Page 23 of Hex and Scales

“Nothing is more important.” The words slipped out before he could catch them.

A pretty blush colored her cheeks. “Still. I appreciate it.”

They talked quietly about the attack, about the enigmatic power that felt older than time itself. Ren found himself captivated by the way she gestured as she spoke, how her eyes sparked with intelligence as she theorized. His dragon essence settled into peaceful contentment at her nearness.

“Oh!” Her expression brightened as their discussion of magical anomalies wound down. “Will you be at the mystic market at the end of the month?”

“I don’t usually attend.”

“You should come this time.” That blush returned, deepening when he raised an eyebrow. “I mean... I could show you around. There’s this vendor who sells the most amazing spiced cider and another with rare magical texts you might like...”

His dragon essence stirred with pleasure at her eagerness to share something with him. “Are you offering to be my personal guide?”

“Maybe.” She bit her lip, glancing up at him through her lashes. “Unless you think it’s beneath the mighty founder’s dignity to browse market stalls with me.”

“I think,” he leaned closer, enjoying how her breath caught, “my dignity can handle it. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You let me buy you dinner afterward.”

Her brilliant smile could have lit the entire café. “Deal.”

Walking her back to the shop, Ren realized something had shifted inside him. The carefully constructed barriers around his heart lay in ruins—and for the first time in centuries, he didn’t want to rebuild them.

A sense of peaceful rightness settled over him as they approached Katz ‘n Things, now restored thanks to Kaito and the others. Sabine paused at the door, her gaze meeting his with warmth that made his heart stumble.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For being here for me tonight.”

Before he could respond, she stretched up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. The spot burned like fire as she disappeared inside, leaving him standing in the moonlight with his dragon essence singing and his pulse racing beneath his skin.

Perhaps, he thought, some walls were meant to fall.

TWENTY

The doorbell chimed just as Sabine finished wriggling into her favorite fleece pajama pants—the ones with little tigers dancing across them. She padded to the door, her fuzzy rainbow socks sliding on the hardwood floors, and found Eiji balancing an ornate wooden crate against his hip.

“Special delivery.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “From a certain fire-breathing boss who spent twenty minutes picking out the perfect crate because, and I quote, ‘The other ones aren’t worthy of her.’“

Heat bloomed in Sabine’s cheeks as she accepted the crate. Inside nestled six bottles of her favorite wine from Ren’s vineyard, each one cushioned in black velvet. Her heart did a little flip—she’d only mentioned once, weeks ago, how much she loved this particular blend.

“He tried to play it cool.” Eiji’s grin widened. “But I caught him practicing what to write on the card five different times.”

“There’s a card?”

“Top right corner. Don’t tell him I told you about the practice runs.” With a theatrical wink, Eiji disappeared into the evening shadows.

Sabine discovered an elegant black card tucked beside the first bottle. The handwriting was precise yet somehow nervous: “Something to make your evening sweeter. - R”

She hugged the card to her chest, grinning like a teenager. Before she could properly process the butterflies in her stomach, her front door burst open. Romi stumbled in backward, somehow balancing four pizza boxes while Clover followed with bags of snacks hanging from both arms.

“If you forgot it was girls’ night, I’ll hex your coffeemaker,” Romi announced, kicking the door shut with her foot.

Sabine’s guilty expression said it all.

“You totally forgot.” Clover dumped her bags on the kitchen counter. “Good thing we—ooh, what’s this fancy setup?”

“From Ren.” Sabine couldn’t contain her smile. “Eiji just dropped it off.”

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