Page 37 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
The morning’s training had awakened something beyond explanation.
She was slowly believing that everything about Artania wasreal. It took some time for her mind to wrap around the idea, but all the evidence around her proved that it indeed was.
How else could she explain everything that had happened to her since she’d awakened. Proof was beyond the silver scales now permanently adorning her skin and the two celestial orbs in their lovers’ dance in the sky.
Her sparring match with Ignis had awakened the possibility—that she was indeed a Luna, a special omega brought to Artania by the Moon Goddess herself to fulfill some prophecy.
When she emerged, dressed in silk garments that complemented her, she draped a sheer, exotic robe over her shoulders—one she’d discovered among the trove of treasures scattered throughout their shared room that matched Ignis’s ruby and gold scales. He had no use for such a garment, and there was a small voice in the back of her head that wondered how he’d react to her boldness.
The dining hall awaited with platters of unfamiliar delicacies. Ignis rose as she entered, a gesture that spoke of respect rather than protocol. The others in the room bowed their heads and lifted their goblets in greeting.
His sharp crimson gaze traced the silver scales now visible at her temples, the pattern emerging along her collarbones where her gown dipped low.
“The council will be pleased with your progress,” he observed, seating her beside him rather than across the table. The intimacy of the arrangement wasn’t lost on her—nor was the possessive edge to his attentiveness.
The gentle wrap of his tail greeted her as she sat, but his wings held tight to his back, denying her the closeness she craved—the lack of embrace made her ache with want.
Why am I drawn to him—so strongly, so suddenly?
“Will they?” She selected fruits whose iridescent skins matched the crystal formations throughout the mountain—reminiscent of fruit snacks back on Earth. “I’ve done nothing but avoid being pinned during training.”
“You’re underestimating yourself—you’re stronger than you think and capable of so much more,” he countered, wings shifting to create a partial cocoon around their shared space. “You have no idea how much you’re actually worth… and each day your presence aligns more perfectly with prophecy.”
“What do you see when you look at me?” The question emerged unbidden, vulnerability wrapped in directness.
Ignis went still. For a heartbeat, she thought he might deflect with diplomatic vagueness and tales of destiny. Instead, his gaze locked with hers, burning with unexpected honesty.
“I see what I have searched for all my life,” he said, voice dropping to a register that sent shivers racing across her skin. “Not merely omega to my alpha or vessel of prophecy, but balance—intelligence matched with instinct, strength with compassion, knowledge with wonder.” His taloned fingers rested millimeters from hers on the table’s surface. “I see my equal. My complement. My...”
He froze, jaw tightening as the storm behind his eyes dimmed.
“Your what?” she pressed, heart racing with dangerous curiosity.
His pupils expanded, crimson irises mere rings around absolute darkness. “Mymate,” he admitted, the words carrying the weight of confession. “Though that choice remains entirelyyours.”
The honesty in his declaration stole her breath. This wasn’t diplomatic courtesy or calculated seduction. This was truth, laid bare despite the vulnerability it revealed.
Before she could respond, a sentinel appeared at the dining hall’s entrance.
“My king,” he announced, bowing deeply. “The council awaits.”
Ignis remained motionless for a moment longer, gaze locked with hers, something unspoken passing between them. Then he sighed, the intimate cocoon dissolving as he rose.
“We continue this conversation later,” he promised, offering his hand to assist her rise. “At another time.”
She nodded and accepted his hand. “I will make sure of it.”
He responded with a deep dark chuckle and shook his head.
As they walked toward the council chamber, Sora found herself wondering which posed greater danger—the approaching conflict with Celestoria’s forces or the inevitable collision between duty and desire that awaited her.
And the few thoughts of Earth drifted through her mind like smoke—familiar, distant, impossible to grasp—it felt more like a memory than a desire to return to.
Boundaries had indeed been tested. And soon, she suspected, they would shatter entirely.
Deep down, she knew she was starting to fall for this dragon king…
CHAPTERELEVEN
