“Yes. The rest of your scales have appeared.”

She looked down at her torso, and her gaze lingered for a few moments before she asked, “How many are on my back?”

“Four.” Their locations were burned into my mind along with images of the rest of her body.

The woman was fucking gorgeous.

“There’s one on your throat, too. Behind your left ear,” I added.

Her hand lifted quickly to her neck, and I knew she’d locate it without a problem.

“What about the earrings?”

“They’re the same size as mine now.”

Her fingers brushed the crown on her ear. “This is all so insane.”

“I can imagine.”

“Can you, though?”

I chuckled. “Maybe not.”

A soft sigh left her. “Joa said I have to dry the plant for a while. Do you have anywhere I can hang it?”

“You can tie a few of the reeds to whatever you want. Except the books.”

“I would never defile them,” she said, feigning solemnity.

My lips curved. “You need help getting to bed, don’t you?”

“No. I can do it.” Her answer was too quick.

She was stubborn. I respected her independence, but she was only sore because of the changes my magic had put her through. I wasn’t going to let her struggle through that alone.

I stood, lifting her smoothly to her feet with me. She made a noise of complaint, but leaned against me heavily when I helped her walk to the bed. With the lightest brush of my magic, I pulled the water off her skin and out of her hair, leaving it in the lake. She shivered, leaning against me more.

“How are we supposed to resist jumping each other’s bones constantly if our magic turns each other on so much?” she murmured.

“We aren’t.”

“Helpful,” she grumbled. “Thanks for drying me off.”

“Any time.” I eased her down to the mattress and pulled the blankets over her legs. She tugged them to her chin, turning onto her side so she faced away from me.

“I’m just going to take a nap.” Her words were so heavy with exhaustion that I felt bad for not bringing her home sooner. Our trip to the cliffs had been her idea, but she wasn’t sure what it took to keep herself healthy at the moment. And she certainly hadn’t finished adjusting completely to my world.

“It’s nighttime anyway, so you may as well sleep until the sun rises.”

Aria let out a relieved breath and muttered something that sounded like, “Thank fuck.”

It took everything I had to ignore the urge to slip into bed with her, but the woman clearly wasn’t ready for that. So, I stepped away from the mattress and took a seat on a chair nearby.