Page 45 of Blood Singer

"I am," I said. "My name's Leila."

"That's a pretty name," Finn said with the easy honesty of children. "Do you like dragons?"

I glanced at Kavan, who was watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read. "I'm starting to," I said softly.

Finn beamed. "Good. Because King Kavan is the best dragon. He's really big and he can breathe fire and he took me flying once and it was amazing."

"He took me flying too," I said. "You're right—it was amazing."

"Finn!" A woman's voice called from across the square. "Stop bothering the king!"

"I'm not bothering him!" Finn called back. "We're friends!"

Kavan set the boy down gently, ruffling his hair. "Go on. Your mother's waiting. And tell her we'll be by for those sweet rolls."

Finn ran off, and I watched him go with a smile I couldn't suppress.

"You're good with children," I said.

Kavan shrugged, but I caught the pleasure flickering across his face. "I've known most of them since they were born."

Over the next hour, at least a dozen more children approached us. Some were fully Drakhoni, others were the dragon-human hybrids I'd heard about but never seen up close. Those children fascinated me. They looked mostly human, but with small scales shimmering along their arms or temples, or eyes that glowed faintly gold even in daylight.

One little girl, no more than three years old, had tiny scales along her cheekbones that caught the light like opals. She was absolutely adorable, and when she reached up to Kavan with her arms outstretched, he picked her up without hesitation.

"This is Tyra," he told me. "Her mother is human, her father is one of my guards."

Tyra studied me with solemn golden eyes, then reached out and touched my hair. "Pretty."

"Thank you," I said, charmed. "You're pretty too."

She smiled, revealing tiny pointed teeth, and my heart melted completely.

By the time Kavan set her down and sent her back to her parents, I was fairly certain I'd fallen in love with every child in the village.

"They're wonderful," I said as we continued through the market. "The hybrid children. I've never seen anything like them."

"They're the future," Kavan said quietly. "Living proof that humans and Drakhoni can build something beautiful together." He paused, his gaze distant. "That's why the mate shortage is so critical. It's not just about continuing our species. It's about continuing what we've built here—this blending of cultures, this community."

I understood what he wasn't saying. Without mates, all of this would eventually fade away. The children, the families, the beautiful integration of two species.

We stopped at a food stall where an elderly human woman was selling meat pies, and Kavan insisted on buying lunch for both of us. The pies were still warm, flaky crust giving way to savory filling that tasted like beef and herbs I couldn't quite identify.

"This is amazing," I said around a mouthful, probably looking completely undignified but not caring in the slightest.

The woman beamed at me. "My grandmother's recipe, brought all the way from Earth sixty years ago."

After we ate, Kavan led me through the rest of the market, and I started to notice a pattern. At a leatherworker's stall, he purchased a small coin purse, examining it with what seemed like genuine interest before tucking it into his jacket. At another booth, he bought a set of carved wooden figurines—dragons, naturally—that the merchant assured him were made by his young apprentice.

"For decoration," Kavan said when he caught me watching him.

"Uh-huh." I bit back a smile. "And the hand-woven scarf? The one you bought even though it's the middle of summer?"

His jaw tightened slightly. "It will be winter eventually."

"Right." I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "You know you don't have to pretend with me. It's actually really sweet."

"I'm not—" He stopped, exhaled. "The economy here is fragile. These people work hard. If the king buying a few trinkets helps keep their businesses afloat, then it's a small price to pay."