Cara didn't move.
She couldn't.
The cavern air changed first.
Subtle.
A ripple through warmth.
Then—
One dragon lifted its head.
Another.
A tail uncoiled.
A wing shifted.
Low murmurs began—not words, just instinct.
Something new had entered their air.
Lyris straightened immediately.
Her head tilted slightly, nostrils flaring.
Her eyes brightened—not red, but lit from within.
Predatory.
The scent reached Cara seconds later.
Not smoke.
Not dragon.
Human.
Her stomach dropped.
The cavern's breathing changed.
Sleeping dragons stirred fully now. Claws scraped softly against stone. Wings unfurled halfway, stretching with restless tension.
No one roared.
No one panicked.
They simply woke.
And watched.
Lyris stepped toward the cavern mouth first.
Not crossing the threshold.
But eager.
"Human," she said softly, almost tasting the word.
Several dragons rose behind her.
A murmur spread.
Vyrisa did not hurry.
She stepped forward with deliberate calm, wings folding tightly against her back.
The movement alone quieted the cavern.
Silence fell heavy.
Cara stood frozen near the center, heart pounding so loudly she was certain someone could hear it.
The mark at her neck burned hot now.
Close.
Too close.
Then—
Vyrisa spoke.
Not in Cara's mind.
Out loud.
The same way she had at the lake.
The first time.
Her voice carried through the cavern mouth and down the mountainside like silk drawn over a blade.
"You don't belong here."
Venom.
Not shouted.
Measured.
Threat wrapped in elegance.
The dragons behind her shifted, pleased by the tone.
Cara's breath caught.
A pause stretched outside.
Wind brushed faintly into the cavern.
Then—
YOU ARE READING
Ashes Embraced
FantasyA Dark Sapphic Romantasy A century ago, the Red Dragon Queen burned Frairdale to the ground. Now she rules from the cliffs above the lake-untouched, unchallenged, and unrepentant. When Cara steps into dragon territory, she expects death. Instead, sh...
