She’s taking the news well enough—maybe humans handle stress better than the media has led me to believe.

It’s probably just Zhuliya. In a world of red roses, she’s a white lily, standing out in stark contrast that calls to my soul.

“Ilian?”

Her lilting voice yanks me out of my poetic reflection. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to look at the tattoo with me to see if we can figure anything out.” Right, her ink—across her bare, fully healed back… “I took a picture of it.”

Relief courses through me, and with it, the echo of Zhuliya’s hurt. It takes me a moment to sort through our combined emotions to figure out why she’s upset.

“I’m not rejecting you,” I whisper quietly, still on my knees before her. “I’m not, but please understand that I want you like nothing in my life and seeing your naked back makes it…worse.”

“Oh, I—of course. Let me get my phone.”

Zhuliya disappears into the bedroom before coming back out, a frown marring her brow. “I don’t know how this can be a map.”

She’s squinting at the tiny screen, and I chuckle at her expression. “It’s not obvious, trust me. Come here.”

I tug her to the broken couch, seating her next to me. She laughs when she slides into my side since the furniture slants toward the floor where I accidentally shattered the legs.

“It’s not funny.”

Zhuliya presses a hand to her mouth, but it does nothing to stop her giggles. “I can’t believe you broke the couch! That’s even more ridiculous than me coming from your—”

Her tiny frame freezes, her face caught in a comical ‘oh shit’ expression. “Go on.”

Another gorgeous blush tints her cheeks. “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t feel like nothing.”

She scowls. “Can’t you block my emotions?”

“No. That’s not how Ithaquan mating bonds work. Now you were saying.”

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“Not on your life.”

“You already know I came from…from your tat.”

“Yeah, I already knew. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

She swats my arm playfully. “Pretty proud of yourself, huh?”

I duck my head. “Not proud, just happy that my imprint pleased you.”

“It definitely did—almost the best orgasm of my life.”

Jealousy swirls inside of me. “Almost?” I try to make my voice light but fail.

Zhuliya gives me a brilliant smile. “Almost, but my most recent ones top it.”

It takes a second for her meaning to click, but when it does, triumph sweeps through me. I might have created this disaster of a situation, but at least I gave my mate something to remember.

“So I’m my own competition?”

She bites her lip. “Guess you’ll just have to work harder next time.”

Next time—is that an invitation?

Clearing my throat, I study the image of the tattoo, zooming in on the intricate details. The swirling, floral pattern captivates me, but there's more to it than meets the eye.

Zhuliya looks on in silence, her expression growing more and more disgruntled. "I don't see anything that looks like a map."

"Aisyth cleverly disguises it. To be in a goddess’ presence—even one who lives on Earth—is a privilege. Finding her will be no easy feat.”

“Well, two heads are better than one.”

I grunt in agreement, my eyes scanning every curve and petal of the floral design as I lose myself in the moment.

It’s almost like when I go into my trances when I’m doing ink. Everything around me disappears but the vision before me.

Along the top right of the tattoo, there’s a subtle shift in the pattern that forms a cluster of delicate blossoms near the edge of the tattoo.

Tapping a claw on them, I draw Zhuliya’s attention. "These flowers are different. See the way the petals form a distinctive shape?"

Zhuliya leans in, her warm breath puffing the fur on my arm as she examines the picture. "I do! They're sort of like... islands?"

“And not just any islands, but those in the archipelago between Russia and Japan—the Kuril Islands.”

My mate scrunches her nose. “The Kuril Islands? Why is that so familiar? Are those the islands of the northernmost point of Japan?”

“Yes. They’re the barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea Of Okhotsk.”

“Sakura—my roommate who’s from Japan—has mentioned them before. She says a lot of monsters live there since the islands are largely uninhabited by humans. They’re remote and usually cold all year round.”

“The perfect place for an Ithaquan goddess to be.”

Zhuliya claps. “So much for it being difficult!”

I chuckle. “I’ll admit we found this first clue rather quickly but getting to the Kuril Islands will take over a week if we’re lucky.”

“We can’t fly to an airport nearby?”

“Firstly, these islands are remote and nearly inaccessible. I’m not sure where the closest airport would be. The quickest route would be to use the Transsib.”

“The what?”