Page 94 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
The word pierced her heart, sweet agony cutting through the fever. “Not a monster,” she agreed, turning her face to press a kiss against his palm. “Never monster. My dragon king. My mate. My alpha.Mine.”
The possessive declaration surprised her—raw and instinctive— rising from some deep, untamed place awakened by her omega heat. Yet it felt right on her tongue, true in ways academic precision could never capture.
A low, rough sound rumbled from Ignis, vibrating through the water that lapped between them. With gentle but insistent hands, he guided her to lean back against the pool’s edge as he reached for washing cloths and cleansing oils.
“Let me care for you,” he murmured, beginning the careful work of bathing her fevered body.
Each touch sent fresh waves of need crashing through her, but beneath the hunger lay something equally powerful—tenderness. He worked methodically, washing away the remnants of battle while murmuring reassurances.
“I thought I’d lost you again,” he confessed as he poured clean water over her hair, fingers working through tangled strands with impossible gentleness for hands that had torn stone. “When you didn’t return to the rendezvous point—when I felt your distress through our bond—”
“You found me,” she reminded him, reaching up to trace the strong line of his jaw. “You’ll always find me now.”
“Always,” he agreed, the word both promise and prayer.
The bathing ritual continued, intimate yet restrained. Despite the waves of heat pulsing through her body, despite the need building with each gentle touch, Ignis maintained careful control.
Each caress was meant to soothe, but the heat it stirred beneath her skin told another story.
When he finally helped her from the pool, her legs trembled beneath her weight. The brief relief provided by the enchanted water faded quickly, leaving her once more consumed by fever.
Ignis wrapped her in soft linens, the fabric irritating her hypersensitive skin despite its silken texture. He guided her to the sleeping platform, helping her settle among pillows and furs brought to help her nest.
“I’ll fetch Zalaya,” he said, already turning toward the door. “She has preparations for heat—herbs to ease the worst symptoms.”
“Don’t leave me!” The words tore from her throat, desperate and raw.
Ignis froze, conflict evident in every tense line of his body. “Sora, in this state—” His nostrils flared as he drank in her scent, now sharper, thicker since their return. With the blood and soot of the mission washed away, nothing remained but the heady pull of her omega need, clinging to her like a second skin. “I may not be able to maintain control if I stay.”
“Then don’t.” She pushed herself upright, linens falling away to reveal silver scales gleaming across her chest and shoulders. “Claim me, Ignis. Make me yours completely.”
His wings unfurled partially, an unconscious display of agitation—or perhaps to fan away her needy aroma. “You speak from heat-madness, not choice.”
“No.” She shook her head, fighting through the fog of desire to find words. “I chose you before my body knew what choice meant. Before heat, before transformation—I chose you when I stepped between you and Princess Jewels’s blade. I chose you every time I returned to your chambers instead of seeking escape.”
He approached with deliberate care, as if she were some rare, fragile treasure that might crumble beneath the weight of his gaze. “Are you certain? Once done, this cannot be undone.”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything.” She reached for him, palms pressing against the ruby scales of his chest. “I crossed worlds to find you, Ignis. I died and was reborn. I transformed from human to something new. Every step led me here—to you.”
Something broke in his expression—the last barricade of restraint crumbling beneath the weight of her certainty. He gathered her into his arms, wings wrapping around them both to create a sanctuary of shadow and warmth.
“Then I am yours,” he whispered against her temple, his tail coiling around her legs in a slow, possessive sweep that anchored her to him. “As you are mine.”
His maw found hers, no longer holding back. The kiss consumed her, fire meeting fire as his forked tongue traced the seam of her lips before delving deeper. She surrendered to it, to him, letting the heat take her at last.
Through their blood bond, she felt his own desire magnified—decade upon decade of loneliness dissolved by her presence. His hunger matched hers, fierce and overwhelming, yet tempered by something deeper, something enduring.
Love, overwhelming and patient, now unleashed by acceptance, flooding the tether between them.
“You must understand what happens next,” he whispered against her throat, voice rough with need as his tongue traced the mark he’d left there days before—the first claiming that had saved her life. “There is no turning back from this path.”
“I know, but I don’t want to turn back even if I could—I don’t want to go back even if there was a way.” She gasped as his taloned hand found the silver scales at her hip, tracing patterns that sent lightning through her core. “I want to move forward and live my life here—with you.”
Their eyes met—crimson to sapphire—the bond between them humming so fiercely it felt almost visible in the crystal-lit chamber.
Ignis’s wings eased open. “Then let us begin.”
He stood before her in his dragoon form, a breathtaking fusion of dragon and man—crimson scales rippling over a powerful, humanoid frame, black horns sweeping back from his brow, and dark wings folding loosely behind him. His tail moved in a slow, restless sweep, the strength beneath each ripple unmistakable. He watched her with eyes that burned low and steady, full of a tender, aching hunger.
