The chamber still held warmth.
Stone faintly gold from embers buried deep within its veins.
Heat did not fade quickly in dragon territory.
It lingered.
Settled.
Remembered.
Cara woke slowly.
Not to alarm.
Not to cold.
To heat.
Steady.
Living.
Vyrisa's arm was still wrapped around her waist.
Wings half-curved along her back like a shield.
For a moment, Cara did not move.
She listened.
The distant hum of the nest beyond stone.
The slow rhythm of dragon breath.
The quiet pulse of the bond between them.
Vyrisa was awake.
She always woke first.
"You are staring," Vyrisa murmured without opening her eyes.
Cara smiled faintly.
"You are warm."
A pause.
"That is not a complaint."
"It is not."
Vyrisa's fingers flexed slightly at her hip.
Not tightening.
Just reminding.
Presence.
Cara shifted closer instead of away.
Her cheek brushed warm skin.
The bond stirred.
Gentler now.
Not wildfire.
Ember.
"I want to bathe," Cara said softly.
Vyrisa opened her eyes.
Molten gold in dim light.
"You are clean."
"That isn't what I meant."
A slow blink.
Understanding.
"You wish the lake."
"Yes."
The word held something beneath it.
Not just water.
Air.
Sky.
Movement.
Freedom without leaving.
Vyrisa studied her for a long moment.
There was calculation there.
Risk weighed against desire.
"You would be seen," she said evenly.
Cara tilted her head slightly.
"By you."
A dangerous answer.
Vyrisa's mouth curved faintly.
"You grow bold in daylight."
"You made me that way."
That earned a quiet hum of approval.
The bond warmed.
Satisfied.
Vyrisa shifted, rising fluidly from the furs.
She extended a hand.
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...
