When we reached my room, Seraphina set up one of her silencing gems so we could talk about anything, and our conversation did not often drift to our lives on earth.

I'd purchased a few nightshirts to sleep in about a week ago. Seraphina had claimed my clean one and bid me turn around and not peek while she changed into it. I'd done the same. We'd laughed, joked, and generally acted like teenagers for the next half hour.

I suddenly ran out of things to say when we got into bed. I was so acutely aware of her lying beside me that I could barely concentrate. Plus, I was more exhausted than I’d been in a long time, and that was saying a lot, considering I’d been living a magically infused medieval lifestyle for weeks. We cuddled, and after a few awkward moments, we talked about little things: no dark lords, evil sorceresses, orcs, goblins, or world-altering events. We just talked to each other like a couple of adults, and it was lovely.

I wished it would have lasted longer, but we both drifted off at some point.

Morning greeted me with a sore body, blinding sunlight, the smell of coffee, and a very beautiful woman in my bed. I realized Seraphina had fallen asleep on my arm, which had, in turn, made my arm fall numb. I didn't mind so much.

The shock of being hit by Thalindra's sorcery had left me feeling like I'd done a full-body workout to the point of exhaustion—or like I'd been hit by literal lightning, which was much closer to what had happened.

With a light tug, I tried to free myself without waking her. She surprised me by rolling over to face me and smiled softly.

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you. Did you sleep okay?"

I couldn’t stop staring into those marvelous violet eyes. "I did. This room is warm, and well, it was warmer just sleeping with someone else. I haven't done that in a long time," Seraphina said.

“We didn’t really do anything,” I emphasized the last word.

She looked at me. “Really? I seem to remember a lot of touching, hugging, and kissing.”

“You do? I don’t. Why don’t you show me? My memory hasn’t been the same since I woke up in a pile of bodies.”

Seraphina laughed and added, “Gross.”

“I can go grab us a mug of coffee and be right back,” I said, but when I moved, my body responded by trying to lock up. I tried to stretch again, arms over my head, legs straight out.

She observed me and said, “Yeah, I feel the same. It's a side effect of Thalindra’s spells. You’re going to be sore for a few days. Give it time. Be sure to stretch. Do you know any yoga?”

“I do, actually—a little. I’ll see what I can remember. Do you still do yoga?”

“Yeah. I try to do some every morning. Keeps me limber.”

She suddenly leaned forward and kissed me. I kissed her back and realized my lips were the one area on my body that didn’t currently hurt, so that was a pleasant bonus.

“Listen,” Seraphina said. “I know we should take our relationship to the next level, if you know what I mean, but I have my reasons for waiting.”

"You don't have to explain anything, Seraphina. I'm just happy you're here at all. You could have run away from me screaming at any time over the last week."

She grinned. "I could have. That's true."

“Is it a cultural thing here?”

She laughed. “No. This place is not as prudish as you would imagine. People are welcome to do as they like.” She paused, then added. “It’s just sometimes, when I look at you, I see him, and it’s a little disturbing. I know that’s not the real you.” She looked down. “Technically, this is not the real me.”

I pulled back. “Oh, I get it.”

She grabbed my face and gently pulled me back. “It’s not personal, and I know it sounds judgemental, and I'm sorry."

"I know." I tried to gather my thoughts. "I get it. I didn't ask to be trapped in this nightmare of a body. It's all withered, and his skin looks like it was drained of blood before being hung out to desiccate. Honestly, who wants to look like that? He was an evil a-hole with immense power, but he didn't care how he looked. Although, Ophelia always seems to have the hots for him, even though he had her killed. Weirdo. Maybe she has Stockholm Syndrome."

"I'll get over it, in time. It probably sounds like I'm vapid."

"It doesn't. Not at all. I know what I look like without the pendant. We have a real Beauty and the Beast situation here."

"You think I'm beautiful? Smooth talker."

"Oh god, yes. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met. I can't believe you're lying in bed with me right now. Pinch me."

She grabbed my arm and lightly pinched me with a mischievous grin.

"I don't love that I look like Mothisal under this image. If I could permanently hide his body from the world, I would do it in a heartbeat."

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"I supposed we could cut you open and embed the amulet." She touched my chest. "Right here. Hollow out part of a rib. Like a pacemaker."

"Ouch!" I laughed. "Wait. Can that be done?"

"I was joking." She laughed and poked me again.

"Is it wrong that I actually considered if that would work? When I first arrived in this world and opened my eyes from inside Morthisal's head, I was, at first, angry. Wait, I was scared. Then I was angry. Why me? Why had he done this to me? I had a life back on earth. Not much of one, but I was mostly happy. But the longer I’ve been here, the more I have grown to love it. Once I got to Everspring, it was everything I never knew I wanted. I never want to leave.”

“There are also beautiful places to take a vacation. Even Stormcrest Bay is worth a visit. It’s perched on the side of a cliff. A long, winding road leads to the waterfront and the piers. You can sit and watch the boats come in.”

“I’d like to do that. From what I understand, it’s only a half day away. Maybe we can slip away one weekend.”

“Like you’ll have time. This tavern will consume your life until it’s up and running.”

“I promise not to neglect us,” I told her with a smile.

She pulled me close and snuggled her body against mine. “I know. But I also respect the fact that you have to get your business off the ground. I’m only a few blocks away. We’ve hidden your identity, stopped Thalindra, and now The Heart of Shadows is masked. We have all the time in the world.”

I ran my hand through her hair, behind her ear, down her neck. Seraphina shivered and broke into a little smile. I’m not sure how long we lay together like that. I might have drifted off.

Seraphina yawned against my neck.

"I should get up. It smells like Milo has already made coffee."

"It smells great. I wondered who was busy in the kitchen. Milo seems like a good kid."

"He is, and he's got a huge heart. I didn’t ask for an apprentice, but here we are.”

Seraphina kissed me one more time as I slid out of bed.

I stood, stretched, stretched again, and headed for the door, grimacing with each step as my muscles protested every movement. “Would a restorative fix this? My whole body hurts.”

“It will help. You wouldn’t have to drink a whole one. Do you have any?”

I went to the dresser, pulled out the top drawer, dug out a vial of green restorative, and showed it to her with a smile. “Share?” I asked.

She nodded.

After I let the concoction work through my body, I started feeling better. The ache in my muscles faded, and the headache receded.

“Amazing. The herbalist could charge a fortune for these.”

Serapina grinned. “They’ve saved my head a few times. We had a festival last summer when there was a lull in the war, and the summer ale flowed like water. I don’t know what came over me, but I drank way too much.”

"You'll need to tell me more about the war. I should probably know what went down. Not now."

"I'll fill you in on the history of Everspring. They sometimes call this a town, but it's really a burgeoning village. Still, we have a baron."

"Speaking of. I noticed you still have the staff with the Star of Luminas. He didn't pay for it yet?"

"The baron has made excuses. I told him to take his time. I suspect his new tavern costs him more than he wants anyone to know. He's treating it like a lavish establishment."

"It didn't seem that lavish when we ate there a few nights ago."

"The Baron has had workers inside around the clock. He is also bringing in a lot of supplies. Rumor has it, he bought up almost all of the Summer Ale, and several laden wagons have stopped to drop off even more ale."

"He thinks he can run me out of business."

"I had the same thought."

I put my hand under my chin and considered this information. "I'll have to outsmart him."

"You might have to outspend him."

"I can't do that. I barely have any cash reserves. I'd hoped to open the bar area and start having drinks available every evening to bring in more money."

"Like I said." Seraphina grinned. "You'll outsmart him."

"Before I outsmart anyone, I need some coffee. Do you want to join me downstairs, or should I bring it up?"

She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, stretched her arms over her head, and then looked down at the long nightshirt she borrowed from me. "Ugh. One thing I miss from back home is sweatpants and T-shirts. I don't want to get back in my full outfit."

"It's just Milo. I think you look fine. The shirt is pretty long."

Seraphina stood, and the nightshirt hem dropped below her knees.

"See? Perfectly respectable."

"I'll be down in a minute. I need to freshen up."

I leaned over, kissed her, and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Mr. V!" Milo called to me and waved from behind the bar. “I made coffee. Would you like some?"

"Morning, Milo," I replied, my voice still groggy. "Coffee sounds great. Could you get out an extra mug, please?"

Milo paused, and his eyes fell on the trap door. “Did Lady Churl start drinking coffee?”

I chuckled. “Nope. It’s for Seraphina.”

“Seraphina stayed over last night?”

I nodded.

A broad grin spread across Milo's face. "Good for you, Mr. V. Seraphina is, uh, she’s um. She’s very, um.”

"Um?"

"You know. Um, cute."

"She's gorgeous and smart, and talented, and she has amazing eyes….”

“Yeah. You’re smitten. Like I said, good for you.”

Before I could respond, Milo's expression changed. "Oh, by the way," he said, "there are some people out back."

My brow furrowed. "People? Why are people here? It's too early for lunch. Isn't it?"

Milo's grin widened even further. "Well, Mr. V, you're a celebrity now. Word's gotten out that you and Seraphina captured Thalindra."

I blinked. “Wait. What?”

“Yeah. They started gathering about half an hour ago. You should go look.”

I walked a few steps to the door and unlocked it.

Seraphina appeared at the top of the stairs. She was still dressed in my long nightshirt.

“We’ve got company,” I said.

“Company?”

“A few people are waiting outside to congratulate us on taking down Thalindra.”

Seraphina had reached the last step. “Really?” She moved to a side window to peek outside.

I cracked the door and found Urzan and Moktar standing in front of the entrance, arms crossed, acting just like the guards they’d promised to be. Urzan looked over his shoulder. "Hope project went well!"