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I’m cracking up so hard that I’m gasping for air and my stomach’s burning. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much.

Around me, the fire wiggles, matching my joy.

Just as Sterling claimed, the training is glorious rather than strenuous. I feel as if I’ve grown into my full body. Like I’m finally completely…me in a way I never knew could happen. Then again, this is only the first lesson. The exercises surely get tougher.

Sterling stops batting at his dry tongue to glare at me with faux anger. “Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?”

Rain starts prickling my fiery skin, the drops so light that they tickle.

“Sterling!” When I attempt to swat them away, the drops grow colder, barely above freezing. Rolling over, I do my best to dodge them. My flames ripple in an effort to sizzle and evaporate the droplets.

Sterling gets on his knees and pursues me, refusing to let me escape. Our laughter and yelling ring out.

Then a new sensation washes over me.

Suddenly, Sterling’s magic fills me, too, like a cool rush of water alongside the burning heat of flame. Our eyes lock from across the swirling vortex of steam and sparks, and I know he feels it as well.

With our heightened emotions, we opened up to each other and synchronized. Our magics merged without requiring us to do anything.

The rush intoxicates me, the surging power beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. With our fire and water in perfect harmony, we feel more like a single entity than two separate magic users or bodies.

The sensation reminds me of when we shared the dream state together.

Sterling appears equally shaken. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.” I search for a way to describe what just happened. “But it felt⁠—”

“Right.” He grins. “And good.”

I nod, unable to find better words. The experience awakened something in me, a rush nearly smothered by the pressures of acting as queen.

“I’ve missed this.” I stare across the vast, harsh beauty of the desert. “Being part of the action instead of just twiddling my thumbs and watching others.”

“You’ve always been more than someone who watches events unfold from afar. Always will be.” Sterling’s fingers find mine in the sand and squeeze gently. “But what’s this about watching me? Were you scrying on me?”

The truth flows through our merge. So does the sexual thrill. The heat simmering between us now has nothing to do with the desert sun.

I remain silent, unwilling to verbally admit that Kin helped Rose and me spy on Sterling when he trained with Rivlan.

Sterling’s eyes darken as they hold mine. A new tension permeates the air. “You were!” He tsks.

I sip from my water flask, wetting my dry throat while feigning nonchalance. “I was curious about your training methods. That’s all.”

“Curious, hmm, Duchess?” The gold flecks in his irises turn molten. “You like watching me, do you?”

Blood rises to my cheeks. “Maybe.”

He edges closer. “I like watching you too.” His heated gaze travels down my body, unhurried and appreciative. “Take off your clothes.”

The command is so direct, so Sterling, that I laugh even as desire coils in my belly. “Here? In the open desert?”

He gestures to the expansive emptiness around us. “The dragons are hunting. No one else is around.” His fingers tug at the laces of my training shirt. “Unless you’re feeling shy?”

I cover his hands with mine. “Hardly. I just wasn’t planning on getting sand in…unfortunate places.”

“The blanket’s plenty big. But if you’d rather do more training⁠—”

“No.” I drop my hands from his so he can work on the laces. “No more training. I want you.”