That night, the cavern felt different.
Quieter.
But not peaceful.
Cara lay in the smaller cave, on warm stone, staring at the low curve of rock overhead.
Her knees still ached faintly from crawling.
Her palms were tender.
And yet—
The humiliation had faded into something stranger.
He left alive.
She stayed.
Vyrisa had said her name.
The mark pulsed softly.
Not warning.
Not pain.
Awareness.
She didn't remember falling asleep.
Only the warmth thickening around her.
The dream did not begin at the lake this time.
It began in the cavern.
Empty.
Dark.
Lit only by embers glowing faintly in cracks along the stone.
She stood in the center.
Barefoot.
Alone.
Then—
Heat shifted behind her.
Not wind.
Not fire.
Presence.
Vyrisa stepped from shadow.
Not armored in queen's composure.
Not distant.
Closer.
Wings half-spread, casting long arcs of shadow along the floor.
"You defied me today," she said softly.
The voice was low.
Not angry.
Intent.
"I obeyed," Cara replied.
Vyrisa stepped closer.
Too close.
"You chose," she corrected.
Her hand lifted—
Rested at Cara's waist.
Not gentle.
Not rough.
Claiming.
"You stayed."
The word vibrated through her.
"I did."
The grip tightened slightly.
Enough to feel strength.
Enough to remind.
"And you looked only at me."
Cara's pulse jumped.
In the dream, she didn't look away.
"I wasn't ashamed of you," she said.
Vyrisa's eyes darkened faintly.
"And yet you were ashamed to be seen."
Heat flared where her hand rested.
The dream warped slightly—
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...
