Page 41 of Heartflame

In the mirror, I looked wrecked. My neck was covered in hickeys, my hair was a complete mess, and there was a satisfied flush to my skin that I couldn’t quite explain away. I looked exactly like what I was. Someone who’d spent the night getting fucked senseless by a dragon.

I took a quick shower, trying not to think about the fact that I was using Aeron’s bathroom, wearing his clothes, sleeping in his bed. These were the kinds of things that happened in relationships. Real relationships. Not whatever this was supposed to be.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Aeron was sitting on his bed in a pair of black boxer briefs, clearly waiting for me. He stood up, grabbing his jeans from the floor.

“Ready to go get some food?” he asked, muscles rippling as he pulled his pants on.

“Yeah,” I said, pulling on my jeans from yesterday and trying not to wince at the sensation. “That sounds good.”

He grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, then held the door open for me like he was some sort of gentleman. Which, obviously, he wasn’t.

The hallway was mercifully empty as we made our way downstairs and across campus toward the dining hall. It was still early, early enough that most students were probably still sleeping before their morning classes. The few people we passed barely spared us a glance, which I was grateful for. The last thing I needed was for word to get back to Lysander that I’d been seen leaving Aeron’s dorm in his clothes. He’d never let me live that down.

The dining hall was mostly empty, just a few early risers scattered throughout. We grabbed trays and filled them with as much bacon, eggs, and fruit as we could carry. It was amazing how much of an appetite you developed getting railed by a dragon. Aeron led me to a quiet corner, and we sat down together. And it felt natural somehow, which was deeply unsettling.

“So,” Aeron said, taking a bite of his eggs. “What’s the plan for today?”

“The plan?” I echoed, picking at my food. “I don’t know. Classes, I guess. Normal stuff.”

“I meant for us,” he said, and there was something vulnerable in his tone that caught me off guard. “What do you want to do after classes?”

I looked up at him, trying to read what was going on behind those golden eyes. “I take it you want me to come to your dorm room so you can fuck me again?”

“I mean, I’m open to that,” he grinned, picking up a piece of bacon and pointing it at me. “But I was thinking we could just hang out and get to know one another. Or maybe we could go on a date or something?”

“A date? Four days after the ward breach?” I scoffed. “They won’t even let us leave campus.”

“We have our student ID’s,” he retorted. “We can go in and out of the wards whenever we want.”

“You sure about that?”

“Of course,” he nodded. “My grandfather told me that specifically.” He leaned forward in his seat, his voice low. “So… you want to sneak off campus for a bit? Just the two of us?”

I stared at him, my fork halfway to my mouth. “Your grandfather told you that you could sneak off campus?”

“Not in those exact words,” Aeron said, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “But he made it clear that the wards recognize students, that we can pass through them unharmed if we need to. He said it was a precaution, in case anyone needed to leave in an emergency. They just didn’t broadcast that to the students.”

“And you think taking me on a date in the woods qualifies as an emergency?”

“I think getting to know my—” He stopped himself again, and I noticed it this time. Whatever he’d been about to say, he was deliberately censoring himself. “Getting to know you better qualifies as important. And I want to do it somewhere that isn’t my dorm room or the library.”

I should have said no. I should have reminded him that we weren’t in a relationship, that this was all temporary, that sneaking off campus was probably the dumbest fucking thing to do right now with the Purity Front on the loose. But instead, I found myself asking, “Where did you have in mind?”

His face lit up like I’d just told him he’d won the lottery. “There’s this coffee shop in town. About twenty-five miles from campus. Someone told me they make incredible pastries, and I thought we could go there, get some coffee, maybe walk around a bit. No pressure, no expectations. Just us spending time together like normal people.”

Normal people. The two of us would never be normal people. A dragon and a witch, one ancient and powerful, the other still figuring out who he was supposed to be. But I understood what he meant. He wanted something simple. Something that didn’t involve us tearing each other’s clothes off or him being possessive or me spiraling about the complications of whatever this was.

“Okay,” I heard myself say. “After classes. But we have to be back without any incidents.”

“Deal,” he said immediately, reaching across the table and taking my hand. The contact sent that familiar spark racing through me, and I tried not to let it show on my face.

And I let myself imagine it, just for a moment. Walking through town with him, holding his hand, not worrying about who saw us or what they’d think. Having something that was just ours, separate from the drama of Widdershins and Professor Blackwood and the ward breaches and everything else.

It actually sounded… nice.

After breakfast, we headed back to campus to get ready for classes. Aeron walked me to my dorm, and I could feel eyes on us as we crossed campus together. People were definitely noticing. By tomorrow, the rumor mill would be in full swing, and everyone would know that I’d somehow managed to catch the attention of Aeron Pyre, grandson of the Elder Council leader.

That thought made my stomach churn.