Page 185 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

“Yes.” I move to get up, but Alec grabs me and throws me on my back. “Hey!” I yell in surprise. He pins my hands above my head. “Alec, we have things to do. Besides, I think you’ve hollowed my insides permanently.”

He laughs loud and runs his nose down my arm towards my armpit, making me squeal and squirm.

“Stop! That tickles! Plus, I smell disgusting,” I say, trying to twist away from him.

Alec inhales deep and grunts appreciatively. “I like you filthy,” he says in my ear before getting up abruptly, his large erection jutting out. He catches me eyeing it hungrily and grabs a sheet to wrap around himself before winking at me with a smug smirk.

We go to the bathing chamber and begin brushing our teeth together. I catch Alec’s eye in the mirror and we both smile before I break out laughing.

“What?” he asks me, his eyes twinkling.

“Nothing,” I say, wiping my mouth. “I just like doing the mundane things with you. They feel as important as the big things.”

Alec smiles, taken aback. “Because they are. I think that is the most sentimental thing you have ever said to me, Elly.”

I roll my eyes exaggeratedly. “Please, you are waxing poetic to me constantly. You’re touched because I said I like brushing my teeth with you?” I ask him in disbelief.

“Yes.” Alec plants a loud, wet kiss on my temple before he begins dressing.

When we returned to the palace, Alec proudly announced he had all his belongings moved into my chamber while we were out celebrating Samhain—confident in how the evening would end.

He also told me he had begun taking a contraceptive brew the day I stabbed him in the heart when I panicked about the current fertility boom we’re in.

“Everything is already packed on the ship for us. It will reach the port of Brhadir in several days. We will leave for Bokhaii as soon as we have finished all our business we have in Crane Hills. Are you certain about our detour?” Alec asks me as he buttons his black shirt, and I nod at him.

He was surprised when I told him what I want to do before we go to Crane Hills. “It is not necessary to stop and rest now, Elly. With our new depths of power, we can jump all the way to the city,” he told me.

“I know. I want to do this,” I answered him, and he gave no fight.

“Are you ready?” I ask him now, as I start the shower, the soft patter of water misting the stone floor and steady steam collecting within the glass walls.

“Yes, I am far more prepared now knowing that you do not have to shoulder this burden alone.”

I observe Alec continuing to dress and wrinkle my nose. “You aren’t going to bathe?”

Alec smirks over his shoulder. “I would prefer to flaunt the scent of you on my body for now.”

Rolling my eyes at his ridiculous male arrogance, I step into the steaming shower.

I briefly saw Nana the morning of my birthday, long enough to bid her farewell before she boarded the ship now sailing for Brhadir. I filled her in on the events of the previous night. Nana congratulated me vehemently, not surprised when I told her of mine and Alec’s now shared magic through our completed mating bond. She cried tears of happiness before pushing me to start my mating solitude. I was grateful that we had said our more intimate goodbyes the day before, though we will be joining her to Bokhaii.

Alec put out a message for us to not be bothered after Nana left.

Cescily left a gift in the form of my salvaged, knee high boots with a birthday card and an absurdly large cake in the kitchen. Alec and I laughed when we went downstairs to retrieve them and saw the cake that at one point read ‘Happy Birthday Elly.’ The word birthday was exed out and ‘mating’had been written above it. The words ‘and Alec’ were messy afterthought. All written sloppily with a different colored icing.

I don my boots—good as new—when I’ve finished bathing and dressing, Alec waiting patiently in our bedchamber. He hands me my staff as we prepare to leave, and I clip it in the holster at my back. Both of his swords peak over his shoulders, imposing reminders of the skill and violence he carries. I preen at the brutal sight.

“Areyouready?” Alec asks, watching me imploringly. I answer by striding to him and wrapping my arms around his waist. “You are certain?” he asks, not sounding fully convinced.

“Yes,” I tell him with conviction.

He holds me to him affectionately and pulls us into the void.

My eyes are closed tight when we reappear, and my heartbeat increases with my nervousness. My anxiety isn’t the kind that comes with fear or uncertainty—but the kind that comes with necessary hurdles in order to move on.

This is what I need.

Bright sunlight splashes across my closed lids, soft veins of red barely discernible in the brightness. I breathe in, savoring the scent of familiarity. The air is less humid now, transitioning to the drier climate that comes with autumn. In the back of my throat, I taste the light, dusty difference that bleeds into the air as the leaves begin to change and decay, their weary stems relinquishing the fight to live. I open my eyes to find Alec looking down at me with a soft expression. I smile at him reassuringly before I pull away.