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In the light of the tragedy, I have an inexplicable need to be near him, to assure myself that he’s safe. I haven’t realized how nervous I was until he’s standing in front of me, watching me with dark intensity that transforms his expression from disbelieving to thunderous.

“By dragons, Elsie.” He charges toward me and clamps my shoulders between his big palms. “Why aren’t you in my quarters?” He gives me a gentle shake. “What are you doing here in the midst of the danger?”

I blink up at him, surprised by the ferocity of his outburst. “Kian brought me.”

Aruan lets me go and turns on Kian with clenched fists and flaring nostrils.

“You masked her distress. You endangered my mate and prevented me from sensing it.” He gets into Kian’s face.

“You put a shield on her mind to hide her from me.” His voice rises steadily.

“Worse, you mimicked her sentiments and deceived me into believing she was safely in my quarters.”

“Elsie was needed here,” Kian says with deceptive calm. “As you can see for yourself, she’s doing a great job in helping.” He gets in Aruan’s face. “So, brother, I advise you to let her do what’s necessary.”

The king’s voice booms through the space. “That’s enough.” He steps up and pushes them apart. “The two of you can fight it out when we’ve addressed the crisis. Elsie is here now. She’ll do what she can. She has a responsibility to our people just like the rest of the royals.”

Aruan works his jaw from side to side, but his father doesn’t give him a chance to argue.

The king addresses Kian. “What’s the status?”

Kian nods toward the rescue work. “We’re making progress.”

Just then, the second, third, and fourth families are freed through tunnels.

Everyone turns their heads toward them. Except Aruan. He’s looking at me as if he’s ready to storm over and rip me away in a second. I do my best to calm my erratic heartbeat and to show him through the bond that I’m all right.

After another beat, he tears his gaze away from me to look toward the village. The villagers and guards are stealing wary glances at the quetzalcoatluses and anurognathuses flying overhead. The queen looks equally uneasy.

“What about the other villages?” Kian asks.

“We checked,” the queen says. “Everyone is safe.”

Aruan may no longer be staring in my direction, but his attention lingers on me for another second, pulsing darkly between us, before he turns to the mountain. In a wink, the rocks and sand retract, falling to the wayside.

Holy macaroni.

The buried half of the village isn’t only uncovered but clean, not a speck of sand remaining.

Vitai takes off to the side where the injured are gathering.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” a man with white hair and a bushy mustache says with his face tilted toward the sky. “What if those dragons get hungry and decide to snack on a few Alit?”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I can control them.”

Aruan turns a cold glare on the man. “Are you implying Elsie is incompetent, Incus?”

The man cringes. “Not at all.”

“Aruan,” I say in a gentle tone, imploring him to calm down.

He doesn’t have a choice as the rescue operation continues in all earnest. Luckily, none of the injuries are serious. Gaia explains that Lona is often plagued by landslides, which is why the houses are constructed from stone.

Everyone, including the royals, roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.

The queen gives orders for an area to be prepared where food and water can be served.

While we’re waiting for aid from the nearby villages, she brings staff with food from the palace.

The king demands a large tent where Vitai can treat the injured, which Aruan fabricates with nothing but his mind.

The villagers use their own powers, albeit clearly weaker than those of the royals, to lift heavy buckets of water and to light fires with their minds.

Seeing that everything is mostly back to normal, I let the animals return to their burrows, nests, and hunting.

Aruan visits every house to repair any damage with his incredible power.

I join Gaia in handing out bowls of hearty broth to the villagers while the queen ensures their stores and cellars are filled with fresh food and wine.

We work until late, helping with the chores and the children.

When every single person has been taken care of, we’re weary to the bone.

It’s late when Aruan takes my hand and transports me via a portal to his quarters.

We step into his bedroom, facing each other with dirt-streaked faces and dusty clothes.

The atmosphere is charged. With every second that he simply stands there, staring at me, the heaviness intensifies.

“I didn’t know you could create portals,” I say to break the awkward silence.

“Most of my immediate family can open a simple portal to a nearby location, but only Gaia and my mother can create them systematically and repeatedly, bending distance with their minds to create multiple portals over greater areas.”

I nod at his patient explanation, racking my brain for something else to say.

He surprises me by declaring, “You did well today.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Angry?” He advances on me. “I’m furious, Elsie.” Stopping short of me, he towers over my body. “Kian put you in danger, and you risked your life by following him.”

I crane my neck to look at him. “You can’t keep me locked up in your quarters forever and treat me as if I’m made of glass.”

“Really?” His lips stretch with a calculated smile, the gesture narrowing his eyes. “Watch me.”

“Come on, Aruan.” I blow out a breath. “You said yourself my power is strong.”

“The land was unstable,” he bites out. “A rock could’ve fallen on your head.”

“Does that mean you don’t care about your siblings and your parents?”

He’s vibrating with rage, barely holding himself back. “Of course I care.”

“Yet you don’t make a scene about them helping people in need.”

He clenches his jaw. “You’re my mate .”

“Yes.” I put a hand on his chest, right over the strong thuds of his heart. “So I think you can give me a little more credit.”

Just like that, his anger fizzles out. It doesn’t disappear.

It just gets buried beneath the weight of my admission.

It’s the first time I’ve acknowledged that I’m his mate.

I’ve been kicking against it hard and long, but the bond between us doesn’t lie.

Now that I’m coming into my power, I’m forced to admit that I’m one of them, and my body has recognized this man as mine right from the start.

And I’m not sure what to do with that yet, if staying here is what’s best for me. Or for anyone.

“Elsie…”

The way he says my name is loaded.

I sweep my hand over the expanse of his chest, mapping the deep-cut muscles with my palm. “I’m just getting used to this new person I’m becoming myself.” I add gently, “It will help if you give me the space to get to know her.”

Emotions flash through his eyes. Taking my hand, he kisses my knuckles. “The thought of anything happening to you?—”

“If I’m to live here, I have to learn how to take care of myself.”

“You have me,” he says stubbornly.

“Aruan.” I sigh, pulling my hand away. “If you want me to be happy, you have to give me some room to breathe.”

“Do you mean that?” He searches my eyes as if he’s trying to spot the lie. “You’ll try to be happy?”

I nod. What choice do I have? As long as I’m trapped here, there’s no point in punishing both of us by remaining miserable.

As always, when the thought that I’m never going back to Earth manifests, I think about my parents.

I remember the tough and the happy times, the camping trips and the puzzles we built when I was too sick to exert much energy.

It’s not the vacations abroad and the fancy hotels that I miss the most but the everyday moments, like Mom flipping pancakes at dawn because it’s my favorite breakfast and Dad stopping at the bookstore on his way home from work to buy a book on archaeology that’s just been released.

A lump lodges in my throat as hot tears build behind my eyes. How long before time erodes those memories and my parents’ faces fade in my mind?

At the same time, the mere idea of leaving Aruan hurts.

“Elsie,” Aruan says, sounding as if he’s the one in pain.

He wraps me up in his strong arms, holding me to his chest. His embrace is comforting, but it doesn’t take away the sadness.

“That’s all I ask—that you try to be happy.

” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll do anything in my power to make this good for you, my sweet.

If I’m angry, it’s because I’m worried about you.

” He hesitates as if it’s hard for him to admit, “But despite the danger you put yourself in today, I’m also proud. ”

I pull away to look at him, blinking away my tears. “Of me?”

“No.” He smiles. “Of those pixie dragons who love to follow you around.”

I swat his shoulder. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’d never,” he says with mock offense.

Suddenly shy, I clear my throat. “You were pretty awesome yourself. What you did was amazing. You saved all those people.”

A veil drops in front of his eyes, and all traces of emotions vanish from his face. “Keep your compliments. I don’t deserve them.”

“Are you kidding?” I gape at him. “You used your power for something good. Aren’t you proud of yourself too?”

The mask he’s donned cracks, and a sliver of self-loathing slips through. “Not if I’m the reason it happened.”

“What do you mean? You didn’t—” And then the meaning of his words sinks in. “The sun…” I swallow. “That’s what caused the rockslides? That was you?”

He doesn’t reply, which is an answer in itself.