Damar reacted almost immediately. One moment, he was asleep, and the next, a powerful, scale-dusted arm had hooked around my waist.

With a low, guttural hum, he yanked me down onto the furs, pinning me beneath him before I could even squeak.

​"Stay," he rasped, his voice thick with sleep and that lingering, possessive edge of the rut. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, right where the serpent mark was still warm and glowing. "Don’t call me a lizard, Ari," he muttered, and it nearly sounded like he was sulking.

Oops, my bad.

"Alright, I’ll stop. But can you get off now? We have to leave." I said, but he stayed still.

"The bed is warm. Why would we leave?"

​I laughed, trying to push his heavy shoulders back, though it was like trying to move a mountain.

"It’s because the kids are waiting, the food is getting cold, and I spent an hour roasting those tubers specifically for tonight. Come on, Damar. Dinner is ready."

​He nipped gently at my collarbone, a slow, wicked smirk spreading across his face as he looked up at me.

"Why bother with tubers? I’d rather have you for dinner."

​I felt my face go from a light pink to a full-blown crimson in three seconds. I shoved at his chest with a huff of genuine annoyance.

"Don’t you dare, Damar! My legs are literally shaking just from walking down the hall! As if the ’dismantling’ you did over the last three days wasn’t enough? You’re a menace."

​Damar chuckled—a deep, vibrating sound that I felt in my own chest—and finally relented, letting me sit up.

He sat up with me, looking annoyingly refreshed while I felt like I needed a year-long nap.

He traced the glowing mark on my neck one last time before standing, his movements fluid and regal despite the seventy-two-hour marathon we’d just finished.

​"Fine," he conceded. "But I expect a seat next to the Queen."

"Sure, sure, whatever makes you happy. Huff."

​When we walked back into the dining hall, the scene was perfect. Fenric was settling Phina into a makeshift high chair, Noah was trying to keep Raiden from eating a wooden spoon, and Thalor was pouring a light, sweet berry juice for everyone.

Lyra simply glared with tired eyes, as if she would rather be sleeping than have to put up with this disaster.

​"Look who decided to join the living," Noah teased, though his eyes lingered on the new mark on Damar’s neck. There was a moment of silent, masculine acknowledgment between them—a respect for the bond that had been sealed.

What was up with that?

​I sat down, feeling the warmth of the room and the presence of these four incredible men.

"To the West Way," I said, raising my cup. "And to the fact that we finally have a roof over our heads that won’t blow away with a storm, and food on the table."

​"And to our wonderful wife," Thalor added, his violet eyes warm. "Who turned a dream into stone?"

Well, if you put it like that, I can’t help but blush, huhu.

​We ate, we laughed, and I definitely witnessed the intense rivalry between Thalor and Damar. Trust me, they were still at it.

I thought Thalor would give his life to Damar after being saved, but he said, ’My life already belongs to Arinya, I cannot give what is hers to you. But I will forever be in your debt.’

It was a touching relief until Damar boldly claimed,

"Then drop dead and disappear. You’ll be able to repay your debt if you do that."

Ah, my husband has become so brutal, but he’s still so lovable that I can’t get mad at him.

Thalor laughed it off and said it was the same as giving Damar his life that already belonged to me, so he would do anything else. And to which Damar clicked his tongue, annoyed.

It was hilarious, and Noah did not even try to hide his laughter.

Even Fenric laughed.

And the babies, even though they had no idea what was going on, laughed too. The adults were laughing, so why wouldn’t they laugh?

Then, I switched the topic. And as we discussed the upcoming marketplace and the ’heavy slate’ secret to Damar, who had not been present, the atmosphere was one of celebration.

This is my task force. My family.

I smiled sweetly. It was great.

The next two days were a blur of ’active rest’. Yeah, I said it. Active rest.

I spent most of it propped up on furs in the Sovereign Wing that had thoroughly been cleaned, acting like a stationary commander.

Between petting the babies—who were now scooting across the floor with terrifying speed—and reviewing Oryn’s maps of the ’heavy slate’ vein, I managed to regain my strength.

I also ate a lot of meat for the purpose of regaining some fat and storing up fat for the three days of fasting that were going to come.

By the evening of the second day, the jelly-like weakness in my legs had finally faded, replaced by a different kind of buzz. An anticipation.

And you probably know what kind of anticipation it was.

​Thalor had been quiet, his violet eyes following me with an intensity that matched the glowing blue of his royal crest. Unlike Damar’s fiery, grounded heat, Thalor’s presence felt like the deep ocean: cool, vast, and beginning to swell with a tide that couldn’t be held back.

​When the sun dipped below the horizon on the third day, the atmosphere in the palace shifted. The air felt heavy, charged with a strange humidity that made my skin tingle. It was time.

​Because he was a Merman, I knew this wouldn’t be a standard ’stay in bed’ marathon. His body needed the element that sustained his magic and his strength. Fortunately, I had designed a particular room in the Sovereign Wing with exactly this in mind.

​I pushed open the heavy doors to find the room transformed. The massive, sunken stone bath—more of an indoor pool, really—was steaming. Thalor’s magic had tapped into the fresh spring water, keeping it at a perfect, skin-tingling warmth.

Sea-crystals lined the bottom, casting an ethereal, pulsing turquoise light that danced against the limestone walls.

I looked at the water and felt, Ah, I really wanted an indoor pool, and here was one.