Page 66 of Scorched By Fate

Emotions flickered over her face: anger, hope … terror. One by one, they warred for dominance. Finally, she dropped her head, breath shuddering. “I’m not sure how,” she murmured. “And now, you’re telling me to open up … That you want me as what, exactly?”

“Everything,” I breathed. “I want everything.”

Before I could stop myself, I dropped to my knees, the motion swift and sure, every last shred of control leaving me as I knelt in front of her. My hands moved to frame her hips, steady but reverent, claws curling under against the soft fabric of her clothes without piercing—without risking breaking her.

She deserved better than my fire. But I couldn’t stop offering it to her.

"What will it take to make you mine?"

Her eyes widened. But she didn’t run. With a single exhale, it seemed like she let go of something heavy. “I think …” Her words came quietly, voice hitching. “I think I’ve been yours for a while now, whether I liked it or not.”

The heat in my chest flared brighter, roaring hot and unrelenting as though she’d poured molten steel into my ribs. Her confession settled deep in the raw places I’d been trying desperately to keep from fracturing further. It wasn’t an admission; it was a collision—a force slamming into me with the weight of all the words she hadn’t said before.

For the first time in weeks, the fire inside me didn’t feel like it was trying to hollow me out. It felt like fuel.

“Then stay,” I said softly, my voice hoarse but unwavering. The words cut low from the depths of my chest, layers of feeling I’d long buried spilling freely now. “Stay with me.”

Her lips trembled, a breathless exhale escaping before she dropped to her knees, her hands finally reaching for me. And gods help me, the way she touched me—light but certain, like she was still deciding if she should've claimed me sooner—ignited the only answer I had left.

Mine.

Always mine.

The forge roared hotter around us, and I embraced the burn.

TWENTY-SIX

SELENE

It was hard to tell if the room itself was hot or if Vyne was the one heating it. Probably both.

His room was buried deep in Scalvaris—some hybrid of a forge, a bedroom, and an artist’s den. Not far from where I stood, a broad stone slab topped with silks served as a bed. If I looked too long at it, my heart started hammering.

But Vyne was the main attraction.

He was standing near the center of the room, wings half-furled, glancing my way with this tension that made me think of coiled springs. His scales caught the light, shimmering in that dark-green shade that reminded me of polished emeralds. Though he wasn’t moving, he was brimming with energy—a wildfire held behind a flimsy barrier.

He didn’t say a word. Didn’t have to. I knew exactly what he was waiting for, and I realized I’d been waiting just as desperately. My feet closed the distance between us, while inside me, everything seemed to stutter and surge at once.

He met me halfway, wings curving around in a slow sweep that made my breath catch. It was intimate—those tough, scaled membranes forming a secluded world for just the two of us. Oneof his hands rose, thumb brushing my jaw. A quick spark lit my nerve endings, and my focus tunneled in on him alone.

I wanted to say something—anything—but my mind was too tangled by the intensity in his gaze. His breath fanned across my cheek, warm as the forge’s embers, and my lips parted in anticipation before he moved. Then he was there, leaning in, claiming my mouth in a single, searing kiss that stole the last of my composure.

That first contact struck like lightning—pure, charged need. My eyes fluttered shut as tingles raced from the press of his lips to the tips of my fingers. I clung to his shoulders, half afraid my legs might give out from the sheer heat of him. Each slide of his mouth over mine stoked that inner flame, making my pulse pound so loudly that nothing else existed. The worries, the obligations … they dissolved into the background noise of the world.

His tongue teased the seam of my lips, a coaxing pressure that sent a small gasp tumbling out. He seized the sound, deepening the kiss even more. When his fangs grazed my lower lip, drawing a startled, breathless hitch from my chest, a surge of hunger jolted through me. His taste was salt and fire, a sensation that set every nerve alight.

I melted into him, fingers digging into the hard muscle of his back as though anchoring myself to reality. But reality shifted—narrowing down to the rough planes of his body beneath my hands and the muted growl resonating behind our joined mouths. Instinct took over, guiding me to open for him farther. His kiss grew more urgent and confident, each slow, thorough stroke enough to make me forget breathing.

The world tilted as he guided me backward, the edges of my vision hazy with want. My spine met the platform behind me in a less than gentle thump, jolting us just enough to break our lips apart. A ragged breath left me, matching his own uneven exhale.Our eyes met in that heartbeat of distance, and then he tugged me close again, our mouths catching in another all-consuming kiss that left no air between us.

I didn’t give him time to ask if I was sure—my answer was obvious. I grabbed a handful of his top, tugging him closer. He made a low, rough sound. Next thing I knew, he was slicing my shirt off with the edge of a claw, neat as a seam ripper. A startled laugh escaped me, cut short when his lips covered mine again.

He tasted urgent, like we’d put this off for far too long, even if it had only been a day. His wings shifted, brushing my bare shoulders. Everything felt fevered. When his tongue slid down my throat, I couldn’t stop the shudder, or the way my fingers fisted in his hair, searching for something to hold onto.

He had me up on the stone bed before I realized it, his body wedging between my knees. My thighs squeezed around him, and for a wild second, I remembered how strong he was—this Drakarn warrior who could bend steel and slice rock. Somehow, all that power was cradling me with a careful sweetness.

And he was all mine.

---