Miriam!

At Jonatham's call, she jerked back to the present to find her body prone, head resting on a cushion. The vines and burning veins were gone, and as she became more aware of herself, she discovered a new presence in her thoughts. When she shoved at it, it gave easily, and at once she knew her head was cradled not on a pillow, but on Jonatham's lap, because within the new presence was a new world of feelings not her own, but his.

Within this new part of her mind, she was sitting up, a dark head of long tangled hair on her lap, her rough hand cradling a soft smaller one while her other hand steadied the woman's lolling skull. She felt her breath slow, and relief relaxed her tense shoulders. She heard, She was only out for a minute, and I can feel her in my mind. She is all right; we both survived and now we will have forever to spend together, if we don't die when the dragons attack.

The shriek of at least three angry dragons startled her back into her own thoughts, and her eyes flew open. Jonatham scooped her up from his lap to crush her into his chest, but she resisted the lure of his embrace, shoving away with all the strength she could muster. The four inches of separation she managed to create wasn't much, but the shock on his face told her the distance served her purpose well enough.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a chance of dying during this ceremony?" she screeched at him. "What if the worst had happened and –"

Regret pushed against her from his mind. "In the rush of the moment, that bit of risk slipped my mind. I assure you, Mir, it was not intentional."

She huffed, "That's no excuse!" But her arms softened slightly.

He squeezed his arms, and she allowed the distance between them to shrink an inch. Staring into her eyes, he asked, "Would it have changed your decision? Changed the urgency of the situation?"

She sighed and leaned her head forward onto his shoulder. "No," she whispered. "It just would have been nice to know. I'm getting a little tired of being the last one to know important information, left out of the loop."

His breath warmed her ear as he murmured, "In a few minutes, you will be the only one in the loop with me, the only one I will see, touch, communicate information to, for the next several hours. Let's finish this, fast, so I can prove that to me, you are the most important person in the history of both our worlds."

This time, he was the one separating them. He hopped to his feet and extended a hand down for her to grasp. "Shall we save the castle, my lady?"

Without hesitation, she slapped her palm into his. "Let's, my prince."

As he tugged her up to stand with him, the sound of rushing wings filled the chamber. "Hurry! Father, the stone! When flying dragons mute their cries –"

"Destruction should be no surprise! Here!" The king thrust the glowing dreamstone into Jonatham's waiting fingers as he dashed behind the two of them. "Get out there, at once! Don't worry about the door! I will ensure it is firmly closed behind you with this rope."

He held out the end of the binding he'd used a few moments before during the ceremony, the other end now knotted around the handle of the door. "Knock twice quickly when the danger has passed, and I will let you back in. Remember to hold the stone in your joined hands for best effect. Good luck to you both!"

In a blink, Miriam found herself holding Jonatham's hand with the dreamstone pressed between their palms as the thick wood of the door met its stone frame behind them with a thud that echoed off each individual bit of debris, filling the space with enough sound to attract the attention of an elderly armadillo a mile away. The dragons were much closer, and the sound of their beating wings instantly grew louder, though the air remained ominously empty of any other sounds.

Jonatham thought, When they arrive, they will likely taunt us before attempting their killing attack. We will wait until they are committed to their course before revealing the dreamstone, and then we must both maintain contact with the stone until they are defeated. If we become separated, the dreamstone can only protect its holder, but wounding one of us will damage the other as well, via the bond. Transferred injuries are less dangerous than those caused directly, but the effect would be more than enough to distract us both and give the dragons another advantage. The impending frenzy already grants them a time limit on our concentration. We must avoid gifting them any more boons.

Miriam hoped the near darkness hid her blush at the implication of the nature of their imminent diversion, and then she remembered Jonatham's awareness encompassed her own. The burn of her embarrassment spread down her neck from her cheeks, switching to anger when Jonatham's soft chuckle tickled her ear. Instantly, calm infused her chaotic emotions as his assurances wove themselves in her mind.

I laughed with you, my love, not at you, for I felt the same when discussing the particulars of this part of bonding with my father not too long ago. In time, you will adapt to sharing all of yourself with me, as I shared all of myself with my parents for a year, and they with me, as is our custom with children in their final year of dependence. For my part, I cannot wait to experience the frenzy with you. Now, beware! The dragons are nearly here, and if I am not mistaken, a fourth had joined their thunder. Stay close and stand strong, Mir. Our life together begins once theirs end.

The whump of giant wings accompanied waves of wind that set Miriam's stray hairs dancing against her skin as she replied, I am proud to be your soulmate, and I will abide beside you, for however long our forever may be. I'll never let go of you, no matter how many or fearsome our enemies. I can't wait to see our future blossom.

Then words escaped their minds as out of a hurricane of air, five blasts of crackling blue fire erupted in the darkness above their heads. The streams of electric fire combined into one column of magical destruction as they hurtled toward Miriam and her prince. There was no suppressing the pounding of her terrified heart, staring down sure doom; if there was any chance that the ceremony had been unsuccessful, she would never take another breath.

Still she refused to leave Jonatham on such a dire last thought. As her hair snapped in the air and lifted as with static electricity, she elbowed him in the ribs. When his gaze shot to hers, she gave him a tiny smirk and thought, Laughing at your mate's modesty and miscounting dragons? Perhaps you are not as perfect as you appear, my prince.

A surprised smile brightened his serious expression just before the fire reached them. White blue light flashed all around, erasing all sight and sound, sensation and scent. She waited for pain, for death, for oblivion.