Ashes Embraced

19

Cara stood.

Vyrisa watched her from the throne of bone.

"Come."

Cara glanced once at Lyris before deliberately turning away, ending the conversation there.

"Yes, my queen?"

Heat pulsed through the mark at her neck.

"You are dismissed for the day."

"Thank you." Cara held her gaze.

She wanted to speak to Drakon.

But as she turned—

I did not say you could leave.

Vyrisa's voice slid through her mind. Low. Close. Breathy.

Cara froze mid-step.

The entire cavern was watching.

Heat flared at her throat. Not pain—just insistence. A reminder.

Vyrisa had dismissed her.

Publicly.

If she turned now—

She would look weak. Owned. Controlled.

Cara inhaled slowly.

Then she turned back.

Deliberately.

Vyrisa had not moved. One elbow rested against the throne's arm, fingers near her jaw. But her red gaze was no longer distant.

It was locked onto Cara.

Predatory.

Curious.

Possessive.

"You dismissed me," Cara said evenly.

A ripple moved through the cavern. No one addressed the queen like that.

Vyrisa's lips curved faintly.

"I dismissed the others," she replied aloud. "But you remain."

The mark pulsed like a second heartbeat.

Cara stepped closer.

Not kneeling.

Not yet.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly.

Lyris scoffed.

Vyrisa tilted her head.

"You presume I must want something." Her wings shifted slightly, scales scraping softly against stone. "Perhaps I simply do not enjoy when my property walks away without permission."

There it was.

Ownership. Public. Intentional.

"I wanted to speak to Drakon."

The cavern stilled.

"Did you."

It wasn't a question.

It was a warning.

Cara felt Vyrisa brush against her thoughts—testing, pressing.

Jealousy.

Not explosive.

But present.

"Is that forbidden?" Cara asked.

Vyrisa rose.

The movement silenced everything.

She descended the steps without breaking eye contact, stopping directly in front of Cara. The height difference felt immense.