They set the phone up on the counter and searched for a simple cinnamon roll tutorial. The kitchen lights were warm, soft, and golden. Perfectly matching the mood between them.
Natsuki poured flour into a bowl. Damon watched her hands more than the video.
The person in the video, a cheerful woman with bright red lipstick, paused and said, "Now, for this next step, you'll need strong hands and patience to roll and knead the dough until it's smooth."
Natsuki looked at Damon with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Fine, fine," Damon sighed dramatically, raising his hands in surrender. "Let the prince do the peasant's work."
"That's right," Natsuki said, taking the bowl and handing him a large bag of sugar. "All that world-shattering training must be put to good use for the real challenges. Oh, and just say you know Daiki's gone back to the USA with his dad."
"Oh... I was already thinking of visiting him, actually."
She watched him from behind as he took over to pour it. She saw an image of him a few months ago vs now. She laughed internally, 'He's really grown, I guess he's had his glow up. You're not just mine, Damon. You complete home.'
As he leaned over to pour the sugar with care, she moved swiftly. Her mouth opened, and she bit down gently on his bulging biceps, not hard enough to injure his skin, but just enough to be felt. He felt her tongue touch his skin.
Damon froze, letting out a surprised chuckle. "Natsuki! What are you doing?"
"Your arms look edible," she mumbled, releasing him. "A bit doughy."
Damon froze, "Doughy? You're lucky you're cute," he muttered, shaking his head.
He began the difficult task of mixing the sticky dough. When the video transitioned, Natsuki was still watching. Damon came up behind her, sliding his arms so he held her just below her chest, where her breath rose.
Natsuki was stunned for a moment. Then thought:
'Damon's being bold... I should embrace him and let him see my bold side too; he's seen it, but... now we're together. Actually, I think I already did that when I bit his arm.' She laughed in her mind.
Natsuki smiled, leaning back into his embrace, her elbow resting on his arm. She used one hand to hold his face steady, a sign of mutual possessiveness.
They watched the video intently as Natsuki prepared the filling. She picked up an egg, ready to crack it. Damon leaned down, his mouth tracing the curve of her ear before gently catching the lobe between his lips.
Natsuki giggled, a sound that vibrated through his chest. "Focus, Damon!" she squeaked, but she didn't pull away.
She cracked the egg a little too hard on the counter edge. When she opened it, a small shard of shell fell into the bowl.
Natsuki sighed. "Now I have to fish that out."
"Ah, a job for the great precision master," Damon said, picking up a chopstick and handing it to her.
She jabbed at the shell piece. "It just keeps floating away. This is impossible."
Damon put down the chopsticks. "To crack an egg, you have to go nice and slow. Sometimes, the owner of the egg might want you to go super fast and harder, but it depends. I always remember that each time I'm about to crack an egg," he said.
Natsuki blinked, her mind catching the double meaning a second too late. "Damon… what exactly are you saying?"
He looked at her with fake confusion. "I was just teaching you how I like to crack an egg. What did you think I was saying?"
Natsuki got secretly flustered.
He focused his mind, sending a focused whisper of wind into the bowl. The air pressure shifted instantly, lifting the tiny shell shard to the surface, where he smoothly plucked it out.
Natsuki stared, eyes wide with fascination. "Is that eterna? You used wind… to pick up an eggshell?"
"Monarch-level precision, baby girl," he said, blowing on his fingertips. Then, with a playful smile, he condensed a fraction of fire eterna onto the shell, instantly vaporizing it into a puff of dust that he blew toward her face.
She gasped and playfully swatted at him, a genuine smile lighting up her face.
They finished the dough, rolled it flat, added the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sliced the pinwheels. They placed the rolls into a baking pan and placed it in the oven.
Damon lifted her and sat her gently on the kitchen counter. He stood between her legs, hands resting on her thighs, gazing up at her as her hands came around his neck. One cupped the back of his head.
The kitchen air was thick with the scent of cinnamon and the unspoken promise they had just made. A soft, mechanical tick, tick, tick came from the oven timer.
"Natsuki," Damon said, his voice dropping to a smooth, serious register. "Are you really sure your parents won't be getting back home anytime soon?"
"Damon," she said, cupping his cheek, "I know time's a lot different on Woewyn, but do you think they'd book a flight at this time of the night? They're not even on this continent yet."
"Then," he said, leaning in, "we're safe."
Their lips met. Slow, warm, and real. Neither rushed. Neither needed to. They kissed slowly but boldly. Breathing each other in like the smell of comfort and the relief of being in the other's arms.
"Tell me," she whispered.
He didn't ask what. "I love you," he said. "Completely."
She exhaled like the words healed something deep. He kissed her again, slower, deeper.
When they finally broke apart, Natsuki asked softly, her arms around his neck: "Tell me about the war. Everything... both good and bad."
He nodded. "Natsuki... I don't wanna hide anything from you, so I'm just gonna say it."
She listened, her eyes glinting with worry.
"There's something that happens when I grow. The growth is too much… so my body forces years of adaptation at once. It hurts."
Her eyes widened. "And you go through that alone?"
Damon lifted her face gently. "I'm not alone. I have you, Daichi, my mom, Nyra… my family."
She held his face with both hands. "Well, don't expect me to stop worrying."
He told her about Velmira. Her fate and Draven.
Natsuki listened, heart aching. "I normally wouldn't say this but... I don't think she deserved that," she whispered.
"She didn't," Damon agreed softly.
Then he told her about Santa, the real one. Almost on cue:
Knock. Knock. Knock.
They both froze.
"I thought your parents weren't coming back," Damon said.
"They aren't," Natsuki whispered.
She hopped off the counter, opened the door, and immediately froze.
A sled. Two wyverns. A massive red bag. Snow swirling unnaturally.
"...Santa?" she whispered.
The figure pulled off the mask.
"Hey," Solaren grinned. "Damon. I'm sure Hazel set this up."
Damon facepalmed. "Solaren… why are you Santa?"
" Well, I volunteered and was assigned to this region," he shrugged. "Caeliith and Serenya, too, but I think one of them is in Frank."
"France," Damon corrected. He walked forward and held Natsuki's waist from behind with one hand. As casual as ever.
Natsuki pointed shakily at the wyverns. "What if someone SEES THAT?!"
"No worries," Solaren said casually. "Only souls who've been to Eternum can see them."
The wyverns grumbled their dragon-like greetings. "And hear them," Solaren added.
He dove dramatically into the giant gift bag, rustled around, and popped out holding a red box wrapped in a gold ribbon.
"For you, Natsuki. From Santa and Prince Damon."
She blushed hard.
Solaren then looked up at the sky. "Earth's snow is dull. Damon, what do you say I give them a show?"
"Go for it."
He leapt high, impossibly high, and light exploded in the sky. Wyverns circled him, glowing silhouettes between moonlight and flame, their wings cutting arcs through the sky. Light trails, starbursts, golden arcs, shimmering symbols. A celestial firework dance.
People stepped outside, phones in hand, staring in awe. Only seeing the lights — not the wyverns.
Inside the house, something small and glowing floated toward Natsuki.
HOSHI-3, the AI.
Soft, warm, the size of Natsuki's fists. Its entire body was blue. Shaped like a tiny human — head, limbs, glowing eyes.
"I've been assigned to be your companion," it chimed in a small, celestial voice. "Would you like to give me a name?"
Natsuki paused. Looked at Damon and whispered, smiling, "Luma."
The spirit glowed brighter, happy.
She turned and hugged Damon tightly, then looked up at him. "Thank you... But what does it do? What even is it?"
"I'll leave you two to explore that," he said, laughing as he patted her head.
Inside, the oven beeped loudly. Damon grabbed the pan barehanded, unaffected. Natsuki cut a roll and held it up.
"First bite."
Damon took a bite, then stared at her. At the roll. Back at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm deciding something important, which is sweeter: you, or the cinnamon roll?"
Natsuki didn't miss a beat. She aimed a sharp, precise fist at his stomach like she'd been trained. Damon Vale, the prince who had taken blows from beings that could shatter moons, involuntarily doubled over from the playful punch. It hurt, and the surprise always got him.
"I'm joking!" he laughed, grabbing his midsection dramatically. He took a bite of the roll, nodding in approval.
"They're good. Very, very good. But you, Natsuki, are a whole lot sweeter."
Her cheeks turned red. A blush was an understatement. "Sounds a lot better." She said, pouting. He only laughed at her childish expression.
Later, they lay on the couch...
Natsuki rested chest-down on him, her head on his chest.
Damon opened his palm, playing with light as it glowed on Natsuki's face. She tried touching it, but only felt tiny shocks through her fingers. She touched his wind too.
"It's just wind... but it's like... alive," she said.
Then he summoned fire. It shimmered gold-red, swirling like a miniature sun.
"Careful," Damon warned. "My Fire Tutor says only someone who truly loves me can touch my fire and not get hurt."
Natsuki blinked for a moment, then smiled. She didn't hesitate. She lifted her hand, intertwined her fingers with his, around the flame, and kissed him softly.
The fire didn't burn her. It folded gently into her touch.
Damon opened his eyes slowly, stunned. "I love you, Natsuki," he whispered.
Her fingers squeezed his. "I love you, Damon."
The flame dimmed into a soft ember between their joined hands. And for the first time in a long time, he felt completely, undeniably home.
While he showed her the recording he got of the fish while feeding them, with a hand on her back and one in her hair as she held his phone.
"Wow. Your waters are so blue and clear. But they're almost green too..." She said. While she muttered her thoughts about the fish and how she didn't know fish eat berries, Damon thought:
'I never understood what it meant to "live for someone." It always sounded dramatic… something people just say. But holding her now… hearing her breathe and laugh… feeling her warmth on me…
Yeah. I get it.
I love her for many reasons. Not just because she's always helped me. Not just because she's beautiful. I love her because when the world falls apart, she's one thing that makes me want to stay in it. That's one reason. A good reason.
I promised her I'd live.
Not die protecting her.
Not, burn everything down for her. I think I might still do that if needed, but...
Live. Every day. For her.
And I will. No matter what comes next.'
FINAL CHAPTER OF VOLUME 1