Quetz watched the two of them and flew off.

"I am sorry that you l— let go of your family because of me," she said in a breathy voice.

​​

Daryn kissed her head and said, "No silly. I am sorry that I wasn't here when Brantley made that deal with you. I wish I had known of his intentions beforehand. I wouldn't have let you do it. Gayle is a strong werewolf. He would have found his way out."

She leaned on his chest right over the tattoo, which had stars dripping from it, as if they were droplets of water from its moonbeams. She wrapped her arms around him and brought her hand to his waist. "I had to," she murmured. "If I didn't, he would have been even more dangerous. We will soon find the jewel and hand it over to him and get out of here."

Daryn stroked her hair to reassure that he was there with her. "Do you even know anything about the Stone of Solaris?"

"Yes," she said. "It was stolen from the Kingdom of Aztec two thousand years back and it was the bearer of prosperity and fertility to its kings."

"No Dawn, this whole story is a myth."

Dawn looked up and stared at him flatly. "What do you mean?"

Daryn held her hand and urged her to walk with him inside the cottage. "The pure bloods have listened to this story for a long time. This is a pure myth. The Stone of Solaris doesn't exist because no one has ever been able to find it." Together they walked hand-in-hand towards the room. "Brantley has sent many people on its quest and many had volunteered to find it, but none have ever recovered it. This story is older than Brantley. Now he is thirty over two thousand years old, and even he has given up on its search. Do you think that you would be able to find it?" Daryn asked with an exasperated tone and opened the door of the room.

The entire place looked like a ghost town. There was no sign of life. Only the birds chirped on the outside.

He made her sit on the bed and kneeled down in front of her to remove her shoes. He massaged her feet and said, "Brantley has tricked you only because he wanted your dragon. He knows that you will never be able to find the jewel. That way you will never ever get freed and have to spend your remaining days here, enslaved in Ulfric. He is sure that on your quest to find the ruby, you will die and your dragon would go to him."

There was nothing but shock and confusion on Dawn's face as she scrambled away from him on the bed. "You mean we will never get out of this place, ever?" she rasped.

Daryn's eyes were fixed on her. He got up and shook his head.

"So that is why you stayed back?" She breathed a low and guttural tone, getting angry by the second. He chose to be with her knowing that he might be trapped in this eternity forever and knowing that she might die in the quest. "What did you do?" She said in a very angry voice.

There was complete silence, not a sound from him, only a smile—a smile that ascertained that he knew. He said, "Dawn, you accepted my Rede'vota, which I had been dreading that you wouldn't. I wish to live with you not away from you." He climbed the bed and crawled to her.

She scrambled back further, as anger rose in her chest. This foolish man had sacrificed his life, his position as the one of the most influential businessmen and his clan only for her. How deep was his love? "You fool!" she said through clenched teeth. "You fool!" she lashed out at him. She wanted all of them to be safe and he fell into the ploy. She swatted the hand away that was now on her legs. "Don't touch me!" He never ever shared his real feelings. He never told her his plans.

He climbed on to her and straddled her. She pushed his chest away, but he was far too strong for her. "Dawn," he whispered. She shook her head and tried to run away but she couldn't move. He held her hands in front of his chest and then kissed them.

"Leave me," she said, pulling out her hands from his grip.

He held them tighter and pinned them above her head with one hand. With the other he gripped her chin and kissed her on her lips. "Dawn" he said in her mouth. At first she protested, and then—she opened up for him, as if opening for him was like finding her solace. He kissed her passionately, urgently and she melted for him. He left her hand and she wrapped them around his neck. He was rock hard against her. He rolled with her on the top and ripped her clothes off. She sat on him and he stared at her. Not able to control himself any longer, he pulled her naked body down on her and kissed her again, scraping through her teeth.

She fisted his hair and said, "I want you, body and soul."

"Oh baby!" he said, his hardness pressing against her. He groaned and she went down to where his cock twitched. She took the full length inside. He moaned and then pounced on her. He picked her up by hips, poised her above him and then inserted himself deep within her.

Dawn moaned at every stroke he made inside her. He lifted her up and then plunged back in. Moments later they exploded around each other. Dawn didn't get off him. She simply lay over his chest, over his sweaty chest. She wanted to sleep, and what better place than him, her home. "I love you," she whispered as her eyes became heavy. "I love you," she said again, this time barely able to speak properly. All the tiredness, all the tension and every worry that had strained her mind and body, slowly drained out. "I love you like my life," she breathed softly and plunged into slumber. She circled her hands around him to feel him, to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

Daryn stroked her thick, wavy black hair until she was fast asleep. He kissed her head. Till death do us part… he remembered his Rede'vota. There were too many things that bounced around his mind. How would they sustain themselves in this place? Ulfric was like a ghost town. Maybe they have to live like cavemen? He chuckled at the thought. At least he got to live with her.

When Dawn woke up, it was almost evening. She found herself under a warm blanket and in eerie silence. She sprang up. Where was Daryn? Was it a dream? She was about to step out when the door opened and Daryn walked in with a tray loaded with black grapes, cheese, sandwiches and juice. She grinned when her stomach growled. Daryn placed the tray next to her and said, "This is all I could find in the kitchen. There's more but this was ready. I don't know how to make food." He picked cheese and popped it in his mouth. "I am so thankful to Skadi that my wife knows how to cook," he said munching the cheese with a satisfied look on his face.

Dawn laughed. "I am also thankful in that case that your wife knows how to cook." She picked up a sandwich and took a big bite. "What do we do now?" she asked. She realized that everything in the room had been put back in order.

Daryn wiped a crumble from the side of her lip and said, "How about you start opening your mind link with me? It is important that we read each other's thoughts. At the same time you must learn how to shield your mind."

"Good idea," she replied eating another tuna sandwich. "But I was talking about how to go about finding the jewel."

"I told you, that he wants to send you on a wild goose chase, and I won't allow that. We will stay in the Ulfric for our life and not find the jewel. That rock doesn't exist."

"I think it does," Dawn replied licking her lips.

Daryn jerked his head up. "No, it doesn't!"

"Is Brantley the last king of Aztec? Is he married?" she asked. Her blanket had slipped down and her breasts popped out. Daryn stared at them and forgot what she asked. The grape in his mouth crushed loudly.

She rolled her eyes. Picking the blanket up, she asked in an elevated voice, "Is Brantley married?"

Disappointed, Daryn's mouth pressed into a thin line. "No," he replied sullenly.

"That means what he said is true. That stone must be offering the heirs of Aztec some kind of power," she stopped and placed her unfinished sandwich in the tray. "If we are already trapped here for the life, might as well make it worthwhile. We have all the time in the world. What are we going to do? Let's find the Stone of Solaris."