Page 68 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
“There.”His voice resonated in her mind, deep and ancient.“Do you see it?”
Below, nestled within a dense forest, a perfectly circular lake glowed with unnatural brilliance. At its center stood a small island housing a shrine of white marble, its surface catching the light like freshly fallen snow.
Ignis descended in lazy spirals, each circle bringing the shrine into sharper focus. As they neared, Sora made out intricate carvings covering every inch of the structure—ancient symbols that seemed to shift and change the longer she looked at them.
“What is this place?” she called against the wind.
“Sacred ground,”Ignis replied, his mental voice solemn.“One of the Moon Goddess’s tears, fallen to Artania in the First Age.”
The ground barely shuddered as he touched down at the island’s edge, wings folding with quiet precision. Stone cracked faintly beneath his claws, straining under the weight he carried.
Sora slid from his neck, legs wobbling as they remembered their own purpose. The shrine before her featured a central statue—a female elf with uplifted arms, her stone face serene and knowing. Around her feet, three wulfkin in their wolf forms lay in eternal vigilance, their stone eyes somehow alive with ancient purpose.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, taking a step forward.
The water surrounding the shrine suddenly intensified, light erupting from its depths with blinding intensity. The brilliance swallowed everything—the shrine, the forest, Ignis—until nothing remained but pure, searing white.
Pain lanced through her side, and Sora gasped—
She woke with a violent start, heart hammering against her ribs.
The chamber swam into focus—glowstones pulsing gently along crystal-veined walls, familiar treasures scattered across stone shelves. Ignis’s chamber. Their chamber.
Her fingers flew to her side, finding unfamiliar texture beneath her thin sleeping shift. Something smooth and hard covered the area where Princess Jewels’s dagger had struck. A scale. Not silver like her own emerging patterns, but ruby—identical to Ignis’s.
Pain had been replaced by something stranger—an awareness that hummed just beneath her consciousness. The crystal formations embedded in the walls glowed with newfound clarity, their energy signatures distinct and readable. She could sense the ley lines running through the mountain, could track their flow as easily as tracing veins beneath skin.
A soft rumble pulled her attention to her right.
Ignis lay curled beside her bed in full dragon form, his horned head larger than the footboard resting on one folded foreleg. Even in sleep, his face held tension—jaw clenched, eyes darting beneath closed lids. His powerful tail twitched, sending a small statuette tumbling from a nearby shelf.
Without thinking, Sora reached out, placing her palm against his scaled cheek. The connection that bloomed between them stole her breath—his emotions cascading into her awareness with startling clarity. Concern. Relief. Guilt. And beneath it all, a fierce, consuming devotion that made her chest ache.
His eyes snapped open, crimson irises locking onto her face. For one startled moment, he remained perfectly still, as though afraid she might vanish if he moved.
“You’re awake.”His voice resonated directly in her mind, rougher than usual, laden with emotion.
“I’m alive,” she corrected, letting her hand fall away from his scales. “Though I shouldn’t be.” The memory surfaced with painful clarity—Princess Jewels lunging with that corrupted blade, the burning agony as poison spread through her veins. “What happened? I remember the blade, then... nothing.”
Ignis shifted, scales rustling against stone as he rose to a sitting position, wings folding tightly against his back.“The blade carried corrupted essence—designed to kill any with dragon blood.”His tail curled protectively around her bed.“You were dying.”
The door opened before he could continue, admitting Zalaya and Asher. The harpy’s feathers rustled with approval as she approached the bed, her ancient eyes studying Sora with clinical precision.
“Our Luna returns to us,” she announced, her taloned hand reaching for Sora’s wrist to check her pulse. “How do you feel?”
“What do you think?”
Sora rolled her shoulders, testing the give. "It feels like something expensive—graceful, perfect—too elegant to be worn… not mine. And yet… I don’t want to take it off."
“It’s only natural for my Luna to be dressed as the dragon queen she’s becoming,” Ignis said, crimson eyes holding hers with unwavering certainty. “Besides, you’ll need protection where we’re going.”
“And you’re sure about giving this to me?”
His hand paused, head cocking as his lips settled into something wicked and clever. “Who else would be worthy to ride upon my back?”
Asher exchanged a look with Ignis before answering. “A necessary sacrifice. The poison would have claimed you otherwise.”
Zalaya’s jade eyes held Sora’s gaze steadily. “You have experienced the ancient blood bond ritual. A fragment of your king’s heart now beats within you, his scale shields the wound, and his flame purged the corruption from your blood.”
