I was surprised to wake up feeling so warm—comfortably warm, not overheated like in the South. Even at night, it had been oppressively hot in the room where I was kept. Dragons thrived in the heat. Humans did not. We Northerners were used to colder climates, so it was strange to feel so cozy.
My eyes blinked open to find that I wasn’t alone in bed. Serina was curled up against me, her head resting on my chest, and my arm was around her. We were both still dressed from last night, the blanket half-draped over us.
I could hardly believe we were actually in the same bed, sleeping together, and I could hold her like this. There was no need to fear anything. We had waited for this moment for so long—twelve years, to be exact. And now, finally, we were together.
In this moment, I couldn’t re
