ADAM

I had seen warriors before. But I had never seen anything like Sage.

She hovered above the arena like something carved from light itself—golden fire licking over her skin, her hair lifting in an unseen current, her eyes burning with a power that was not merely magic.

It was divinity.

My chest felt too small to contain what billowed inside it. Awe. Pride. And something deeper—something dangerously close to reverence.

She was magnificent!

And she was mine. My mate.

The word still felt fragile in my mind, like if I held it too tightly it would shatter.

Years ago, I had felt my heart lurch at the sight of...