My whole body froze. My legs trembled, but I couldn’t make them back up. I could only stare as the creature stepped forward just enough for the firelight to catch the edges of its scales.
A dragon.
Real. Massive. Black as starlight. Its horns curved back like obsidian blades. Its wings folded close but still scraped the cave walls. Smoke curled faintly from its nostrils as it exhaled again—studying me.
I should have screamed.
I didn’t.
My heart was trying, but something in me… recognised him.
Not as a person.
As a presence.
As if something ancient inside me lifted its head in return.
Like he was a shadow I’d seen in dreams I wasn’t supposed to remember.
The dragon lowered his head. Not threatening—measured. Controlled. Like he knew I was hurt, like he knew one wrong move would shatter me.
There was something familiar about him — like a scent I had once breathed in completely.
My breath shook. “I know you.”
A deep rumble rolled through the cave. Not a growl—something softer. A sound that almost felt like an answer.
The dragon’s gaze flicked to my leg, where dried blood crusted the torn fabric.
Then he leaned forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Until the tip of his snout brushed the stone inches from my foot.
Testing.
Not attacking.
Instinctively, I reached out my hand.
I wrapped my jumper around my fist—tight, tight, like armour made of cotton.
I just… needed to know he was real.
That this wasn’t fever or memory or void-induced hallucination.
If I could touch him, I would know.
But my body betrayed me.
My hand froze.
I couldn’t make myself go closer.
Every instinct screamed danger.
