Eden didn’t want to listen to anything the insane man was saying. In what reality were they a “pair” of any sort? Sure, Levi was an attractive man, and his golden-brown eyes were so striking that she could have gotten weak in the knees if she hadn’t been sitting down. Being attracted to someone was far distant than… than… being destined to them. She couldn’t stop shaking her head in defiance.

“No… no. You’ve suffered a head injury, and I’ve had all of six hours of sleep in the past three days. There’s a clear and logical explanation for it all.”

“So you do feel it, too,” Levi announced, sounding proud of himself.

Eden whipped her head around to stare daggers into him. “I feel nothing but confusion at this point. Here I was, just trying to be a good Samaritan and help out someone in need, and now I have a fugitive of the Kingdom in my bedroom.”

He gave a weak shrug. “You know what they say, fate and destiny have a plan—you do not.”

“What a load of garbage,” Eden grumbled. She paced across the room and sat down on her lounge with her head in her hands. She told herself again and again that she just needed sleep, or that maybe she already was, and this entire thing was a dream. The sensation in her chest felt so real, though. As soon as Levi had opened his eyes and regained consciousness, it was like there was a magnet turned on in her chest, and he held the other half of that magnet. It made no sense. Eden should be repelled by him, with all she had heard of the infamous Levi the First Rogue.

She heard feet coming across the hardwood floor, but Eden did not lift her head. Levi sat down next to her and very cautiously looped an arm around her back. Eden stayed locked into place, not shrugging him off but not giving into his touch, either. He stared down at her, and Eden realized that his eyes weren’t golden brown; they were actually yellow. It was subtle but so clear in the light they were in.

Levi’s face grew nearer, and Eden held her breath. Levi hovered there, not speaking as he studied her up close. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, but I am trying to test whatever… this feeling is. And I think you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he whispered when he finally spoke.

Eden’s eyes searched his longingly. For the moment, she was captured by Levi’s allure. Was he just that charming while trying not to be, or was there something about him that was pulling her in?

Eden turned her cheek and closed her eyes as she attempted to compose herself. This was asinine. She couldn’t be mates with a fugitive, a rebel, a rogue. What kind of misfortunate existence was this? She had to be dreaming; she must be dreaming.

A warm hand cupped her cheek. When Eden opened her eyes, a pair of deep yellow ones were peering back. “I bought into the soulmate nonsense as much as you did, all right? This is catching me off-guard, too. Forgive me for being so forward… I just… I want to know if this is real.”

Eden’s cheeks were pink as her heart fluttered in her chest. Never, in any circumstance, would she let a man she had never met before handle her in such a matter. She would have threatened to throw the crazy man out for even standing to follow her when she crossed the room. The only reason Levi was getting away with it was that he was absolutely right. Eden felt it, too.

As he cradled her face and studied her, she began to feel stupid for doubting the stories of the miraculous love among their people. She had always logically explained what they felt as “love at first sight,” or rather attraction at first sight. Completely randomly, and utterly shallow at first, that the others just learned to live with one another’s flaws over the years. Yet, as Eden looked upon the face of a complete stranger, she could see herself being patient enough with his faults—that she would simply try to support him and perhaps guide him in the right direction from time to time. This was bizarre, to say the least. Celestial, almost.

Eden let out a deep breath. “No, it’s real, all right…”

“So you do feel it?” Levi enquired smugly.

“Yes. Are you happy?” she sneered.

He gave a weak laugh and shrugged. “Sorry. I just wanted some sort of reaction from you.”

“It’s fine,” Eden muttered, smoothing out her hair. Clasping her hands together, she spoke again. “But it doesn’t matter if you’re right or I feel it or not.”

Levi’s face scrunched into confusion, as though she had slipped into another tongue. “How is that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Eden repeated, “because even if it is true, it doesn’t change a thing. This will never be a thing, and it’s ridiculous that we’re even discussing it, considering I just met you less than an hour ago.”

“How doesn’t it change anything?” Levi argued. “You just said yourself that you felt the connection, too!”

“Yes, but as I just said, this can never be a thing. You’re a wanted man, and I’m…” Eden let herself trail off. She didn’t want to even think about Darian or the arrangement. All of it together was too much for her to fit in her head. For the time being, she was going to focus on the matter at hand. “It goes without saying that I’m in a particularly complicated position in this entire situation. I have a role in the Kingdom, and this—” She gestured between the two of them, “—this doesn’t exactly fit into it.”

“However, this,” Levi purred, grabbing her hand before it dropped, “is at the very least worth exploring. Don’t you think?” Eden’s lips parted to protest, but then he added, “At least to say that you tried. It’s the what ifs in life that haunt people.”

A lump formed in Eden’s throat, and her head was swimming. Did everyone feel like this when they met their soulmate? That they never believed in the premise, and once it happened, it was the most mesmerizing, intriguing burden of their entire lives? That was what it felt like to her.

Finding Levi was a burden at this point in her life: something that was going to have to be dealt with despite everything she already had on her plate. While it was stressful, she actually found herself longing to delve into this… feeling she had. It was impossible to put into words, but she could feel it as if it were a tangible thing.

She nodded and bit her lip. “How do we go about this, then?”

“Let’s meet tomorrow,” Levi suggested, “in the city somewhere. We can talk for a while and just… see how things go.”

“Okay, fair enough. Here.” Taking his palm, Eden reached for a pen on the floor that lay with her grandmother’s journals scattered about. She scribbled her phone number onto Levi’s palm, not bothering to put her name. Before she dropped his hand, she realized how juvenile it was to mark someone else with your phone number. How very cliché, she chastised herself mentally. “We can plan things later.”

“Sounds good,” Levi nodded before standing up from the chaise lounge and stretching. He then began heading for the balcony door, peeling back a curtain to check outside. Eden wandered behind him curiously, trying to figure out what he was doing. It was only when he opened the balcony door that it dawned on her.

“You’re leaving right now?” she asked, a frown threatening to form on her lips.

“Have to leave while it’s still dark. What’s the matter? Already sad to see me go?”

“No,” Eden insisted, despite her need to avoid eye contact. “Just… you may have a concussion, and it’s probably best if you rest a while longer.”

“My head hurts like hell,” Levi agreed, “but I’ll be all right. I’ll text you.” Then he turned his head and planted a quick peck on Eden’s cheek before stepping out into the darkness. Eden watched from the door as he hoisted himself up onto the railing and jumped into the air. His body sank out of view for an instant, and then he emerged in his dragon state, his dark mossy scales glimmering in the moonlight.

In an instant, Levi was gone.