I lean against him and he holds me tighter, casting one more look over his shoulder at his brother—his twin, my mate...the one who was supposed to keep the other half of his soul safe until I came along to claim it.

I know he'll break later and that's okay. I'll be there to love him through it.

When we get to our room and he leads me into the bathroom, a wave of sadness hits me and I sink down onto the edge of the tub, just staring straight ahead into the mirror.

There's blood streaked through my silver hair, making it look like I have a bad pink highlight job, blood dried on my skin, and I look sickly and pale.

"Cordelia?" Elias says, and I feel his palms on my knees. When my gaze meets his, he's squatting in front of me, and his brown eyes are searching mine.

"I—I almost died. For real this time," I whisper, the only thing that comes to mind, the fear evident in my voice.

"It was the most terrifying moment of my entire existence. I panicked when your heart slowed. The thought of losing you was enough to rip me apart." He places his finger under my chin and lifts my face. "But you're here with me."

"I know," I say, my voice still quiet and shaky. "But even with all the asthma attacks I've had in my life, the times Jolene tried to kill me, when I almost froze to death...this was the closest brush I've had and I don't ever want to come that close again. Now that I know what I am and that I will live as long as you..." I shake my head and smile, resting my forehead against his. "I don't want to miss a second of that."

"You won't," he says, lifting my soiled shirt over my head. "That is unless you want to make a habit of transforming vampires back to humans."

I laugh at the thought. After everything I went through tonight, I won't be trying that again. The only reason I risked my life was for Elias's peace of mind. And, if I'm being honest, I did it for Cane too. He needs a life with a little less power and an opportunity for normalcy—no struggle for a crown, no wanting to enslave lesser beings, no looking over his shoulder for a deathblow.

"Don't worry. I won't be doing that again. I want to keep my blood in my body from now on, thank you very much." He's standing me up to help me out of my leggings and as he's sliding them down my thighs, I shiver and add, "Well, except the blood that's reserved for you, my king."

When he has finished removing all my clothes, he ends up on his knees looking up at me. He kisses the roundest and softest part of my stomach and says, "We will wait until you have your strength back before I feed again. Until then, your bath awaits."

He guides me to the tub. The surface of the water is covered with bubbles and tendrils of steam waft into the air. Every aching muscle in my body turns into soggy noodles as I'm enveloped in the warmth.

I sink all the way under the water for a few seconds and soak my head, and when I come back up for air, Elias looks alarmed.

"What?" I ask, blowing bubbles off my face and wiping my hair back off my forehead.

"I don't know," he says, gripping the back of his neck sheepishly. "You were out of my sight, and I didn't—" He clears his throat. "I didn't like it."

I giggle and cover it with a cough. "Oh, this is going to be a thing now, isn't it?"

He crosses his arms and gives me an unamused look. "Maybe."

I smile and sink a little further down into the water. "Well, you better come in here and protect me then..."

He rolls his eyes like it's such an inconvenience, but I see the eagerness hidden in the beautiful sharp lines of his face. He makes a show of stripping, making sure I get a glimpse of every chiseled muscle and every inch of soft tan skin. Gently, he moves me forward and sinks his body behind mine. I sigh as he wraps me in his arms. This is the type of thing I want every day for the rest of my life.

"This is much better," he says as I lean back on his chest.

"I agree," I groan as he pulls me as close as he can, tangling his legs around mine. "I don't ever want to be apart from you again. Is that weird?"

"I just told you that I didn't like not seeing you when you went underwater...in the bathtub. I think we are both swimming the same current, Cordelia. I'm clearly obsessed with you and don't want you out of my sight. I think never being apart again is doable." He sweeps my hair to the side and places a kiss on the pulse point on my neck.

"Fair enough," I murmur, rolling my head to the side so he can reach more of my skin. I love being close to him like this, and it's in these moments that I really do feel so lucky to be his. "You feel so good, Elias. I can't tell you how happy I am to be here with you."

He reaches for the shampoo bottle on the edge of the tub and lathers it in his hands. My eyes flutter shut as he massages it into my scalp. This is the type of life I always dreamed about having. It's hard to believe that I've been blessed with another being who is so in-tune to my needs.

"You don't have to say anything, belle rêveur. Close your eyes and let me take care of you."

I do just that as he cleans the blood off me. Every caress and gentle scrub lulls me into a peaceful state of mind. After everything that happened tonight, I feared that it would take a second to fall back into our normal routine. This just proves that nothing will change what we feel for one another. We are endgame.

When I'm clean, Elias rises from the tub and dries off before wrapping me in a towel. Like I'm something delicate and precious, he carries me to our bed and settles me between the fluffy blankets. I snuggle into their warmth as he turns off the lights before crawling in beside me.

We reach for each other at the same time, and both release a long breath when our limbs are tangled together.

"Thank you for finding a way to save my brother. I would never risk you for anyone, but what you chose to do tonight gives him a chance at a new life," Elias says, his voice gravelly with emotion.

I reach up and push a strand of his wet hair off his forehead, sliding my palm down to cup his cheek. "Of course. If there was a way to save him, I was going to do it. I know that even though you two aren't going to ever be the same again, you wouldn't want to know that he doesn't exist anymore as a result of something you did. No matter how 'necessary.'"

"What comes next will be a new challenge for us. I can't imagine facing it with anyone else. I want your input and guidance through all of this. I don't expect you to sit at my side like a pretty trinket. I want you to rule with me, Cordelia."

"Like, make decisions with you? Not just nod and smile at the vampire subjects when they come by to pay their respects at the Vampire Ball or whatever festival y'all have every year?" I joke, a smile playing at my lips. As if I ever thought he'd want me to just be eye candy for him.

"I'm sure your party planning skills are unparalleled, but I want a true queen. Deep inside, I think you are the key to healing centuries of hurt between supes. I don't think it is just me who will make a huge impact on this realm, but you as well."

Those are big words about a girl who didn't even know she had a place in Aevum until this year. I thought there was one people in one realm. Now I'm set to co-rule a world I thought was just make-believe.

"How do you know that? What if everyone just sees me as a human who isn't worthy of you or of even being here? What if you're the only one who thinks so highly of me?" I ask, shifting in his arms until I'm laying with my back pressed up against his chest.

He kisses my shoulder and says, "You forget that you have power unlike anyone in Aevum. You're a Dreamwalker. No one will see you as a mere human. You are so much more than that."

If it were Cane talking to me, I know he would be thinking about how my powers benefited him and his cause. Elias only sees them as an extension of me. He would be in awe of me with or without them.

I flip over in one movement and press my lips to his, taking him by surprise. "I love you, Elias," I say against his mouth.

"I love you, Cordelia. I can't wait to start the next chapter of our life together. I'll face anything as long as I have you with me."

There was a time when I was content living a life of predictability. I'd settled for mediocre without knowing something extraordinary awaited me. I will never settle like that again. Elias has brought me into his world and shown me that I'm worth heroic feats and extraordinary adventures. I will never set my bar low again. I agree with my mate; I'm deserving of the type of life only a vampire king can give me.