He looked down at me. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged. “Like, day to day, year to year, century to century. How do immortal creatures prevent boredom?”

His lips twitched. “Lots of sex. It’s really the only cure.”

A snort of laughter escaped me. “We should run with that theory and never look back. But seriously, outside of the sex, what else will we do?”

Shadow took my hand, and we were back to being couple goals as we strolled through the shelves. “We’ll always be busy with the Solaris System and our friends,” he warned me. “It’ll take me many years to restore the balance in Shadow Realm, and you have the Nexus and your creatures to watch over.”

Yeah, that was true. “Our friends often have dramas?” I hadn’t missed that not-so-subtle warning.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he said with a short laugh. “On a smaller scale than my mother, but there’s always something. Each of them is powerful and important in their world, and with that comes a ton of drama.”

I thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Is it weird that I’m excited to see what will arise? It’s weird, isn’t it?”

I was no longer afraid of the future or the next big bad. I was certain that together, nothing would be a real threat to us.

“You’re brave and loyal, Mera,” Shadow told me. “You don’t fear for your safety and you will always help out a friend. Your excitement makes sense, but it terrifies me.”

I scoffed. “You’re not terrified of anything, Shadow Beast.”

He stopped me suddenly, wrapping his arms around me as he held on with a desperation he rarely showed in public. “I almost lost you. The way that felt, the choices I made… The world would not survive it again. I would not survive it.”

I held on with everything I had, holding his broken pieces together. “This helps,” he whispered into my hair. “It really helps.”

“Then I will hold you forever,” I declared.

I felt the brush of his lips against my neck and then he lifted himself up. “Are you okay?” I asked him seriously. “I mean, really okay? With Dannie and everything that happened. I’m sorry about your mom, Shadow.”

He took a moment to answer, like he wasn’t quite sure. “I will be okay, if that makes sense. It’s just going to take time and having you at my side is all I ever wanted. A true mate.”

“I didn’t even know I could ask for something as amazing as this,” I said, serious for once. “You are a gift that came from nowhere, with your grumbling, growling, snarling, asshole of a personality. Not to mention one huge dick. Like, that is such a bonus—”