Aurora woke up to warmth as a deep, low, and familiar voice spoke right next to her ear.
"Aurora."
Her consciousness surfaced instantly. She was pulled out from the depths of sleep and back to the real world. And with it returned everything, causing her eyes to fly open.
For a moment she remained frozen, staring upward while memories from the previous night rushed through her mind with terrifying clarity - the phoenix, the deal, the sex, and the now sealed and thriving bond.
Just thinking about the bond made the mark on the side of her neck pulse, and a soft warmth immediately spread from it and all over her body.
Her breath caught, and slowly, she turned her head. Golden eyes met hers immediately as she found Elixir wide awake. He had propped himself up beside her and was watching her with an expression she still hadn't fully learned to read. There was amusement there. Satisfaction too. But beneath it all sat something quieter.
Recognition.
