Page 127 of A Fate in Flames

I’d liked Azmik before, but now I adored him.

“Did it hurt?”I asked.“The bite?”

A slow smile spread across his face.“Worried about me, little flame?”

I scoffed, but my cheeks heated.“Hardly.Just wondering if his venom affects your kind the same way it affects mortals.”

“It burned,” he admitted.“But it did not harm me.Pain and harm are different things entirely.”

He paused, studying my face with that unnerving intensity.

“I was… amused by him,” he continued.“He clung to life like he had all the time in the world.Like death was just another enemy to fight.”

“I respected his defiance.His refusal to accept his fate.”

“You admired his stubbornness,” I clarified.“How surprising.”

His eyes narrowed.“Meaning?”

“Only that you seem to have a type,” I teased, trailing a finger through his beard.

He caught my wrist, bringing my palm to his lips.

“Perhaps I do,” he murmured against my skin.Sparks raced up my arm at the simple gesture.

“What happened next?”I asked, embarrassingly breathless.

“Instead of incinerating him, I pulsed my flames into him, attempting to heal flesh with fire.I didn’t know if it would work, but somehow it did.”

His face beamed with pride.“He’s been with me ever since.”

Without warning, he moved us directly beneath the falls, the cool water rushing over our heads, drenching us.Our hair plastered to our skin, water streaming between our bodies.If not for Dalkhan’s heat, I would’ve frozen to the bone.

“A warning would have been nice,” I sputtered, blinking water from my eyes.

“Where’s the fun in that?”His hand slid higher up my back, drawing me closer until we were heart to thundering heart.

“What are you doing?”I asked, my voice far too unsteady.

Dalkhan brushed his lips against the shell of my ear.“What does it feel like I’m doing?”His teeth grazed my earlobe.“I’m enjoying what’s mine.”

A rush of heat curled through me.“Yours?”

He hummed low in his throat, his body pressing firmer against mine.

“You walked into my kingdom—into my hands, and now you think you belong to no one?”He moved one hand to my chin, lifting it up with firm pressure.“Say it.”

My breath stuttered, caught somewhere between my lungs and throat.

“Say.It.”

“No.”I bit my lower lip.His eyes tracked the movement.

Dalkhan chuckled.“I wonder… What will it take to make you beg for me?”

I nearly choked at the promise in his voice.Instead, I clenched my jaw, forcing words out through gritted teeth.“I don’t beg.Not for anyone, and definitely not for you.”

His face hovered before mine, so close I could taste his breath.