The drive to Drakkoria felt like its own little world, hours sealed away in the quiet hum of the car, mountains rising and falling around them. They talked easily, like every mile smoothed another edge between them.
Zara told him about Santa Fe, about the beautiful sunsets in the fall, about running wild with Liora in the desert, and how the sky always felt too big to put into words. She talked about her art, mostly soft gradients and stormy cloudscapes, but also charcoal sketches she never showed anyone because they felt too personal.
Hektor found himself telling her things he hadn’t realized he hadn’t told anyone. About growing up in his clan’s quarter ofDrakkoria. About patrols on the cliffs, the feeling of wind under his scales, and how quiet the nights could be when the whole city slept. He told her about his parents, about his work, about how his life had been simple and solid…and then not. Not since she’d shown up.
Somewhere along the road, she rested her head on his arm, talking softly, and the intimacy of it was almost overwhelming in its quietness.
By the time they reached Drakkoria, it was past midnight, city lights glittering across the mountain like scattered gold. Zara had fallen asleep, cheek smushed adorably against the window. Hektor smiled, unbuckled her gently, and scooped her into his arms. Even now, she trusted him completely.
He laid her on the bed, brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, and settled beside her.
And for the second morning in a row, he woke before she did.
He liked it. More than he should have.
Her breathing was slow, her hair spilling across his arm. Peaceful again, his favorite version of her, the one only he got to see.
Then her phone buzzed.
Buzzed again.
And again.
Zara groaned, burying her face in his chest before blindly reaching for it. She curled into his side, warm and half-asleep, scrolling through what looked like a small war happening across her message threads.
He watched her expression shift with each rapid-fire text.
“So, what are we doing today?” she asked, eyes still glued to her screen.
“We could just stay in,” he suggested.
“Mm-hmm,” she said absently. “The only way I’m staying in this bed is ifyou’refor breakfast.”
He blinked. She hadn’t even looked up.
“Are you…using my principles against me?” he asked.
“You bet,” she replied instantly, not missing a beat.
Then she finally lifted her gaze, that wicked little smile blooming, sweet, certain, and absolutely lethal.
And Hektor realized it was getting very, very hard to say no to her.
“Zara.”
She lit up instantly. “Oh, you know how much I love it when you use that tone.” She started leaning toward him like she was about to climb into his lap.
“Get dressed,” he said firmly. “We’ll go to a café here in the neighborhood.”
Her eyes brightened. “Oh, coffee?”
“Yes. Coffee.”
That got her moving.
They dressed, Zara humming while she rifled through her bag, Hektor pretending not to be distracted by the way she kept brushing up against him. She was still texting the gremlins in jagged bursts and narrating the chaos to him.
“They haveso manyquestions,” she said, slipping her phone into her bag. “And whining. Lots of whining. Apparently, we ‘abandoned’ them. They’re staying in Solkaris for a couple of days.”
