Chapter 40
Mated to the Dragon
AURORA
My lips press to his, burning, blistered, ruined, but I don’t care. I want him to be the last thing I taste. His mouth. His pain. His love. All of it. If I’m going to die, let it be like this—devoured and devouring. Together.
He kisses me back.
Gods, hekissesme back.
Not weak. Not fading.
Fierce. Feral. Like he’s choosing me, even as everything unravels.
Our mouths slide, clash, part—nothing soft, nothing delicate. It’s grief and surrender and love, all crushed between our teeth. His hands tighten at my waist, as if the fire won’t take me if he holds me close enough. Maybe the hunger will stop.
But it doesn’t.
My body is still starving. My skin still smokes. I can feel the last threads of my soul fraying.
And then…
Deep inside, where the curse coils like a second spine,something cracks. A flash. A break. A spark.
His fire flares, bright and wild. Not recoiling from me this time.
Reaching.
The heat that should sear me nowrecognizesme. It curls around my bones like silk. Slides across my skin like breath. I feel it rise through him—an ancient, unstoppable tide—and instead of burning me away…
…itsears ito me.
Like it’s always belonged there.
Something threads between us. Not magic. Not hunger. Something older. Truer. A tether of fire and soul that latches on androots.
I gasp into his mouth as the connection coils tightinsideme. A low hum starts in my belly, then pulses outward, curling around my spine, my ribs, my throat. I feelhispower, wild and molten andendless, not filling me, butfusingwith mine. Melding. Matching.
My body’s still begging, but not from emptiness.
Fromcompletion.
My curse buckles. Then it breaks.
The hunger implodes in on itself, folding around his fire like a lock finally finding its key. I’m not draining him anymore. I’mholdinghim. Takingwithhim.
And gods—it’s too much. It’s perfect.
Talon jerks, a raw cry ripping from his throat as his back arches. Orange light erupts from the fissures across his skin, his power reborn in real time. His Dragon reignites.
And this time…
I don’t burn.
Irise.
I clutch his jaw tighter, tears slipping past my lashes. His scales flare against my arms, but they don’t hurt. Theysing. Mybody hums in sync with his. My magic wraps around him like a second skin.
