He caught my gaze in the reflection, drawing it back to him. Cautious but relaxed, he waited. He wasn’t guarded—he never shared this with Eldeiade—but enough lingering trauma made him patient for my approach.
Pleasure hummed through my veins. This was a moment he never offered another.
I closed the distance, pulling his tunic free from his trousers. Skin shimmered under my touch, muscles taut. His scars gleamed brilliantly white, still visible through his blessing.
My fingers traced the slash across his torso—the one my father put there.
“Not even the gods can remove scars,” he rumbled, chest vibrating with his words.
Leaning forward, I pressed a chaste kiss to it, wishing I could touch the deeper marks, the ones etched into his soul.
He spun me gently, loosening the laces of my dress. It pooled around my feet as he backed me toward the bed. I sank onto it, and he knelt before me, hands working at the straps to my boots. Watching him was mesmerizing—his glowing fingers plucking at each buckle.
When he set them aside, I drew him close between my legs. My hair tumbled over his shoulders as our lips met in a searing kiss. It was a promise. This moment was ours—the future was ours. We were bound, two souls entwined. Every part of him was mine: every scar and speck of light. And I was his—every impulsive decision and surge of dragonfire in my heart; it no longer belonged to the dragons—it was his.
I clutched onto him, our kiss shifting, heating. Whatever happened with Tallon, I would carry this memory. Life without Kallias was impossible. I needed him as much as I needed air.
When had my love grown to something so desperate?
He tilted his head, giving me room to deepen the embrace. His lips parted, and I brushed my tongue against his, coaxing the fire between us. His hand slid up my thigh, resting against my belly. The warmth of his light seeped through my bare skin.
I hummed a laugh against him, and his mouth answered with a smile as his thumb dipped beneath the waistband of my breeches.
Removing trousers was an infuriating affair. With a growl, I yanked free, lying back to kick them off.
He chuckled, rising to stand and unfasten his belt. Patient to an infuriating degree, he removed his boots, placing them neatly at the foot of the bed, then folded his trousers.
“Kallias Sunspear, I swear, if you don’t get over here,” I hissed. I left my clothes scattered around the room; he could tidy his later.
The lines that would have deepened at the corners of his eyes were hidden in the light, but when he grinned, I knew they were there.
He climbed onto the bed, prowling like a predator teasing its prey. Grasping my knees, he nudged them apart. My heart hammered, hands latching to the sheets.
He paused, lips tracing a molten path from my knee up my thigh, those blazing, gilded eyes fixed on me. His mouth danced over my skin, stoking the flames into a roaring inferno.
Then he kissed my belly.
His light flickered.
I gasped, and we shot upright together—the palace trembling around us.
“What–” I barely whispered before screams from the crowd pierced the courtyard. I twisted to the balcony, but Kallias gripped my leg, holding me fast.
The glow pulsed again, struggling to shine—like fire meeting water.
“Your dragons.”
“They’re grounded!” I bit out, glaring.
“Not all of them.”
Tsunami’s head appeared, a great golden eye catching the fractured radiance.
“Go!” I shouted, throwing a hand. “Get away!”
Fangs flashed as she bared her teeth, pupil slitting. The ceiling trembled under her weight.
“Fly!” I demanded, every fiber of me screaming. I had no authority as a rider—but I would not let her ruin this. I wouldn’t allow it.
