Lerin's Bride (Crystal Glass Dragons 3)

Just a couple of hours more.

It was borderline humiliating being this frustrated over a girl, not even a shifter but a witch. The feeling was new to me. In Crystal Glass, nearly every woman was a servant or a relative of some kind.

Living in such close quarters for so long really limited the dating pool.

Now the women of our kingdom couldn’t reproduce, and our species had only ourselves to blame. I wasn’t sure I wanted the kingdom to open up to the world, but I also didn’t want us to die out because of it.

I knew I wanted to date her.

My stomach rolled in agitation as I imagined the smug look on the seer’s face when she found out I was actually following through. I’d been against her from the beginning, thinking she was just a fraud trying to get her hands on the kingdom’s gold.

She was the real deal, though.

I finished the last sweet Olive gave me and tossed the box into a trash can. I wished I’d brought the driver; that way I could have slept on the way over. Instead, I was exhausted, and knew I’d have to stay awake for a whole meal with Olive.

I couldn’t complain about that, though. I wanted to spend that time getting to know her, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I could stay conscious through it.

Ten was looming closer, so I let my body follow her scent to bring me back to her. It felt like a tracker or a magnet. Like I was being pulled by a reign until my arms were safely wrapped round her once more. Seeing my reflection in a passing window, I straightened my jacket and tried to ignore the shadow of hair on my jawline.

As I approached the bakery, fully expecting to be miserable and tired for the rest of the day, I was amazed by how my body sprung into wakefulness.

She stepped out, pulling off her apron and hanging it over her arm, and it was like ten espresso shots straight to my brain.

“Olive,” I greeted her. I wanted to kiss her again.

“Lerin,” she replied with a blush.

She was mine.