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He had lost her.
Dan Heng had sworn to keep her safe at all times and he still lost her to that damn memokeeper. He would bitterly laugh at his own ineptitude if he wasn’t panicking right now. He shouldn’t have left Amphoreus, even if Screwllum insisted he had to. Dan Heng really was a failure of a guard, wasn’t he? First, he let her die when the entire expedition barely even started, then he wasn’t of any use in bringing her back to life, and now he left her alone. And now Stelle was kidnapped by a memokeeper that dares to wear March’s face. It was enough to make his draconic blood boil.
There was a rational archivist part of him that told him to calm down, to think this through and come up with a proper plan of action, however it was almost drowned out by a roar of a dragon who wanted to tear the earth itself apart in order to find Stelle. To find his mate.
The thought almost made him stop for a moment: how could she be his mate if he never marked her? Never even made his feelings known? Dan Heng wanted to curse himself for acting so possessive and full of himself. He wasn’t worthy of her and he knew that. Not before, and certainly not after everything that happened.
That said, this train of thought was exactly what he needed to somewhat calm himself down and think rationally: he has no idea where that memokeeper had taken Stelle and there are no leads to follow. What he has is the coreflame of earth and all the time in the world.
So, he will just have to search the entire world if he has to. He will not stop until Stelle is safe with him once again.
That much he swears upon his life.
***
She is here.
For the first time in millennia, he can finally see her again. Feel her presence nearby and reach out to her. So, he does exactly that: he reaches into the vast ocean of memoria, already so familiar after such a long time spent in it, and grabs Stelle’s hand, pulling her up and into his arms. Dan Heng embraces her as they are thrown out of the ocean and near the Cerces’s tree, tumbling on the ground but still not letting go of each other.
“Stelle…” Still holding her, Dan Heng looks down, visually checking if she’s injured or not. His voice is relieved, as if an entire mountain was just lifted off his shoulders.
“Not yet. Please let me have this. Don’t let go. Please.” Stelle sounded weak, trembling, almost broken, as she was clinging to him for dear life. It broke Dan Heng’s heart to see the person he loves in this state. He tightened his hold on her, the now present height difference making her seem even smaller in his arms.
“I’m here, always. For as long as you want me to be.” He pledged to her, his hand unconsciously playing with the tips of her hair. Now was not the time to say anything else. Even though at this moment he desperately wanted her to know, how he feels about her, he still didn’t want to overwhelm Stelle.
The time will come later. He will make sure of that.
***
After Amphoreus, there weren’t a lot of things that made quiet and dark nights on the Astral Express bearable.
Stelle’s presence, however, was definitely one of them. While they had a habit of sleeping next to each other, or even embracing while doing so, even before Amphoreus, everything changed after they made their feelings for each other clear. There was now clarity in the pair’s relationship that allowed them to be more open with their feelings.
This night, Dan Heng was gently running his fingers through Stelle’s hair, brushing the stray unruly locks aside while he held her close, pressing his face against the nape of her neck.
“Thinking about something?” Her quiet question almost startled the Vidyadhara as he looked up to see golden eyes studying him.
“Yeah… it’s just… everything, I guess.” He trailed off. “I sometimes think about it: I almost lost you several times on that expedition. And that last time lasted for so long that I just…” He really didn’t want to admit it. That there were times he almost broke. Almost gave up. “I just never want to let you go ever again.”
“Me too…” Stelle responded, looking like she was about to cry. “I was so lonely there, all that time…” She pressed into his embrace, unable to continue. No more words were needed at this point.
For as long as they live, they will never leave each other’s side ever again.