Page 19 of Claimed By the Drakarn Warrior Lord

Darrokar exhaled sharply through his nose. “Arrogant,” he muttered, though there was almost … approval in his tone. “But not wrong.”

I’d barely registered the shift in his stance before he moved. One heartbeat he was standing several feet away, the next he was face-to-face with me, so close I could see the faint, bluish veins that webbed through the black scales along his collarbone’s jagged ridges. His heat washed over me again, molten and all-consuming, dragging my pulse into dangerous territory.

"Then fight for it," he rumbled, his voice raw. “There is no training without pain. No victory without blood.”

Good.

Darrokar didn't give me time to reply. A blur of black scales and wings filled my vision as his tail whipped toward my legs. I leapt back, barely missing the strike that would’ve sent me sprawling. His movements were fluid, natural—as if each muscle in his body answered to some ancient rhythm. There was no hesitation, no pause to predict his next move. He was testing me, and I knew damn well he wasn’t going to make this easy.

Good. I didn’t want easy.

He lunged again, faster this time, and I droppedlow, rolling under one of his outstretched wings. My shoulder scraped the rough stone of the floor, sending a spike of pain up my arm, but I ignored it, springing to my feet. Before I could fully regain my stance, he was already moving, his claws slicing through the charged air in a controlled strike—not close enough to hit me, but close enough to remind me how sharp they were.

“Your instincts … they are not entirely pathetic,” he growled, circling me. His tail lashed behind him, coiled energy barely held in check. “But instincts alone will not save you. Not here.”

I matched his steps, refusing to let him hem me in. “Then maybe you should stop showing off and actually teach me something,” I shot back, my breath coming faster than I would’ve liked. He wasn’t even winded. Of course he wasn’t.

The corner of his mouth curved upward, a flash of fangs against his obsidian-black scales. “A warrior should never beg for knowledge. Take it.” There was a challenge in his voice, low and electric, and I hated how much it set my nerves on fire.

“I’m not begging,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’m demanding.”

Darrokar stopped, wings unfurling just enough to shadow me as he leaned forward, closing thedistance between. His golden eyes glowed in the dim light, molten and unwavering as they fixed on mine. “Then demand it with more than words,Terra.”

The sound of my name on his tongue hit me harder than any blow. It wrapped around me, resonating in a way that made my stomach tighten and my chest ache. But I shoved that feeling aside.

He moved again, and this time I was ready. As his hand came toward me, claws curving just enough to hook, I stepped inside his reach, deflecting the strike with my forearm. The impact jolted through me, and it became startlingly clear just how solid he was. Like striking steel wrapped in scales. But I didn’t back down—I pivoted, grabbing for the ridges along his arm to use his momentum against him.

It almost worked.

Almost.

But then his tail snapped against my calf, throwing me off-balance. I stumbled, and in an instant, he had me pinned. One massive arm locked around my waist, yanking me flush against his chest while his other hand braced my forearm, holding it immobile. His heat seared into my back, and when he leaned close, the low, rumbling vibration of his growl buzzed through my skin like static electricity.

“You rely too much on technique withoutunderstanding your opponent,” he murmured into my ear, his breath hot and smoky against my neck. His voice was calm now, almost uncomfortably so. “You fight to win. My kind fight to dominate.”

“As if there's a difference,” I said through gritted teeth, twisting in his grip. I managed to free one arm and jab my elbow back, aiming for what I assumed was a pressure point just below his ribs.

It didn’t have the effect I wanted.

Instead of releasing me, Darrokar laughed—a low, predatory sound that sent a flicker of warning through my gut. “So you do have claws after all,” he said, and then, so quickly I couldn’t counter, he spun me around and pressed me back against one of the cavern walls. His wings flared, closing in like walls on either side of me, boxing me in. “But they’re dull. You’d be dead before drawing blood.”

The worst part wasn’t the position—it was the way his gaze raked over me, a mixture of challenge and something far more dangerous. He wasn’t just testing my combat skills anymore. He was testingme. Every nerve in my body felt strung tight, as if this wasn’t a fight but a negotiation happening on some deeper, unspoken level.

“You think I’mdone?” I spat, defiance burning away the unwanted heat pooling low in my stomach. “This was round one.”

Darrokar’s fanged smile widened, and a pulse of something fierce flickered in his expression. “Nowyou sound like a warrior.”

Using anger as fuel, I shoved at his chest. He allowed the motion to unbalance him, only slightly, but it was enough for me to duck beneath his arm and put distance between us again. My breaths became ragged, and I tightened my stance, forcing my body to obey even while my senses screamed at howclosehe still was.

“Faster,” he said and then lunged, dropping to a crouch as he swiped low with his tail. I jumped to avoid it, but the movement shifted my balance just enough for him to catch me mid-air, claws skimming my side as he spun me around and pinned me again. This time, when his chest pressed to mine, the rough stone of the wall dug into my back, grounding me in an intimacy that felt explosive rather than suffocating.

His head dipped low, and for one impossible moment, I swore his lips were close enough to graze mine.

“What are you waiting for?” he whispered, a lowrumble laced with maddening satisfaction. “Prove me wrong,Terra.Show me you are more.”

I was breathing too hard to answer, every muscle coiled and trembling beneath his unrelenting heat. And then—then he looked at me, really looked, and something unspoken passed between us. His hand, still braced against my arm, loosened slightly, his claws careful as if remembering how breakable I was. His tail, still coiled near my ankle, stilled.

The air between us was electric, charged not only with tension but something far deeper and infinitely more potent. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out the weight of unasked questions lingering between us.

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