“What about the dragons?” I asked, still anxious about our newly arrived residents.

“They’ve kept to themselves mostly,” Vivienne said. “At least, none of them have come to see us. But I’ve heard through the grapevine—from Becky, that is—that they have all chosen girls now… except for the prince.”

“Huh?” I jolted in my seat. “Theon still hasn’t chosen a girl?”

Vivienne shook her head. “Nope.”

“But… the main purpose of their stay was to find a partner for him, to continue their royal lineage. The other dragons’ finding mates was supposed to be secondary.”

Vivienne shrugged. “I’m not sure why he hasn’t hooked up with anyone. Becky didn’t seem to know either.”

I wondered what this meant for us. If the prince saw nobody fit for him here, would they all leave?

“Don’t worry about it now, honey,” my mother said, squeezing my knee. “We’ll find out what the situation is soon enough.”

We talked for about an hour more, by which point I was no longer able to keep my eyelids open. They began to droop without me even realizing it. Caleb scooped me up in his strong arms and moved toward the door.

“Excuse us,” he said.

“Good night,” my family called after us as we left the apartment.

More like good morning, I thought groggily, before falling asleep in Caleb’s arms.

Chapter 35: Rose

I woke to the sound of Caleb’s light breathing next to me. I opened my eyes slowly, turning to face him on the pillow. He was still fast asleep.

Trying not to wake him, I gently lifted his right arm from over my waist and placed it down on the bed. Then I slid out from beneath the sheets and headed straight to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then took a shower and washed my hair. It was shocking how much gunk had managed to stick in it. The pool of water forming on the shower floor was a murky brown.

After I’d finished in the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me before heading back into the bedroom to get dressed. I was about to open my closet when the digital alarm clock on the windowsill caught my attention.

11.34 AM.

But it wasn’t those blinking figures that made me stop. It was the date beneath them. I dropped my towel and picked up the clock, looking at it more closely in case I’d misread it.

I hadn’t.

Wow. I’d completely lost track of time.

In just one day, it would be my birthday. My and Ben’s birthday.

I had not been aware of the date for a while now, since so many things had happened one after the other. I just could not believe an entire year had gone by since Ben and I had plotted our escape to Hawaii.

“Nice view…” Caleb spoke huskily from the bed.

He’d woken up. Propping up his head with one hand, he was leaning on his elbow as his brown eyes roamed me.

I smirked, motioning to pick up my towel from the floor, but he grabbed me before I had the chance.

Trailing his hands from beneath my shoulders down to the base of my spine, he gathered me to him. His legs entwined with mine as he ran his nose down the bridge of mine before tasting my lips.

“What are you looking so surprised about, beautiful?” he asked in a whisper.

“I didn’t realize how much time has passed… It’s my birthday tomorrow.”

He sat up. “You’ll be eighteen.”

Eighteen. It seemed so old.

Thinking back on my seventeenth year, I realized it was basically just one long blur of shocks, confusion, kidnappings and… Caleb.

I also couldn’t believe that I was about to experience a birthday without Ben. It would be the first time we’d been apart on our birthday since the day we were born. A hollow feeling settled in at the base of my stomach.

I gulped.

I didn’t want to start getting teary in front of Caleb, so I changed the subject.

“When is your birthday?” I asked.

“Not for a while,” he said vaguely. “Let’s talk about yours first… I have an idea for what we could do to celebrate.”

I raised a brow.

He bent down close to me again, kissing my cheek and then whispering into my ear: “Let’s get married, Rose.”

I almost choked.

“Caleb… that would be the best birthday present. Ever.”

Chapter 36: Caleb

After Rose responded to my suggestion with passion, I got off her, picked up her towel from the floor and handed it to her.

“If we’re really going to have our wedding tomorrow, we’ve got to get a move on.” She finished towel-drying her hair and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. “Let’s go see my parents.”

“I have something to do,” I said. She looked at me curiously, but didn’t question what this something was. “You go without me.”

“How long do you think you’ll be?” she asked. “Because we need to decide on details about the wedding.”

“Rose,” I said, “we could hold the wedding in a cave, and I wouldn’t care.” I gave her a smile. “Just make sure you show up.”

“Okay,” she said, grinning. “I’ll try to remember that part. My mom, Corrine and I will do all the planning.” She walked up to me and pulled my head down for another passionate kiss. “I’m going to be so busy, plus I’ll be spending the night at my parents’ place, we’re unlikely to see each other again before tomorrow.”