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Then the sounds hit me. The cheerful chaos of vendors calling out their wares, children laughing and shouting as they darted between stalls, the clang of a blacksmith's hammer from somewhere nearby. Music drifted from one corner where someone played an instrument that sounded like a cross between a flute and a harp.

And the smells. Fresh bread and roasting meat and something sweet that made my mouth water. Flowers and leather and the earthy scent of fresh vegetables. Spices I couldn't name but that made me think of warmth and comfort and home.

"It's incredible," I breathed.

The moment we stepped into the square, heads turned. I saw recognition flash across faces, saw people straightening and smiling. But there was no fearful deference. Genuine warmth lit up every face that found Kavan.

"Your Majesty!" A woman called out from one of the fabric stalls, waving enthusiastically. She was human, I realized, with dark skin and braided hair threaded with colorful beads. "I didn't expect to see you at market today!"

Kavan smiled and steered me toward her stall. "Amara. How could I miss market day? Especially when I heard you'd gotten a new shipment of silk from the eastern provinces."

Amara laughed, a rich, warm sound. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Your Majesty." Then her eyes landed on me and her smile widened. "And who is this lovely lady?"

"This is Leila Hunter," Kavan said, and I didn't miss the way his hand moved to the small of my back. A possessive gesture that sent warmth flooding through me. "She's with the Alliance delegation. Leila, this is Amara. She's been running this stall for... how long now?"

"Thirty-two years," Amara said proudly. "Though I suppose with the hibernation, it's more like seven hundred and eighty-two." She laughed, shaking her head. "Still getting used to that math."

"You're human," I said, then immediately felt stupid for stating the obvious.

But Amara just smiled. "I am. Came here about forty years before the hibernation with my mate, Corven. He's the blacksmith. You probably heard his hammer from the edge of the square."

"Amara sells the finest fabrics on Drakhone," Kavan bragged. "If you need anything while you're here, she's the one to see."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, running my fingers over a bolt of deep blue silk that shimmered in the light.

Amara leaned forward conspiratorially. "Can I just say, Your Majesty, it's wonderful to see you looking so happy? I haven't seen you smile like this in... well, I can't remember when. Hibernation excluded, of course."

I felt Kavan stiffen slightly beside me, but when I glanced up at him, he was still smiling. "I have good reason to smile today," he said quietly, and the way he looked at me made my cheeks flush.

Amara's eyes sparkled with understanding. "I can see that. You two enjoy the market. And Leila, dear, if you need anything at all, you come find me."

We moved on, and I found myself being introduced to vendor after vendor. There was Mikael, a Drakhoni male who sold pottery and told me with a wink that Kavan had been breaking his bowls since he was a child. There was Tera, a human female mated to one of the castle guards, who sold the most incredible-smelling bread and insisted on giving me a loaf "to welcome you properly to Drakhone."

Each person we met had the same reaction. Genuine pleasure at seeing Kavan, and curiosity about me that felt friendly rather than suspicious. More than one person commented on how happy Kavan seemed, how it had been too long since they'd seen their king smile.

I was beginning to realize that whatever was happening between us wasn't as subtle as I'd thought.

We were standing at a stall selling what looked like purple-tinted honey when a child's voice shouted, "King Kavan!"

I turned just in time to see a small blur of motion launch itself at Kavan's legs. He caught the child easily, swinging him up into his arms with a laugh that transformed his entire face.

The boy couldn't have been more than five or six, with dark hair and golden eyes that marked him as Drakhoni. He grinned from ear to ear, completely unafraid of the massive dragon king holding him.

"Finn," Kavan said, his voice warm with affection. "Shouldn't you be helping your mother at the bakery?"

"I am helping," Finn insisted. "I'm making sure everyone knows we have the best sweet rolls in the village."

"Is that so?" Kavan asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Uh-huh. Mama says if I tell ten people, I can have one for free."

"Well, I'm convinced," Kavan said. "In fact, I think Leila and I should stop by the bakery before we leave. What do you think, Leila?"

I stared at them, something complicated happening in my chest. Stern, brooding King Kavan was holding this child with such gentleness, such easy affection, that it dissolved any lingering resistance entirely.

"I think that sounds perfect," I managed.

Finn turned his attention to me, his golden eyes curious. "Are you the Alliance lady? Mama said you came from Earth."