Fiella let out a swoon, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “But he’s so cute!”
I shoved her shoulder, laughing. “Go. He’ll be here later.”
Redd ushered her out. “Let’s go, love. We still have work to do. See you, Kizzi.”
“To the moons!” Fiella yelled as the door was slammed shut.
“Suns!” I called after her.
And then it was just me, the dragon, and the sprites.
Alone.
Fuck.
CHAPTER 8
Fiella
Redd and I strode through town hand in hand, munching on a new baked snack from Mitz’s bakery—cookies with tiny chocolate bits in them. The sugary, sweet treat was delicious, and I had to force myself to enjoy it in small bites so I wouldn’t shove the whole thing in my mouth.
My breath clouded in front of me as I spoke. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Which part?” Redd asked.
“All of it. The magic returning to the realm. Kizzi actually finding the dragon eggs. The dragon hatching. The dragon escaping. The dragon being caught again. I think I have whiplash.”
Redd hummed in agreement. “Certainly never a dull moment.”
“Did you think this would be your life when you came to Moonvale?”
He barked out a laugh. “Absolutely not.”
Redd was from Sunhaven, a hot, crowded city on the other side of the Barren Lands, the desolate expanse of land that separated Moonvale from the rest of the realm. Bad luck drove him to flee, and he ended up in Moonvale, where the luckfollowed him. It was all my fault, of course. Well, it was my ex-boyfriend’s fault.
But I couldn’t regret any of it, because it brought me the best man in all of the realms.
I squeezed Redd’s palm. His warmth kept my fingers from freezing.
“Do you miss it?” I asked. He had been here for almost a year. At times it felt like only days since he walked into my life and into my trinket shop. But now, my life was so irrevocably entwined with his that I couldn’t imagine us ever being separated.
“Miss what? Sunhaven?”
“Yeah. Home. The warmth.” I gestured around me with my half-eaten cookie before taking another quick bite. “You didn’t have to deal with this weather there.”
“Since I laid eyes on you, Moonvale became my home. You’re my home.”
I leaned into his shoulder, my stomach feeling warm and fluttery. “You’re just saying things.”
“No, I mean it.” He looked at me tenderly, his hard face softening. His facial hair was longer now, scruffy. It was soft when I ran my hands over it.
I popped the last bite of cookie into my mouth, chewed for a moment, and swallowed before speaking again. “The fates have a funny way of working, don’t they?”
“Mhm,” Redd agreed. He handed me the last bite of his cookie without a second thought, and I loved him all the more for it. It was even more delicious than my own cookie.
“So, what are you making for Merry Day?” I asked. Kizzi had decided that since she and Tandor had practically gone broke buying the dragon eggs, they would make gifts for each other instead of purchasing them. And that sentiment had spread.
Hence my learning to knit. It was against my will, really.
