As we continue fucking, our movements become more erratic. I cling to him like I’m falling, knowing I nearly lost him. My magic sparks under my skin, red lightning twisting up my arms and legs as his ribbons of light filter out, both forms of our power melding together. I remember this from the last few times we had sex, but my magic is no longer locked away.

“Nadir,” I whisper as he thrusts into me. “My magic. I can’t control it.”

“I’ve got you,” he whispers back. “Look at me.”

Our gazes meet, and he buries himself into me as his magic wraps around mine—not to repress it but to soothe it. It responds to his power, my sparks lining up into some form of order. It sings against his magic, and for the first time since we left Aphelion, it doesn’t feel like it’s spinning out of control.

He tells me he loves me, and I do the same, and then we come together in a burst of heat and slick, wet desire, my soul reborn from the earth and molded back together. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere so much. Our magic flares bright, exploding around us in a halo of red and green and blue. There’s no destruction, though—it’s just . . . beautiful. The perfect marriage of our spirits. He helped control it. I knew he could.

Thunder claps overhead, and the rain falls harder as we cling to one another, already soaked to the bone.

“We should try to find shelter,” he whispers.

I want to tell him that I don’t care if we get wet. I want him to take me under the lightning and thunder over and over again as I scream his name. But a chill is setting in, and I’m momentarily reacquainted with the fact that I haven’t eaten properly in days. I shove my legs into my now soaked leggings, which is a feat unto itself.

“Gods, we’re a mess,” I tell him as he takes my hand. Both barefoot, our clothing is torn, and scratches and blood cover our skin.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Lor,” he says with every ounce of sincerity, and I feel the delicate seams of my equilibrium pulling apart. I can’t get over the fact he’s standing here, alive and whole. “But let’s find you somewhere to dry off. Then I can finish everything I’ve been thinking about for months.”

“Months?” I say. “It’s only been days.”

He blows out a breath and rubs his hand down his face. “Later. We’ll talk about this later.”

I nod and tug on his hand. “I left some things behind. We need to get them.”

He follows me to the spot where I was sleeping. I scoop up the arks, cradling them in my arms, then turn around to find Nadir’s shocked expression.