If I could freeze time, I would freeze this moment.

The central garden of the guild hall was the perfect place to take Sophie on a date. lanterns illuminated the flower beds that lined the beautifully arranged stone paths. We snuggled up with blankets and pillows inside the gazebo watching the clouds drift across the low-hanging crescent moon. Her fingers intertwined with mine and sent my heart racing. I watched her as she stared at the stars.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful," she whispered, eyes fixed on the night sky.

"Neither have I." I kept my gaze locked on her face, those green eyes, and the constellation of golden freckles that glittered her nose and cheeks. She turned to see that I was not talking about the stars and her face flushed an adorable shade of pink. I tucked her hair behind her ear and she placed her hand on mine, resting her cheek against my palm. I traced the outline of her lower lip with my thumb. her lips parted slightly and she closed her eyes, beckoning me to close the distance between us. The hammering of her heart matched my own as we kissed, sweetly and with innocence at first. I had never been with a woman before, but just the meeting of our lips cause me an ache in my trousers.

She deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into my mouth and tangling her fingers in my hair. The way she kissed me and the closeness of her body to mine gave me a thrill I had never experienced. Sophie moved her hand down and slid it beneath my tunic and up my chest. Our lips parted long enough for her to acknowledge that I had been working out and before I could speak she hooked her fingers into the waist of my trousers. Pulling the string and loosening them, she danced her fingers down my pants until her fingers wrapped around my girth.

"Sophie," her name came out as a throaty moan. Where did she learn this? I wondered.

A woman's laughter in the distance startled me and with the sound of voices approaching, Sophie removed her hand from my trousers and I scrambled to tighten the drawstring. Sophie giggled as the voices began to fade. If they had spotted us, they paid us no mind.

"That was so close, Sophie, we can't be caught doing things like this in public, your father might not bless our marriage if he found out we engaged in intercourse before our wedding night."

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"I'm sorry, you're right, of course, you are. I have forgotten myself. I was just so overcome with passion." Sophie green eyes stared into mine with a hunger that was so damned hard to contain.

"I love you, and soon, I will be your husband, and you, my wife. On that night, and every night thereafter, I will fulfill your every need." I kissed her forehead and held her close to me until well past curfew, but given my departure on the morrow, Commander Rend did not mind when I escorted his daughter home late.

The next morning, I woke before sunrise, or perhaps I hadn't slept at all. I didn't tell Sophie about my trip to Ledora, I didn't want her to worry. Commander Rend was waiting for me at the front entrance with several garment bags and two trunks.

"Beric will help you take these down to the docks. There you will board the Silver Hydra, she's the fastest ship in the fleet currently. It will take several days to travel to Ledora, so I packed you a trunk of clothing to befit a noble of Blackwater. You are to only wear clothing that we have chosen for you and at no time are you to be seen improperly dressed or engaging in romantic activity with anyone at the ball besides Queen Akiri, if you should be lucky enough to get so close. Remember, we want her to talk about her future plans." Here is a magic scroll. Any message you write on your copy will show up on mine, be sure to write things down while they're fresh in your mind," Commander Rend said, finally stopping to take a breath. "Also, here are instructions for what to wear and when to wear it so that the queen can Identify you as a potential match." He handed me another roll of parchment.

"Got it." I grabbed a few of the garment bags and one of the trunks, and as promised, Beric helped me to the ship with the rest.

The Silver Hydra made me ill the way it bounced across the waves and rocked from side to side. I only vomited three—maybe four times on the first day. I didn't feel much like eating dinner that night, but my stomach growled in protest, so I grabbed a piece of plain bread and forced myself to finish it, just to silence the rumbling in my abdomen. The noises of the ship kept me awake. It wasn't like it was my first time on a boat, but it was, however, my first time on a vessel that size, and trip of that length. Anxiety filled me with every creak and groan from the wood beams to the planks beneath my feet, and every whipping of the sails made my heart pound. I thought of Sophie and tried to distract myself with daydreams of our life together. I would work for her father and be groomed for command, I'd buy her a nice house, up on the hill, facing the east where we could drink our tea and watch the sunrise from the veranda. Our children would play hide and seek in the gardens with their dog, a loyal companion for a growing family. Sophie could practice her magic and teach our daughters her practice too. If her dragon blood proved strong, the children would learn to shift and fly. I would teach them to use weapons of course, and excel at self defense. I finally drifted off to sleep with nothing but happy thoughts.