Goose bumps rose on her skin.
Are you ready? he thought.
I’m ready.
Leo began at the top of her spine, and the very first spells he performed were for longevity. All he had was the word of a Fallen angel that Kyra was protected. But from that night on, her life would be linked to his. As long as he lived, she would too, even if it was for a thousand years.
He traced the spells down her back. Long life. Protection. Wisdom. Strength. Every line was a promise. Every inch of ink was a mark of his love. He poured his heart into his magic. He poured his heart into Kyra’s hands, knowing she would hold it gently.
His mate was still as a statue, but when he turned her to begin the spells over the front of her body, he saw her tears.
“Kyra?”
“I hear you,” she whispered. “Your voice inside. When you’re writing your magic, Leo. I hear you, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
She broke him. Leo leaned forward and kissed her gently, careful not to smudge the words he’d so carefully drawn.
“Ana sepora,” he whispered. “I will see you fly, Kyra.”
“As long as you’re flying with me.”
“Always.” He put his forehead to hers and drew in a breath, warmed by the magic in the air. It filled the room like the fire of a setting sun. It highlighted the ebony strands of her hair and made her skin glow. She was luminous, and her skin reflected the mingled gold and silver of the magic that tied them together.
Leo continued, carefully placing each spell. Strength in her arms. Speed in her legs. Health spells tracing from her collarbones to her belly. He marked her with every protection he could think of. He gave part of his armor to her.
The ink was nearly dry over her skin when he curled his personal vow over Kyra’s heart:
Daughter of heaven
I will love you.
Though the night is dark
Our love is light.
Though the world is grim
Our union gives hope.
Father of Light
We are one in you.
When our path is hidden
We will fly.
We walk in faith.
We walk in hope.
We walk in love.
Leo pressed a kiss to the center of his vow and set down his brush. When he looked up at Kyra’s face, her eyes were a fierce gold.
I hear us.
He pressed his forehead to hers. And I hear you.
“It’s not just the voice of your soul I’m hearing,” Kyra whispered. “There’s another music. We make it when we’re together. A harmony between us.”
“Can you sing it?”
Tears came from her eyes. “No.”
“You mean not yet.”
“I’ll find a way to sing it to you someday, Leo. I promise. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
“The only promise I need from you is to be my mate. To love me when I’m unlovable—”
“You’re always lovable.”
“—and to challenge me when I’m thickheaded.”
Kyra laughed. “I have more than a little experience with thickheaded men.”
Leo kissed the tears from her cheeks. “Then we’re perfect for each other.”
“We are.”
He smiled. “Say it again.”
“We’re perfect for each other.”
“Exactly as we are.”
They shared delicate kisses as the ink dried on her skin. Leo’s breath came in pants. He was thick with tension, trying to control his hunger for her, but every moment their magic lingered in the air, it seemed to grow more intense. It didn’t dissipate in the air like smoke but grew stronger. Heavier. More overwhelming.
“Leo?” Kyra’s pulse was pounding in her throat.
“Soon.” He scraped his teeth along her chin and reached for her shoulder, feeling the smudge of ink that wasn’t quite dry. “I’ll fix it later.”
“What?”
He tugged the pins from her hair and watched it tumble down her shoulders, thick waves of dark silk he fisted as he brought her mouth to his over and over. Her lips were swollen from his kisses.
“Now?”
He glanced down at her heart and saw the ink dry on her skin. “Yes.”
Without another word, he took her to the floor. Kyra wrapped ink-stained arms around his shoulders and long legs around his waist. They rolled across the wooden floor with their mouths fused together as dark red henna began to light with a gold fire. Kyra’s magic came alive before his eyes.
“Leo!” She let go of him, her back arching on the floor as her body lifted in a wave of power.
“Kyra?”
Her eyes flew open, and they were no longer gold. There was fire behind them, sparking and glowing in the dim room. Brighter than candle flames, they met Leo’s cool blue eyes.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“I don’t know!”
Leo picked her up and put her on the bed, but the shocks to her body seemed to keep coming. She curled into herself. Every brushstroke illuminated with a vivid fiery light, as if it were burning itself into Kyra’s skin. The light raced over her body, and Leo heard the light bulb in the bedside lamp pop before it went dark.
The power rose. The spells burned. And then they went out.
Reshon, are you hurt?
No. I feel… more alive than I ever have.
Kyra sat up, and Leo realized the spells hadn’t stopped glowing, but they were no longer burning. They shone like a banked flame beneath her skin, streaking across her body in swirls and lines, following the curves and sinews as he’d drawn them.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
She rose and pressed him back on the bed, removing the linen wrap around his waist. “Ana reshon.” Come to me.
There were no more words as she slid over him. Leo rose and kissed her breasts, hugging her to his chest. He arched his back so Kyra could reach down and guide him into her body. When they were joined, he lifted his hips, thrusting deep as Kyra arched back, her hair falling so long that it brushed the tops of his thighs as he sat beneath her. His vows glimmered on her skin, a visible reminder of his promise to her.
Daughter of heaven
Daughter of heaven
Reshon
“I have waited so long for you,” Leo whispered.
Kyra put her arms around his neck, holding him so tightly he nearly lost his breath.
“I have crossed continents,” he continued. “I have fought battles. I have seen wonders, my love. But nothing that could ever compare to this moment.”
She couldn’t speak, but he heard her in his mind. He more than heard her, he knew her.
I love you.
You are my mate.
You are my reshon.
You are my home.
Leo felt his magic rise and meet hers in a kiss. Kyra rocked over him as her body tightened around him. He felt the latent power of his climax starting at his toes, growing and building as their bodies and souls became one.
Kyra’s lips met Leo’s, and he saw stars when he closed his eyes, rising and chasing each other across the sky. He heard the chorus of the heavens and the harmony of their union. He heard it as they came together, falling as they flew.
Epilogue
They stayed in Phuket for two weeks, experimenting with magic, touring the islands by boat, and resting. They slept late. They made love in the middle of the day. They went to night markets and swam under the stars.
And then they went home.
The plane to Istanbul landed in midafternoon; they heard the afternoon call of the muezzin as they crossed the Haliç Bridge.
Kyra had been in Istanbul many times, but this time she was returning as a member of a large family, not as a visitor. She’d spoken to Ava on the phone, and her friend had been ecstatic that Kyra and Leo would be living at the house. She was eager for company beyond Malachi’s brothers and Mala, who split t
ime between Cappadocia and the city. She was full of plans and news for her new sister, eager to introduce Kyra to more magical practice as well as having another female in the house full-time.
Kyra was still unsure how well she would manage in a large communal environment. She realized she was tapping her toes and pulling at the seam of the dress she’d bought in Thailand.
Leo squeezed her hand. “Nervous?”
She smiled. “A little.”
“If it gets to be too much, you have to tell me.”
“I will.”
“My brothers can be annoying.”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Especially my cousin. He means well, but—”
“Leo, I promise.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll tell you if I need some time alone.”
Their cab wound through the old streets of Beyoğlu, dodging pedestrians and pushcarts. When they pulled up to the familiar wooden house, she saw Malachi and Ava standing outside, two small children held in their arms.
“The babies?” Kyra asked, her mouth agape.
“Not so small anymore.”
“No, they’re not.” Kyra’s heart leapt at the sight.
The little girl and boy bounced in their parents’ arms, excited and waving at the bright yellow cab. Ava and Malachi scrambled to hold them, picking up a toy that went flying and laughing at their children’s antics.
“Can we have one?” she asked without thinking.
“Please.”
She turned to see Leo grinning.
Kyra’s nerves fled. This was no trial. She would not have to prove herself. This was family. True family. As Leo grabbed their suitcases from the back of the cab and paid the driver, Kyra walked to Ava, who had tears in her eyes.
“I knew it,” Ava said, grabbing Kyra in a one-armed hug. “I knew it. I’ve waited so many years for you two to figure it out.” She sniffed. “And look at me. I’m a mess, but I knew it.”
Malachi looked just as pleased, though he wasn’t crying. “Can I help?” he called.
“I’ve got it.” Leo joined them on the sidewalk, setting their suitcases down.
Malachi reached out for Leo and embraced his brother with a hard pat on the back as the little girl he carried shouted questions at Leo in Turkish.
“Ask me,” Malachi said. “I’ve waited a long time to answer this question for another.”
Leo cleared his throat and stepped back, taking Kyra’s hand in his. “Watcher, does the fire still burn in this house?”
“It does,” Malachi said. “And you are welcome to its light. You and your own.”
Ava grinned. “I totally know what that means now!”
Kyra was still a little confused. “What does it mean?”
“It means you’re home.” Ava grabbed her hand. “You’re totally, one hundred percent, home.”
“I can’t believe they did all this,” Kyra said, staring at the stars from the roof of the new cottage behind the main house. Someone had put a low wooden bed on the roof, covered in blankets and pillows. It was the perfect place to enjoy the night breeze and listen to the sounds of the city.
“They’ve been planning to buy the house next door as soon as the owners were ready to sell. There was an elderly couple who lived there for fifty years. They passed last year, but their children were trying to decide if they wanted the money more than the house.”
“I guess they voted for the money.”
“Which is good for us. Tearing down the wall between the houses was easy and it doubled the garden and courtyard space, which will be nice for the children. Plus”—he tugged a lock of her hair—“I think everyone was getting a little crowded in the main house.”
The cottage was a single story with a roof garden that sat at the back of the new house. It was hidden by trees, and a small fountain bubbled outside the bedroom. It wasn’t a spacious home, but it was private and far more than the single room Leo had lived in before. Kyra, who had never lived in a grand house, thought it was perfect.
She asked, “Was all this planned when you left?”
“No, but apparently the Creator must have known that I’d be bringing a mate home.”
“Any mate?” Kyra teased.
“My perfect mate.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Reshon.”
“It feels good here,” she said. “It feels like a home.”
“The voices aren’t too much?”
She shook her head. Ever since they’d mated, it had been easier to control the firewalls in her mind. The magic obeyed her more readily. The spells lasted longer. Irin magic or more confidence? Perhaps a little of both.
“I’ve traveled over so much of the world,” he said. “But I love it here.” He rolled to the side. “I love the breeze at night. I love the call to prayer. I’m going to love waking up to you every morning. I love—”
“The sound of your tinkling laugh!” came a falsetto voice from the courtyard. “And the batting of your buttercup eyes!”
“Lips like rose petals!” Another voice called from the direction of the house. “Hair like… seaweed.”
Kyra stifled a laugh while Leo frowned.
“Seaweed is a terrible comparison, Max.”
“Say something about her toes. He probably loves her toes too.”
“I don’t want her to think he has a foot fetish.”
“He might have a foot fetish. We’ve never asked.”
“OW!”
“What did you do?”
“I stepped on a Lego. Matti is vicious. I know she hides them on purpose.”
“Like little Scandinavian land mines.”
Kyra burst into laughter.
“Buttercup eyes makes no sense, Rhys!” Leo shouted. “And Max, you’re just jealous. Get your own woman. I know you have one.”
“I have plenty of them because I’m the better-looking cousin,” Max yelled. “Kyra is already rethinking her decision.”
A window slid open with a long creak. “What are you two doing? Leave them alone. Do you think I want you frat boys running off another woman? Don’t I put up with enough from my kids?”
A few quiet moments.
“Sorry, Ava.”
“We’ll be quiet.”
“We love you, Kyra.”
“Please tell Ava not to beat us.”
With an exaggerated huff, the window slid closed again, and after a few minutes, the courtyard was silent.
Leo said, “So my family—”
“Is wonderful.” She kissed him. “They’re wonderful.”
“I’m very relieved you think so.” Leo smiled. “Have I complimented you lately on your buttercup eyes?”
All Kyra could do was laugh.
The End
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Acknowledgments
Finding the right words to say thank you is never easy. Finding the right words to acknowledge the contributions made by others to my work is darn near impossible most days.
First, I’d like to thank my newly expanded family. David and Colin, you hold my heart. Thank for for being so wonderful.
Second, to my assistants, the magnificent team of Jenn and Gen. Between the two of you, thin
gs get done. They don’t always get done on time, but that’s pretty much my fault. Thanks for being amazing and letting me focus on the words.
Third, to my writing friends. To Colleen Vanderlinden, Amy Cissell, and Cat Bowen, thank you for being awesome and smart and making me laugh daily. To Penny Reid and April White, thank you for holding me accountable and giving me a standard to aspire to, both personally and professionally. (Also, robot jokes are always appreciated.)
Fourth, to all the writers who inspire me regularly, there are too many of you to name or this book would be twice as long and readers would be ticked off because it would just be page after page of romance writers and fantasy writers and sci-fi writers who regularly astound me with their skill, professionalism, brilliance, and generosity. I love being part of this community.
Fifth, to the wonderful and welcoming country of Thailand, who opened its arms to me and so many other travelers through its long and colorful history. Thank you, especially, to Sak Yant Chiang Mai for your guidance and teaching about the practice of Sak Yant sacred tattooing. Thanks to my friend Ginny, who is the second person ever I’ve named a character after! Thanks for your hospitality, love, and amazing energy. We were so blessed by you and your family. We all hope to see you again soon.
And finally, to my wonderful publishing team who help me produce these books that readers seem to love. To my Irin first reader, Marketta Gray, who helps keep me in order. To my new and wonderful content editor, Heather Kinne. To my copy editing and proofreading superheroes, Anne and Linda at Victory Editing. And to the amazing professionals at Damonza for their work on this stunning cover and all the covers for the Irin Chronicles series.
Thank you all, and I’ll see you next time.
About the Author
ELIZABETH HUNTER is a contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and paranormal mystery writer. She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College and a former English teacher. She currently lives in Central California with her son, two dogs, and many plants, eagerly awaiting some guy from Ethiopia she’s going to marry as soon as his visa comes through.
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