my brain to catch up with what I was seeing.

Ewan. Alaric. The celestial altar. They stood at the center of it all, preparing for something that looked a hell of a lot like a ritual.

Serena was beside me, clutching my arm, watching with wide eyes as the scene unfolded.

“They’re going to use the stones’ power,” she said, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and anger.

“To destroy us both,” I said, feeling the weight of the truth settle like a stone in my gut. They weren’t just after us. They wanted to corrupt the power and take control. Permanently.

The water shimmered, showing the crescent moon in the sky above the altar. It was nearly full. I did the math in my head, felt my stomach twist at the realization. Two days. We had two fucking days.

“This isn’t over,” I said, gripping her hand so tight it must’ve hurt. But she didn’t pull away. “We need to move now, before it’s too late.”

“Then we fight,” Serena said, her eyes locked on mine, fierce and unyielding. “Together.”

I felt the echo of her words through every part of me, the promise of what we were, what we could be, what we had to be if we were going to win. I felt the hope of it, the power. I felt everything.

It would have to be enough.