Page 14 of Echoes of Fire

So close, and yet I was not invited to touch.

Not yet.

She’d wrapped herself in one of my spare tunics, cinching the fabric at her waist with a belt she’d found in her satchel.

My mate.Mine.

That truth burned beneath my ribs, stronger than the voices around us.

The problem was obvious. My bond with Orla—a human, an outsider—would be challenged. The priestess had made her doubts clear, and already the rumors were taking hold. This walk wasn’t just for her safety.

Scalvaris thrived on appearances. If they saw us together, if they saw her protected and claimed, perhaps the whispers would quiet—or at least recede to the darkest shadows where they would eventually die.

But her discomfort was a persistent stress against my instincts. It was as real as the storm-salt scent that clung to her. Her pulse stayed steady, not spiked with fear, but the tension in her jaw and the press of her lips said enough.

I reached down and brushed the back of my hand against hers. She blinked, her sharp chin tilting toward me. She drew in a quick breath, and the faint color blooming in her cheeks sparked something in my chest I didn’t fully understand.

“Are we here to get something in particular?” she asked, her gaze shifting to a vendor selling polished stone carvings.

“I thought you would like to see the market,” I lied.

Her thin brows rose, disbelief plain. I tightened my wings against my back, though their membranes itched to flare in denial. She was clever, my Orla. Too clever.

“This has nothing to do with flexing your wings at everyone here?” Her tone was dry, though a flicker of curiosity lurked behind her words.

“Nothing,” I said evenly.

Her snort was quiet but unmistakable. “Sure. I’ll play along. Show me the market, which I have definitely not walked through almost every day since I got here.”

We passed a group of younglings crouched near a tiled fountain, their eyes darting toward Orla before flicking away. She stiffened at their scrutiny, and I swallowed the growl that threatened to rise. My scales felt hot against the back of my neck, but I forced myself to stay composed.

“Drakarn diplomacy at its finest,” Orla muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

I stopped at a stall displaying stylized carvings made from heat crystals. Orla paused beside me, her eyes narrowing as she studied the goods. I reached for a hand-sized crystal shaped like a flowing wave, its edges pulsing faintly with gold light.

Her brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

“They call this enlightenment stone,” I said, avoiding her question. “It’s said to reflect the holder’s true emotions.”

“We have something like that on Earth,” she said, her fingers twitching toward the edge of the table. I knew the habit—her engineer’s instincts itching to take things apart, to understand their workings. “They’re called mood rings. They just react to body heat.”

The merchant, a gray-scaled artisan with worn claws, grunted. “Pretty. For a pretty lady.”

I stiffened at his tone, but Orla only shrugged, her lips tilting in faint humor. “Pretty’s not bad.”

I placed the crystal in her palm, ignoring the merchant’s sharp intake of breath. Drakarn didn’t give gifts lightly, notwithout meaning. But I wanted her to feel something other than the weight of this unfamiliar world.

Her fingers curled around the crystal, her lashes lowering as she examined the glow. I held my breath as she murmured, “Fascinating,” the word so soft it barely carried above the noise. The crystal’s gold hue deepened to fiery orange where her fingers pressed into its surface.

My tail curled instinctively, satisfaction simmering low in my chest. Just as quickly, her hand hovered, the crystal held out in silent offering to return it. “It’s beautiful, but I?—”

“Keep it,” I said sharply enough that the merchant flinched. “It’s yours.”

She hesitated, her lips parting in protest. But when her eyes met mine, I saw the shift. Her resistance softened, something unspoken lingering in its place.

“Alright,” she said at last, the word carrying no edge.

I felt the tension in my shoulders ease as I handed over a few coins and we moved on.

---