This might be the last one I ever got.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have a fever.” He caressed my cheek and chin, so gentle in the way he touched me. “We’re almost home. If you can’t push the noorestones again—”

“I can.” I struggled to sit up, pretending not to notice the way he helped me balance. “If we’re almost there, they should only need me a couple more times. And then . . .”

“And then?”

Then I took the first dragon to her birthplace and begged the gods for mercy. Begged them to stay. Promised that humans would take better care of dragons if I were one, too.

It is sacrifice that enables change.

It was what I’d been born for.

“Mira?” Aaru tilted my chin up. In the flickering sigil light, his features were soft and concerned. “And then what?”

“I’ll know when we get there.” I watched him, waiting to see if he believed me, hoping my heartbeat didn’t give me away. He’d already lost so many people; surely I could protect him for a while longer.

Aaru cupped my cheek and kissed me, and I couldn’t tell whether he believed me or not.

But he was kissing me, so I kissed him back, letting myself get lost in the careful way his lips touched mine, and the gentle way his fingertips traced over my face. It felt as though he was memorizing the texture of my skin, the line of my jaw, and the swell of my cheek; it felt as though he was committing me to his heart.

Maybe he did understand that if everything went according to plan, these could be our final hours together.

Aaru let out a small, desperate moan as our kiss deepened, igniting a fire of longing inside me. I pulled closer until I sat on him, facing him. Our chests pressed tight together; our leg muscles clenched against each other. He leaned back a little, braced with one arm, and held me to him with the other. His palm was flat against my spine, smoothing lower until he found the curve of my bottom. He hesitated there, but only a moment. Then he was caressing down my thigh, exploring the shape of my body like he’d never get another chance.

I understood. I needed to touch him, needed to fit everything I felt for him into this small space of time. “I love you,” I whispered, hoarse. “I’ve always loved you.”

“Mira.” He kissed my neck, my collarbone. “I want to—”

Footsteps sounded outside the small cabin, and Aaru froze, listening.

After a moment, his body softened against mine, easing away with a resigned sigh. “It’s Hristo.”

“Pretend like we’re not here.” My heart still pounded with whatever he’d been about to say before. What did he want?

Smiling a little, Aaru drew back and tucked a strand of hair away from my face. “Will you let me up?”

“If I say no, can we stay like this forever?”