36. Fire

(Mateo)

My life was nothing like Vera's. I had been lucky. Feelings of joy and happiness were a constant in my life. I had everything and anything I could ask for. My parents loved me, my brother and sister were amazing, and life had never been so hard for me. Yes, the knowledge of being someone who would one day rule the Draconia was hard, but I knew I would ace it with the help of my family.

I always got what I wanted, but everything changed when I met Vera. I had wanted her like nothing in the world, and she didn’t come easy. She was not an easy, serene person. She was thunder and storm. She was demanding, challenging, loud, and everything I had never experienced in my life.

But when she finally whispered the words I had wanted the very next day...

“I love you, Mateo.”

Nothing I had ever felt come close to this one moment. With her eyes so open, so vulnerable. I knew it took her a lot of courage to say that out loud, and I loved her all the more for it.

Life was made of pieces and