Azura took a deep breath and then looked around.
She felt the flashes of her past move through her. Her father chasing her down the hall with a water gun, and her mother carrying her back to bed after having a nightmare.
Those memories would never leave her, but she now felt that they weren’t tied to the building. They were stored within the palace of her heart.
Azura felt great relief as she realized this. She used to think that grief would swallow her whole, taking both her past, present, and future with her, but alas, it had not.
She had been open enough to welcome someone new into her life, and he had elevated not only her opinion about herself but also her hopes for the future.
“Honestly,” she began, still gazing around. “I think it's gorgeous in here. People are going to love it. I will still love it, but it isn’t the same.”
Onyx raised his eyebrows.
“No?”
Azura shook her head, smiling.
“I love it, of course, but it isn’t my childhood home. I realize more now that it was merely walls that we grew up within, and now, it can be a place of fond memories for other people.”
Onyx held her face in his hands.
“I hope you aren’t just saying that to make me happy,” he said, his voice low and genuine.
“I’m not,” she said joyfully. “But it’s sort of a bonus that it does, isn't it?”
Onyx kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes, bathing in the sensation of his touch. He then took her by the hand and led her into the main bedroom.
Light cascaded through the windows and pooled onto a massive California king-sized bed. The walls had been repainted a comforting eggshell white with oasis-purple lily accents in picture frames and wall linings.
Azura had barely any time to take it in because Onyx had reached into his back pocket and had gone onto one knee.
“Azura,” he began. “I want you to know exactly how I feel about you.”
Onyx popped open the box, and Azura clasped her chest to control her swooning.
Two gold bands were inside the black velvet case, interlocking in the infinity shape to form a single engagement ring. A dazzling shade of red bloomed at the center, the color of a dragon’s scales.
Azura covered her mouth in surprise. Her heart was pumping in her chest like a racehorse.
“I never thought I would meet anyone like you,” Onyx began, holding the ring steadily. “I thought that I would be alone eternally, even as a shifter, and that was a burden to carry. But then I met you.”
Azura let the tears fall from her face as she smiled at him. The love of her life was professing his love for her in her family home.
How could this be real?
“You transcend everything that it means to be a mate,” Onyx continued. “You say what you think, you challenge me, and most of all, you have shown me what it means to love someone and to love oneself.”
Onyx took the ring out of the box and then took her left hand. Azura watched, feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience.
“Azura Morrow, will you make me the happiest man in all of the galaxies and take my hand in marriage?”
Azura could not get her to answer any faster. Her voice quivered and croaked, but eventually, she spurted out everything she had been feeling.
“Yes! Of course, yes!”
Onyx began laughing, then slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
“God, I love you,” Onyx said.
She leapt into his arms, and they kissed deeply. Azura began to feel way too dressed when he began moving his hands down her waist, playing with the zipper on her skirt.
“I love you so much too,” Azura said. “Now, let’s christen this bedroom.”