Rex brought Velkaris down through a split in the cliffs, wings carving the mist like razors. Nova followed close behind on Onyx. Neither of them spoke as they descended, the cliffs narrowing around them until the air felt thick and narrowed, the world reduced to wingbeats and pressure.
They landed at the rim of a clearing, where moss grew thick beneath claw-scarred stone and the distant roar of water rolled through the gorge. Nova stepped down, boots hitting earth.
Her scent lifted into the damp air, vanilla and moonlight curling through steam. Rex inhaled without meaning to. Too sharply. He stiffened, masking it by adjusting Velkaris's reins, though his eyes flicked to her with a heat that vanished the moment she turned his way.
"Where are we?" Nova asked.
"You'll see," Rex replied, voice low. "This is where I come to clear my mind."
She followed him down a narrow path, the ground slick, the cliffs pressing in tight on either side. The close stone swallowed sound, leaving only her quiet breaths and the heavier rhythm of his steps ahead. Her body ached, skin humming with leftover pain.
Then the air shifted.
They approached the last stone passage, its ceiling dropping low enough that it forced her close behind him. Rex slowed. Not enough to be obvious, but enough that his shoulder brushed hers. For a heartbeat, he hesitated as if something sat on the edge of his tongue—or on the edge of his restraint. The moment stretched, brittle and charged.
Then he moved again without a word.
They stepped through the final stone passage—and the world broke open.
The basin stretched wide and endless below them, a vast hidden oasis carved in marble cliffs. A waterfall poured like silver fire from the rockface, vanishing into a crystal pool so clear it swallowed the stars whole.
Steam drifted from the surface, lazy and glowing. Vines glittered along the stone, trembling with magic. And under the water—light moved. Not reflected. Alive.
Nova exhaled. "It's beautiful."
Rex's eyes didn't leave her. He watched the way her breath caught, the way the glow from the basin framed her stunning face, and it struck him again with brutal clarity that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He would never get used to it, not in a thousand lifetimes.
His gaze lingered on her a moment too long, heavy with words he wasn't reckless enough to speak.
When she finally noticed and met his eyes, he tore his attention away too fast, clearing his throat as if that could mask it.
"The Falls of Elaran's Veil. Only accessible by Dragon," he said with a grin that tried to play the moment off.
Nova couldn't help but grin back at him. His smile was contagious.
Rex stepped forward, and looked over his shoulder. "It's also deep."
"We're jumping." He said with a smirk.
Her mouth parted but no words came out, realizing he was serious.
She stepped to the edge looking down. The basin lay a hundred feet below, maybe more.
"You are mad." She said.
"Completely." Rex grinned. "But you'll survive. Probably."
She huffed, unimpressed. But the mist kissed her skin like a dare. The water below pulsed like a living thing. The cliffs didn't feel like a wall—they felt like a threshold.
Then, without warning, he leapt.
One blink, and Rex was gone, swallowed by the mist and the drop beyond it.
Nova cursed under her breath and followed. Her body cut through the air like a blade. The wind screamed past her, snatching at her limbs. Her heart pounded through her chest. It was terrifying.
The world then vanished in a rush of cold as water slammed into her. It stole her breath in a single, crushing instant.
The current was far stronger than she expected. It seized her instantly, yanking her sideways with brutal force. The spin hit fast and sharp, twisting her thin body and dragging her under. Panic flared in her chest. Her lungs burned. She kicked upward, once, then again, but the water curved against her like it meant to keep her.
And then, fingers. Strong. Warm. Rex. He had found her in the dark. But he didn't pull. He only held her hand for a heartbeat, just long enough to say that she wasn't alone. Then he let go.
Nova stilled. Thought cut through the panic like a blade. She stopped fighting. Let the current move her. Not against it—through it. She turned her body, shifted her limbs, rolled with the pull. Magic flickered under her skin. Like her soul aligned with the water.
She broke the surface in a gasping breath, water streaming down her face. Rex surfaced a few strokes away, grinning like a man possessed.
"You might be the craziest woman I've ever met," he called, half-laughing.
She huffed and laughed with him, the sound bursting from her like something untethered. It wasn't polite or controlled, nothing like the soft smiles she usually gave the world. It was wild and full and aching, the kind of laugh that came from somewhere deep.
Rex joined her, their laughter crashing over the water until both of them were breathless, lungs aching like they were children who had forgotten what pain felt like.
Rex blinked as something shifted at the edge of his vision. The water around them had turned gold. Not reflected light. Not a trick of the basin. The entire lake was glowing. The light shimmered outward from her skin, warm and alive. The reflection danced on her blonde, almost white hair.
It continued to spread until the massive pool blazed gold beneath the cliffs.
Rex felt warmth spread through him, sinking deep. Soothing places he didn't let anyone see. The raw place left behind after losing his best friend a year ago. The tight ache coiled in his chest for the last four days since meeting her. Warmth rolled through all of it, untying knots he hadn't managed to loosen on his own.
Outside, he felt his bruises soften. Fade. The gash on his side sealed, smooth and unscarred, as if the wound had never existed.
He swallowed hard as the glow settled into him. Emotion swelled sharp and unwelcome. He forced it down, refusing to let it rise.
Nova watched him, puzzled by his expression.
He didn't speak for a moment, only stared as the last trace of his wound vanished beneath the gold light. Her green eyes stayed fixed on him, brows drawn with gentle concern.
"Nova… the water glows. It healed me," Rex said, flat and almost casual, as if announcing the temperature.
She blinked, startled, her lips parting with a soft oh. "Oh, that's why you're… most water turns gold when I enter it."
Color rose faintly across her cheeks, realizing she might have scared him. He felt her worry through the bond, and his heart almost melted again.
"I'm not scared of this, Nova," he said, smiling at how adorable she was. "I'm awed by it. By you. Every time I interact with you, you do something like this."
"Coming from the man that rides dragons and just jumped off a cliff for fun," she said laughing, water glinting on her cheeks.
"Coming from a woman that followed me," Rex countered, giving her a playful push.
"Good point. You seem to be a very bad influence." Nova pushed him back.
"I'm the bad influence?" Rex scoffed. He started laughing harder. "Coming from the woman who jumped off a literal bridge yesterday."
His laugh was contagious, rich and warm, and she lost it again.
"Oh gods… that's right." Nova said, remembering she had been upset because Fin said she wasn't acting like a queen. "One of the many things I did wrong."
"Exactly," Rex said flatly.
"Rex!" Nova splashed him.
"What?" He lifted his hands with an innocent expression.
"Stop making me laugh!"
"Impossible. I have that effect on women," he said with a pleased grin.
"You are impossible," Nova huffed, swimming toward the shore—still smiling. She couldn't stop. And Rex felt that small, soft joy through the matebond, warm as sunlight spreading through him.
When she was waist-deep and almost to shore, Rex stopped. His voice dropped into something low and serious. "Nova…"
She turned, the glow of the water catching the soft lines of her face. His expression was sober enough to make her smile fade.
Rex's eyes narrowed… then he suddenly gasped, loud and scandalized.
"Nova… you tracked mud into my sacred waterfall."
She blinked, stunned, then sputtered, "Rex!"
He laughed, his grin bright and unrepentant as he moved through the glowing gold water toward her. But when he reached her, the humor softened. His voice lowered again, not playful this time—honest.
"But I do want to tell you, Nova… I don't know what Fin was thinking," he said quietly. "No man in his right mind would ever treat you as anything less than what you are."
He reached up and brushed a soaked strand of her long white-silver hair from her brow. His fingers lingered, gentle and reverent, as if touching something he shouldn't but couldn't help.
"You're extraordinary," he murmured. "Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful. And not because you jumped off a bridge or stood on a dragon's head. It's your soul. The way it burns."
Her breath caught. Color rose warm across her sun-kissed cheeks. She swallowed, moved by his sincerity.
"That's so kind of you, Rex." Her voice was soft, unsteady, unsure how to absorb a compliment that felt like sunlight.
He wanted to kiss her. Gods, he wanted to. It pulsed in his chest like a second heartbeat. But he forced the impulse down, choosing the path that hurt and steadied him in the same breath.
He pulled her into a hug instead.
A warm, grounding, fierce hug she hadn't realized she needed until she melted into it. She hugged him back, her thin arms wrapping around him with quiet trust, the gold water shimmering around them like it approved.
"I think the same about you," she whispered, meaning his kindness, his loyalty, the steadiness in him.
Rex's grin sharpened instantly. "You think I'm beautiful?"
Nova's face shot red in an instant. "That is not what I meant."
He laughed, warm and delighted. "What are we going to do with you, Queen of North Varos." His eyes gleamed. "Actually… I think I know."
Before she could speak, he vanished underwater like a playful shark. In the next breath, his hand wrapped around her ankle and tugged her straight down with him.
Nova shrieked—an embarrassingly high-pitched sound—before laughter burst out of her again, wild and breathless as they surfaced.
She pushed her wet hair back, trying to glare at him, failing miserably.
"Rex, if you drag me under again, I swear I will personally inform every dragon in Varos that you taste like chicken."