Page 42 of Blood Singer

"Not a date," she said, shaking her head. "A date is just two people spending time together. Getting to know each other. Seeing if they're compatible." She looked up at me, challenge flickering in those green eyes. "Think you can manage that, Your Majesty?"

Something warm unfurled in my chest, pushing back the guilt and fear and uncertainty. She was giving me a chance. Asking me to prove that this was real, that she was more than just an echo of the past. That she was my future.

"I can manage that," I said, unable to keep the smile from my voice. "Though I should warn you, I've been told I'm not particularly charming."

"I don't know," she said, her hands sliding up my chest to rest against my shoulders. "You have your moments."

I pulled her closer, until her body pressed against mine. "When would you like this date to happen?"

"Tomorrow," she said immediately. "Take me somewhere. Show me your world. Prove to me that when you look at me, you see me and not Marion's ghost."

"I see you," I said, and meant it with every fiber of my being. "I've only ever seen you, Leila. It just took me a while to realize it."

She rose on her toes, and for a moment, I thought she was going to kiss me. My dragon surged forward with anticipation, every nerve ending alive with want. But instead, she pressed her forehead against mine, our breath mingling in the cool night air.

"Tomorrow," she whispered. "Show me tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," I agreed.

We stood there in the garden, surrounded by night-blooming flowers and the soft glow of bioluminescent petals, and for the first time in seven hundred and fifty years, the pressure inside me eased.

Marion's ghost was finally laid to rest.

And in her place was something real, something that felt like the beginning of everything I'd been searching for without knowing it.

I walked Leila back to her suite, my hand resting at the small of her back, trying not to think about how right it felt to have her beside me. How natural. How stupid I'd been to not notice it before. When we reached her door, she turned to face me, and I could see the uncertainty creeping back into her expression.

"Kavan," she said quietly. "If this is real, if you really want me, I need you to be sure. Because I can't be a substitute for something you lost. I can't spend my life wondering if you're seeing her when you look at me."

I cupped her face in my hands, tilting her head up so she had no choice but to meet my gaze. "I am sure," I said. "More sure than I've been about anything in a very long time. You're not a substitute, Leila. You're not an echo or a replacement. You're exactly who you are. And that's who I want."

She searched my face for a long moment, and I let her look. Let her see the truth written there, in the way my hands weren't entirely steady against her skin, in the way my breath came faster just from being this close to her.

Finally, she nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay."

I wanted to kiss her. Wanted it so badly I had to actively choose not to. But I forced myself to step back, to give her the space she needed. Because tomorrow, I was going to prove to her that this was real. That she was the one I wanted, the one I'd been waiting for without even knowing it.

And then, maybe, she'd let me kiss her again.

Maybe she'd let me do a lot more than that.

Tomorrow, I was going to show Leila Hunter exactly what it meant to be wanted by a dragon king.

And I was going to make damn sure she never doubted it again.

Chapter 13

Leila

The morning sun filtered through my window as I stood in front of the mirror, still half-convinced last night had been a dream. Maybe I was crazy, but I believed he'd meant every word in that garden. That he wanted me, not Marion's ghost, not her bloodline. Just me.

I'd spent the better part of the morning oscillating between giddy anticipation and paralyzing anxiety about our date. I'd changed my dress three times before settling on the deep forest green one with gold embroidery along the neckline and sleeves. The fabric replicator had outdone itself. The material was soft and flowing, practical enough for walking through a village but elegant enough that I wouldn't feel underdressed next to the king. I'd left my hair down, the honey-blonde waves falling past my shoulders, and I'd even added a touch of cosmetic enhancement from the replicator, though I'd kept it subtle. Just enough to make my green eyes sparkle.

My hands were shaking as I fastened the delicate gold chain around my neck.

This was a date. An actual date with Kavan. The dragon king who'd terrified me when we first met, who'd accused me of treachery, who'd pushed me away and pulled me close in equal measure until I didn't know which way was up anymore.

The same dragon king who'd told me last night that he only wanted me.