I woke up wet and shivering in the bitingly cold darkness of the canyon. Far above, the stars of Diana’s Nebula pierced through the black curtain of night. I blinked and angled myself up into a seated position.

Beside me, I slowly took in the colossal body of Karun’s shining silver dragon form, unconscious but breathing. Pushing off from the wet clay beneath me, I crawled toward him, my body aching and sore.

As I slid my hand over the sterling plates of his dragon armor, I could feel the great heat of him. He was a magnificent thing to behold, this great, fearsome creature before me.

Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the shock of the evening, but it felt like I was in a trance. All I could think was that I wanted, needed to get closer to him.

Shaking and cold, I pressed my body against his, my head by his neck, our chests aligned. For just the barest of moments, I was blinded by a flare of light followed by what felt like a flash of connection. It was almost like an EE but still, somehow, different. For just a fleeting millisecond, it was like some kind of organic interface.

I didn’t see or hear anything like an EE, but I felt. It jolted my senses like an electrical shock, only not at all unpleasant, just wholly unexpected.

It had felt like gut-clenching fear, searing rage, and something warm and soft and lovely that I couldn’t put into words.

Pulling back and looking at him, trying to understand what I had just experienced, I saw something small and black embedded in his chest. Putting my hand to it, I felt a brief surge of heat, and the great silver dragon before me stirred ever so slightly, and then nothing.

I remembered him wearing a necklace, a small black rock on a chain of rough looking silver.

“Karun,” I whispered. He didn’t move or respond.

I tried to remember what exactly had happened. His head was still affixed, and I knew that was the only thing that could actually kill him. But I also knew that Pavar was still healing from their last battle, so his recovery might not be entirely swift.

It was difficult to remember all the details of the battle, and I had no idea how long we’d been down at the base of the canyon.

The river that rushed through, splashing my boots, was unknown to me. I had known the history, the cause of the crags, but it was considered suicide to go down one.

All around us was lush vegetation like I had never before experienced—green, spindly looking plants with thin, narrow leaves that curled at the tips and turned blood red. Glowing white flowers on delicate vines that draped, stretching up the canyon wall. Farther back from the shore of the river, a dense carpet of purple.

I felt like we had been dropped on another planet. We were alone in an alien world, my dragon-man and me.

I grinned to myself at my possessive inclination. I had barely kissed the man, but knowing that he had pursued me through the night, rescuing me from the clutches of that demonic fiend, it felt right. He was my dragon-man . . . at least until he regained his consciousness and told me otherwise.

I wasn’t sure, but it felt like something had changed. I remembered running toward him just before the demon had grabbed me. The look in his eyes was one of raw need. I wondered what would have happened if I had made it to him. Would he have held me, kissed me, touched me?

The thought of it, imagining the great muscles of his arms wrapping around me again, pulling me to him, molding to the angles of his hard body . . . it was enough to make me forget the cold sting of the water at my feet and heavy in my clothes and hair.

I heard the call of strange and unfamiliar birds. It occurred to me that there might be other animals here, even predators. Or worse, people. This was unknown territory to me, and I was wise to the fact that this strange space on the planet I thought I knew so well could hold hidden dangers.

I huddled close to his body again. As I did, I finally noticed that the water was rising. It flowed past us, steadily climbing higher.

Squinting in the dark, I looked downstream and saw what looked to be a very fresh landslide . . . probably caused by our fall. The water was rushing through but not fast enough. I looked at Karun’s great head. Already, the water was touching it.

I tried in vain to move his body. It was useless. He was far too colossal for me to move. Instead, I thrust both of my arms beneath his head, feeling the heat of his breath as it blew over my body, temporarily warming me.

I lifted with all of my strength, but I knew there was no way I could keep him hoisted above the water forever. Instead, I gathered my legs under me and placed his head on my lap, the water gathering beneath my freezing thighs.

Shivering, I tried to curve my upper body into the warm length of his neck. If he were to breathe just a quick burst of flame, that would be all right by me. No such luck though.

We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but it was probably closer to an hour. I kept trying to rouse him, but he was deep in a healing slumber.

Finally, I saw light streak the sky overhead and felt the welcome heat of the first sunrise.

The sounds of this hidden forest and the rising cold of the water kept me awake, though I longed for sleep.

Instead, I spoke to Karun. It seemed like a silly thing, but he was so far gone and I knew I needed to try and stay alert.

“I haven’t thanked you yet, dragon-man, for saving my life. I don’t want to guess what that hideous freak would have done to me. It probably wouldn’t be worse than what the gold one wanted to do, and you saved me from him too.” I paused, stroking his face.

It was silky and hard, luxurious and fierce all at once.

“I think you might be afraid of me. I know I’m afraid of you. In a good way, though, like the way it feels to mount a new racing craft, dangerous and exhilarating. I’m not sure what that means, but I know it means something.” My words were coming out broken.

Despite the warming light up above us, the water was near my waist now and the cold was creeping tendrils into my flesh. I kept talking. As long as I was talking, I couldn’t die. That sounded right, or so I believed in my quasi-delusional state.

“I’ve never met anyone like you. I don’t mean the dragon part. Though, I gotta say, that part is pretty freaking awesome. The way you kicked those demons’ asses and literally just turned those raiders into dust. The soldier in me is pretty envious of those moves.” I shifted my posture, arching closer to him. My bones felt like they were encased in ice now.

“You’re so warm. I wish I could ride you. I’ve been on aircraft before, of course, but watching you and your brother shift, it looks so much more magnificent. And hey, there’s the added bonus of having you between my legs.” I laughed, wondering if he’d have made a dirty joke like he had sparred with me in the rover on that first day.

My eyes felt heavy as I just kept babbling, sighing deliriously. “What would you feel like there? I’m not gonna lie, especially since you can’t hear me and I’m just talking to myself like a crazy person, which is kind of soothing. You know, you ought to try it.

“Back to the point, Andie, jeez. Right, I’m not going to lie. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that. I’m wagering a guess here, correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t because you’re comatose, so never mind that, but the way you’ve looked at me—yes, I have seen you checking out my rack—I think you’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about that too.”

The cold was starting to ease, and I felt a stinging heat, starting in the tips of my toes. What a lovely change. For some reason, my shivers were getting worse though.

“I hope we don’t die. But I guess there are worse ways to go. I mean, we just fought an epic battle, and here I am with my knight in shining dragon form, on the banks of a gorgeous river, watching the suns rise. There are definitely worse ways to go.”

I couldn’t make much sound anymore because my teeth clattered so badly.

“If it’s okay with you, I think I’m just going to rest for a minute.” I sucked in a breath and it came in ragged bursts. It occurred to me that this was it.

“Karun, I’m glad it’s with you,” I said, my energy draining out of me.

I let my eyelids drop. A veil of darkness seemed to descend upon me as I felt the heat creeping through my body. As a soldier, I knew death could come any time, and I was okay with that.

I felt a great shift beneath me and around me, and I knew I was about to finally find out what comes after.

My body felt like it was rising into the air, weightless and free. Was this what Orion had felt?

I opened my eyes to see this new frontier, and before me was a great muscled afterlife version of Karun.

“Andromeda,” said spirit-Karun, concern in his angelic silver eyes.

He held me fast in his arms against his body, and then he kissed me ever so lightly.

The faint sizzle of it cleared the haze for just a moment.

Not dead. I’d definitely have to be completely dead for my body to not respond to his kiss. So then I was hallucinating and half-dead, not much better, but I was willing to take it if it involved more kissing.

Barely conscious, I felt him strip the clothes from me and inwardly reflected how much I resented my weak body that had no energy left to enjoy this moment more.

We must have lain upon the purple carpet of the groundcover because I didn’t feel water anymore. I could barely flutter my eyes open to check.

I felt his warm skin pressed to mine—he must be naked too, which was progress—but I was just a little too close to death to rejoice.

I closed my eyes against the furnace of his body as I felt him shift and surround me with his dragon body. Finally, I fell into a deep and contented sleep.