Chapter 54

The incessant knocking on their apartment door was what finally roused Corliss from sleep. She was wrapped in Meron's arms, their legs tangled together, naked bodies barely covered with the sheets. She had been right when she knew she wouldn't have been able to get enough of him and he seemed to be the same. They only left the apartment for the necessities like food and checking on Odanth and Ollyn. Other than that, they barely even got dressed.

As soon as the knocking grew louder, it finally broke through her good dreams that had become reality just two days before.

Meron groaned beside her, throwing his arm across his eyes as the sunlight began filtering through the partially open curtains. "Whoever it is, tell them to go away."

Corliss sat straight up, her hair a messy tangle of burgundy curls around her head. Who could be banging on their door this early in the morning? She wasn't expecting...

"Corliss!" her sister yelled through the door. "Wake up, lazy, and come open the door! You locked it with magic or else I'd do it myself!"

"Shit!" she whispered, pushing off the bed and stumbling toward the chair beside her wardrobe. She hurriedly pulled on her silk robe, running her fingers through her tangles. "Meron, get up. Get up!"

He groaned again, still not moving. "I can't. You've finally worn me out. Just a few more hours of sleep and then we can..."

She threw his clothes at him, which hit him in the face as soon as he moved his arm. "It's Bridget and Alberich. Do you really want to explain to my sister why you're naked? She's going to kill you...and then have Alberich bring you back just so they can tell Gaven and he can kill you, too!"

Lazily cracking open one eyes, he grinned at her. "They've got to find out our mating bond at some point, don't they? I could give her an eyeful. Wouldn't be the first time for either of us."

Corliss leaned over to hit him, but Meron just caught her hand and yanked her forward to kiss her soundly.

Bridget's knocks made them pull apart.

"Seriously, get dressed," Corliss told him as she walked out of the room, readjusting her robe and running her fingers through her hair again since he messed it up.

"Corliss!" Bridget called through the door.

"I'm coming, calm down!" she yelled back, then used her magic to try and stifle Meron's scent combined with hers.

Gods, she knew it wouldn't work. Not when her sister knew her so well.

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself, and slowly unlocked the door.

Corliss smiled as she opened it just a crack, peeking out to see her sister and brother-in-law eyeing her suspiciously. "Well, there you two are. Weren't you supposed to be here...?"

Bridget crossed her arms over her chest as soon as she took in her disheveled appearance. "This morning," she finished for her. "Did you forget? Or did you not get my message I sent the day before yesterday?"

She leaned back and peeked over at the kitchen island counter at the bouquet of flowers Meron got her while picking up groceries...along with the mail she hadn't bothered to open since they had been preoccupied as soon as he walked through the door.

Biting the inside of her lip, she winced and looked back at Bridget. "Must have not opened it. Sorry."

"You have a male in your apartment, Corliss."

"You know I do since Meron's staying with me....because of the dragons." And keeping me company in the best possible way.

"You're so full of shit."

Corliss winced. "Don't kill me, all right? And don't kill Meron either. I kind of want to keep him around."

This time, Alberich was the one to narrow his eyes at the mention of his best friend. "And why would we kill you two?"

Well, might as well get it over with.

Corliss pushed the door open wider, knowing Meron had finally managed to get up and was walking out of their room, though he hadn't yet put on his shirt. Just by the flush they saw on both their faces, they knew.

Bridget groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. "I knew it. I knew this arrangement wouldn't last between you. You're sleeping together, aren't you? Hell, Corliss. I love Meron and all, but what were you thinking? You know you and relationships never last very long and now you've probably ruined one of the best friendships I've seen you have in..."

She winced, hating that her sister thought so little of her capability of a love life. "It's not just that..."

"What happens when it ends badly, huh? You've got Odanth and Ollyn to think about. What happens when one of you finds your mate? Gods, that's going to be so awkward. I was hoping, praying to the Mother that you two actually were, but..."

Corliss put her hand over her sister's mouth just to get her to stop talking. "Would you hush and let me finish?"

A nervous knot twisted in her stomach, especially when a glimmer of hope flared at Bridget's cut off statement. Most people who were around a bonded couple who weren't officially mated yet usually suspected before even they could.

Finally, Corliss dropped the magic concealing their intertwined scents, their glimmering mating bond that tied her heart and soul to his.

Blank looks fell over Bridget and Alberich as Meron stepped up to her side, his hand brushing along her back as he pulled her against him...until they finally realized what they were sensing between them.

"Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods!" Bridget screamed, eyes wide...and then burst into tears as she launched herself at them. She flung her arms around their necks, jumping up and down in excitement. "Mother above, I knew it! What did I tell you, Alberich? I knew it!"

Alberich, on the other hand, was groaning as he raked his hand through his hair. "Not that I'm not happy for you, but it was hard enough dealing with you when you were just bonded with the dragons. Now, I've got to deal with this. Where's Gav when I need him, huh?

Corliss and Meron grinned at each other when her sister finally let them go.

"Oh, I'd say we're worse now," Meron said with a wink to Corliss.

Corliss poked his side. "Much worse. And it's only been two days."

"Only two days and you didn't think to tell me!"

***

The following few days Bridget and Alberich stayed with them, they somehow managed not to kick them out. Alberich was mostly fine, though he sometimes would shoot a glare at his best friend whenever Meron decided to touch her or kiss her. Bridget, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of watching them together. Most of the time, Meron would turn his back to her just to he could kiss Corliss without her seeing.

"Why can't you be cute like that anymore?" Bridget complained one morning when they caught Meron curled up against Corliss as she sat on the kitchen counter.

"Just wait until they're mated and married. It'll calm down between them," Alberich answered.

Meron playfully nipped at Corliss's finger as soon as she put it over his lips. "Still don't believe that...but she still hasn't said yes to marrying me yet, even though I ask her every chance I get."

Yeah, he'd be paying for that once they were alone in the apartment again, especially when Bridget's screech had Corliss yelling at her to shut up.

Finally, when Bridget and Alberich were due back to Asturia, Corliss and Meron were able to settle back into a regular routine, one that only slightly changed now that they were mated. Even though she would have gladly spent all day in bed with him, she still had university to worry about and the fact that she only had a few more weeks before she was finally finished.

As soon as Fin saw her in their other worlds class after she'd missed the last one, he paused beside their table, raised both brows, and gave her a half smile.

"Finally happened, huh?" he asked her.

The flush along her cheeks was answer enough for him. "Maybe..."

"Maybe? Even for being human, I can still see when one of you immortals is finally mated. All of us humans can. Because that bond is something ancient and primal, something we mortals rarely get to experience. Just warn me when the urge takes over if we're all out...because that's something I'd rather not see."

Corliss rolled her eyes and hit his arm with the back of her hand. "Stop. You're just as bad as Bridget was when she was visiting, except she did want to see it."

"I think the Lady of Asturia and I would get along perfectly, only not on that front," he laughed.

With their final thesis due at the end of the semester, she and Fin spent even more time together. Most nights, Fin could be found in her and Meron's apartment, the two of them bent over the table in the sitting room pouring over the mountains of books they were using as reference while Meron worked on dinner. Then they would quickly eat before getting right back to work.

And finally, after working week after week, perfecting every page, Corliss and Fin turned in their thesis...and got top marks, the highest in the class, marking the official finish to her university career.

Of course, they went out for a celebratory dinner at the Raven...and Corliss got so drunk Meron had to carry her home, laughing the entire way as she whispered dirty things in his ear. Especially when he tucked her in bed and she promptly fell asleep without making good on her promises to ravish him within an inch of his life. The next morning, her head was pounding so hard she didn't uncover her face with her pillow until well into the afternoon.

But now that she was finished with university, Corliss had to acknowledge the fact that she had to finally go home to Eld, to finally take on the responsibilities of being the future Lady of Eld.

The fire was blazing in the hearth in front of them, casting the room in a soft glow, and Corliss was sipping on a cup of tea as she snuggled against his side. They'd been out with Odanth and Ollyn all day since she hadn't gone to see them in almost a week with the end of school and focusing on her thesis. The twin dragons were still as rambunctious as ever and absolutely loved that their bloodrite bonds finally realized they shared a mating bond as well.

"We can stay here for a few more months if you want," Meron told her as they sat on the sofa. "We don't have to go now. I'm sure your parents will be all right with it, especially when you've been working so hard at university. You deserve some time to yourself."

Corliss sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. "I actually want to go home. The boys can train more with the other dragons and we'll be able to with the other riders as well. Then there's the fact that we kind of have to officially announce ourselves as mates. Not to mention tell our parents, even though I'm pretty sure Bridget already told them, even though I made her swear she wouldn't. Not to mention you need to be killed by Gaven and then brought back to life for it, too. You know, as an initiation into the family," she teased.

Meron snorted and pinched her side, making her laugh and jump. "I hope he doesn't go that far. He can hit me if he wants to, but it doesn't change anything."

"He thinks your head's too big for your shoulders but loves the fact that I can knock down that ego of yours pretty quickly."

Taking her teacup from her hand and placing it on the table in front of them, he shifted, narrowing his eyes before leaning in closer. "And I've found that I can stop that sassy mouth of yours quickly, too, Lady Lis."

"And you know I love it when you do, Commander," she grinned, then pulled his face down to hers.

***

They spent two more weeks in Ayveri before finally deciding to go to Eld once the apartment lease was up the following month. There was too much to do with packing up her life after being in Ayveri for so long. And now that Meron's belongings were mixed in with hers, it took them even longer. They packed up the things they didn't have much use for in those final weeks and had them shipped back.

When Corliss finally started on her bookshelves, she went through the stacks and stacks of texts, trying to decide which ones she would donate and the others she wanted to keep. In her suite of rooms in Eld, she already had a small library filled with others.

Meron had gone out to get groceries for their final week as Corliss stayed behind to work on packing them into a magically extended box she already had organized by genre and then alphabetically by author's last name. Stretching up to one of the top shelves, her fingers brushed against the smooth but worn leather of a text she had practically forgotten about with everything going on in those last few weeks – the one they'd stolen from Madame Dewridge's office.

"How in the world did I forget about you?" she whispered to it.

She stared at the cover, running her fingers along the edges before flipping it open. The alphabet key for translating it was still stuck between the cover and the first page, its corner peeking out from the top. When she moved it, her eyes swept over the writing, a new spark of curiosity flaring within her at what it could actually say...and then decided to sit down and try and do it.

It took some time, but as soon as she found the patterns within the symbols, the flow of grammar slightly different from their own, she had the first few lines complete, having written them underneath the original text.

She sat back, letting out a breath as soon as the final word was written out, and read.

These worlds began in Darkness, its invisible hand grasping with an iron grip.

Darkness was lonesome, but then a glimmer and a flicker and a burst gave birth to Light. Together, they created color and laughter, the sun, the moon, and the stars, worlds where different races created life and love and happiness.

But from Darkness, shadows were born. Twisted and corrupt, they brought chaos into every world.

The Darkness's shadows were still in the worlds, quiet and waiting, and made another. Together, the shadows and its conduit sought to bring them down, but Darkness and Light contained it in a vessel made of obsidian stone.

I, the first unlucky one the shadows sought out, write this to the one who holds the darkness within, the one who the shadows caress. It is yours to choose which path you take, though we all end up the same. Puppets in a war that has been waging since the dawn of space and time. With not much time left for myself or my world, this grimoire will contain everything I have learned from the shadows and from Light and Darkness.

One thing is clear, though, a prophecy I have seen through dreams, through visions.

The shadows will continue to devour each world one by one until there is nothing left. Three born of Darkness and Light, with shadows within, hold the power to control them. I do not see when they will be born into the worlds or when they realize their full potential. One, however, will be the key. She will find the shadows' origin in a realm long forgotten...and finally rid the worlds of the chaos that the shadows and its conduit bring.

When she finished, she had to pause, then read over its entirety once, twice, three more times before she could finally wrap her mind around it.

Then flipped to the next page to start even more translations, her curiosity begging for her to learn more.