Page 32 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
She examined her skin with fascination. “The process accelerates at night. Under moonlight, I feel...more.”
“More what?”
Her gaze lifted to his, a fragile mix of awe and uncertainty shimmering within them. “More everything. Senses sharper, emotions deeper, connection stronger.”
“Connection?” he echoed, hope stirring beneath his careful control.
She hesitated at their chamber entrance, fingers resting against the crystal-veined door. “To this place. To your clan. To...”
To you.The unspoken words hung between them, neither acknowledged nor denied.
“Rest,” he advised gently, opening the gold plated door for her. “Your body undergoes profound transformation. Sleep will help integrate the changes.”
Inside their shared space, the glowstones dimmed in response to their presence, creating an atmosphere of intimate seclusion. Sora moved to her sleeping platform, fingers trailing across silken fabrics with evident appreciation.
“Thank you,” she said suddenly, turning to face him. “For having Zalaya show me your library. For listening to my strategic suggestions even though I am not of this world. For...” She faltered, searching for words.
“For treating you with respect and as more than just a prophecy to be fulfilled?” he suggested.
Her smile carried genuine warmth. “Yes. Exactly that.”
As she prepared for sleep, Ignis maintained a respectful distance, settling onto his stone slab in half-form rather than shifting to his natural draconic state. The restraint cost him energy, but remaining in his weaker form seemed worth the sacrifice... at least, until she fell asleep. Then he would let go, and allow his own body some rest.
“Sleep well, Sora,” he said softly as she nestled beneath silken covers.
“And you,” she replied, her voice already drowsy with approaching slumber. “Ignis?”
“Yes?”
Her eyes found his across the dimmed chamber, moonlight filtering through prismatic apertures to paint silver patterns across her skin. “I’m glad fate brought me here, whatever the reason.”
The admission, small though it was, sent warmth spreading through his chest that had nothing to do with dragon fire. “As am I.”
CHAPTERTEN
SORA
Sora jerked awake, a strangled gasp tearing from her throat. Heat surged beneath her skin like a heated scraper, like a brand against her raw nerves. Her nightgown clung to sweat-slicked skin, suddenly intolerable against her hypersensitive flesh.
She clawed at her arms, nails raking across scales that hadn’t been there when she’d fallen asleep. The silvery patches spread wider now, catching the warm glow radiating from the glowstones and reflecting it in mesmerizing patterns. Her skin burned and itched with maddening intensity, as though something within fought to emerge.
“Make it stop,” she whispered, kicking off silken sheets in desperation. “Help…”
A low rumble vibrated through the stone beneath her. Crimson eyes gleamed in the shadows, watchful and alert. Ignis lay curled around her sleeping platform, his massive tail forming a protective circle. He hadn’t been there when she’d fallen asleep, yet somehow his presence grounded her—his nearness dissolving the fear she didn’t know she carried.
She hadn’t heard him move. Hadn’t felt him approach. Yet here he was, guarding her like his most precious treasure.
“Is this normal?” She raked fingernails across her shoulder, loosening flakes of skin that fell away to reveal the delicate shimmer of newly formed fine silver scales. “It feels like I’m being consumed from the inside.”
“Your dragon blood awakens your omega nature more fully.”His voice resonated directly in her mind, instantly soothing her.“The transformation accelerates at night, and continues to do so until your shift is complete and you’ve become what you were meant to be.”
His formidable form shimmered, collapsing onto itself, ruby scales rippling like liquid fire as he shifted into his half-form. Wings folded neatly against his back as taloned feet touched stone. Without a word, he strode to an ornate chest tucked against the foot of her bed, retrieving a large crystal vial filled with iridescent liquid.
“This will ease your discomfort,” he said, his physical voice rougher—more serious—holding a rawness he didn’t have telepathically moments ago. “It contains essence of coldfire heartgems mixed with minerals from the sacred pools.”
Sora swung her legs over the edge of the sleeping platform, fingers still scratching frantically at patches of emerging scales. “I’ll try anything.”
“I must apply it directly to the affected areas.” His gaze locked on her, crimson eyes intense as they studied her with careful restraint. “With your permission.”
