He grabbed Riyah by the hand and pulled her toward the edge of the old sawmill. And when they rounded the corner, he scooped her up in a hug and kissed her just to feel steady again. He walked with her like that, holding her, listening to her happy thoughts, absorbing her devotion and love until there was no darkness left in him. Oh, it would come back. The darkness would always come back, but Riyah was light and she never dimmed. She gave and gave, selflessly and without realizing. Not even the apex predator inside of her had dampened her caring nature.
She was hugging his neck so tight, legs wrapped around his waist, completely focused on him, and that had been the plan. Distraction. Because he really did have a surprise for her.
Slowly, Vyr lowered her to the ground and kissed her in little smacks, one, two, three, four. “Remember when you gave me the sky?” he asked her low, swimming in those pretty blue eyes of hers.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Vyr gripped her shoulders gently and turned her toward the orchard of peach trees he’d spent the last three days planting.
“Oh, my gosh,” she whispered, drawing her hands to her face as she scanned the rows of fruit trees. “You planted these for me?” Her voice shook.
“It’s the least I could do,” he said, sliding his arms around her chest and resting his chin on top of her hair. “Thank you for seeing in me what no one took the time to. You kept me fighting in that prison. And then you saved me. You didn’t just give me the sky, Riyah.” He kissed the top of her head and imagined their future stretching on and on. “You gave me everything.”
It wasn’t the mountains that were Vyr’s treasure. It wasn’t freedom. It wasn’t even the crew.
It was Riyah, the light-giver and banisher of soul shadows.
Riyah the witch.
Riyah the polar bear shifter.
Riyah the mate of the Red Dragon.
His Riyah of the Sons of Beasts Crew.
He’d never really been alone, but it took meeting her to realize that. Because of her, he was back in his mountains. Because of her, the dragon lived. Because of her, he had a future, a crew, a home, and a place in this world where people weren’t afraid of him.
Because of her love, Vyr would never be in the dark again.