Page 20 of Beneath Scales and Shadows (Lost Lunas of Artania #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY
IGNIS
Heat wrapped around Sora like a living blanket, seeping through her skin straight into her bones. Her eyes fluttered open to find herself nestled in the curve of Ignis’s ruby forearm, her body cradled against scales that radiated comforting and familiar warmth. Morning light filtered through crystal apertures overhead, scattering soft rainbows across the chamber.
She peered toward the entrance, where the twin moons hung in the pale morning sky—proof that somehow, she was still alive.
Her heart raced, her sleeping shift damp with sweat, an unmistakable slickness between her thighs. Images from her dream—his hands on her body, his maw claiming hers, pleasure crashing through her in waves—flooded back with such vivid clarity that she couldn’t distinguish memory from fantasy.
She covered her forehead with the back of her arm, trying to slow her breathing. Whatever had happened in that moonlit forest clearing felt more real than any dream she’d ever experienced.
A deep, rumbling chuckle vibrated through Ignis’s chest, the sound both amused and soothing.
“What thoughts race through that busy mind of yours?” His crimson eyes studied her with predatory focus, wings shifting slightly, tucking them tighter against his body, as he adjusted his position around her.
Sora lowered her arm, meeting his gaze directly despite the heat flooding her cheeks. “Was any of that real? The forest, the tree, your hands...” Her voice faltered, unable to articulate the rest.
“The dreamscape was crafted from our shared consciousness.” His tail coiled more protectively around his sleeping platform. “But everything that happened within it was as real as the bond that connects us.”
Her breath caught. The implications sent fresh heat spiraling through her core. She hadn’t merely dreamed his touch—he had been with her, sharing the experience, feeling what she felt.
“How did you—” She hesitated, heat flooding her cheeks. “I mean, you seemed to know exactly how to...” She couldn’t finish the thought, wondering how a dragon king understood the intricacies of human pleasure.
Ignis’s scales rippled with barely suppressed amusement. “I wasn’t always isolated in these mountains. And I’m hardly the only well-read sovereign on Artania.”
He lowered his head, bringing his face closer to hers. “All species study each other’s biology—basic knowledge necessary for interspecies care and cooperation. How to heal wounds, treat illness...” His voice deepened to a rumble. “Bring pleasure.”
She couldn’t suppress a flare of curiosity. “And humans? Your enemy for generations?”
“Know thy enemy,” he quoted, something darker flickering behind his crimson gaze. “Celestoria used their knowledge of draconic biology to create weapons targeting our vulnerabilities. We merely returned the favor with more benevolent intentions.”
An unexpected thrill ran through her at the thought of all the knowledge hidden within the mountain. “Do you have these books? On species biology and...” She gestured vaguely, the word ‘mating’ sticking in her throat.
“Still a curious scholar even now,” he teased, the corner of his maw lifting in a draconic half-smile that made her heart stutter. “Yes. The Great Library holds extensive texts on all Artanian species—both biology and their histories. I’ll take you there to gather whatever books you want after we visit the prince.”
“The prince?” Her brow furrowed, memory returning in fragments. “You mean—”
“Prince Markth of Celestoria. Ember brought him during our retreat.”
Her eyes widened. “Coal—is he still—”
“We’ll discuss everything after you’ve eaten.” There was no room for argument in his tone—only concern, steady and firm, threading through every word. His gaze locked onto hers, unyielding, searching her face. Its weight made her breath catch, leaving no space for resistance. “I must speak with both the prince and Ember, but your recovery comes first.”
Her stomach gave a loud, unmistakable growl in the silence that followed his words. Heat rose to her cheeks from how her own body had betrayed her—making its complaint given how long it had been since she’d last eaten anything. Of course her body was demanding food. Still, she avoided Ignis’s gaze, knowing he’d heard it—and knowing he was probably amused.
“Food, then conversation.” The soft command beneath his words settled over her—the quiet authority resonating from his voice guided her to listen. “The rest can wait.”
The care in his tone wrapped around her like his protective wings, both comforting and somehow possessive. Through their newly formed blood bond, she sensed his genuine concern—but also something deeper, a low-burning hunger that had nothing to do with food and everything to do with the dream they’d shared.
He wanted her in ways she didn’t quite understand… but desired to learn how.
Her own body responded to his with matching hunger, both for sustenance and for the fulfillment of promises made in dreams. She shifted against his forearm, the sensation of his scales against her heated skin sending ripples of awareness through every nerve.
“How does this work?” she asked, gesturing between them. “This blood bond...these dreams. What happens next?”
His crimson eyes darkened, pupils expanding as he inhaled her scent. “What happens next is your choice, little Luna.” The words carried both promise and restraint. “Always your choice.”
But even as he spoke, his tail tightened almost imperceptibly around her, scales shifting with subtle friction that sent pleasure cascading down her spine. The contradiction wasn’t lost on her—his words offered freedom for her to choose while his instincts screamed possession.
The realization should have frightened her. Instead, it kindled something warm and dangerous in her chest—a sense of power that rose above alpha and omega, above the fact that he was a king and she... was no royalty at all.
He was the last pure dragon king, ruler of a diminishing legacy, yet his vulnerability lay exposed before her. She held more power than any weapon in her simple ability to accept or reject him—even after all they’d been through.
Yet she couldn’t fathom any reason to reject his offer… and only wondered how they would work .
And if her being a dragon blooded human omega would be fine for the rest of the clan. Would they accept her as their queen?
“First food,” she agreed, ignoring the rush of yearning through their bond. “Then answers.”
His rumble of approval vibrated through her bones as he shifted his colossal form, making space for her to rise. As she slid free from the warm hollow of his forearms, the sudden chill of stone met her bare feet, grounding her senses with a jolt of clarity.
The dragon king watched her with barely restrained hunger as she moved toward the bathing chamber, making her smirk seductively with the rush of his desires across their newly formed bond.
He left no doubt—this creature of myth and legend wanted her.
A shimmering ripple of magic filled the chamber as Ignis’s draconic form began to contract. Ruby scales flowed like liquid fire; his enormous obsidian wings shrunk inward as his body reconfigured with mesmerizing fluidity—from his quadruped dragon form to his bipedal dragoon one.
Sora couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spectacle. The transformation never failed to captivate her—this display a sample of the magic that existed on Artania.
Within moments, he stood before her—still towering and powerful, but no longer filling half the chamber.
“You enjoy watching me transform,” he observed, his voice deeper in this form, rough-edged with an almost predatory satisfaction.
Heat bloomed across her cheeks. “It’s beautiful,” she admitted. “The way your scales flow like water but burn like fire.”
His smile revealed the sharp edge of fangs as he crossed the distance between them in two fluid strides. In a blink of her eye, his arms scooped beneath her, lifting her with effortless strength.
“What are you—”
He peered down at her, crimson eyes gleaming with unmistakable possessiveness. “I’m going to bathe you.” Heat curled low in her belly, her breath catching before she could stop it. “Then we’ll eat in the dining hall.”
“The dining hall?” Despite everything they’d shared—in dreams and reality—the thought of facing his clan members in her current state made her pulse quicken.
“Our people need to see us,” he explained, his voice gentling even as his grip remained firm. “See their king and their Luna strong despite Celestoria’s treachery.”
Our people . The simple phrase carried weight beyond mere words. Not just his clan any longer, but hers too—the implication clear in his tone and through their bond.
Ignis carried her through the beaded curtain into their bathing chamber. Steam rose from the hot spring pool carved into living stone, its surface rippling with mineral-rich waters that shimmered with opalescent hues. Without hesitation, he stepped into the pool, splashing the water with his large taloned feet.
He sank onto a submerged ledge, settling her between his powerful thighs. His tail flicked through the water with serpentine grace, wrapping around a nearby shelf to retrieve a natural sponge and crystal vials of cleansing oils.
“You don’t need to do this,” she protested weakly, even as her body betrayed her with a shiver of anticipation. “I can bathe myself.”
“Can,” he agreed, uncorking a vial that released the scent of mountain herbs and something sweeter, like moonflower petals. “But I can too.”
His clawed hands gently tugged at her sleeping shift, the question in his touch clear. She nodded, lifting her arms to allow him to pull the damp fabric over her head.
The cool air nipped at her exposed skin for only a moment before the steaming water enveloped her as he lowered her deeper into the pool. Strangely, she felt no embarrassment at her nudity. Perhaps because he’d always been unclothed in his natural state, treating it as the most ordinary thing in the world. Perhaps because he’d already seen—and pleasured—her body twice, with once in their shared dreamscape. Or perhaps because the scale embedded in her side created a connection that transcended ordinary boundaries.
She was tied to him in ways that only existed in stories… to a monster who’d only existed in myth and legend. The constant hum of his emotions was proof of his feelings… and their unique connection.
He poured cleansing oil onto the sponge, working it into a rich lather before drawing it across her shoulders with surprising gentleness for such powerful hands.
Each touch sent ripples of awareness through her sensitized nerves, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes, leaning back against his chest with a soft sigh.
“You’re not nervous,” he observed, voice rumbling against her back as he worked the sponge down her arms.
“Should I be?”
His chuckle vibrated through her. “Most humans maintain peculiar modesty even with their mates.”
“We’re not exactly a conventional pairing.” She let her head fall back against his shoulder as his hands moved to her collarbone, the sponge circling teasingly close to her breasts without quite touching them. “Besides, after almost dying twice since arriving on Artania, embarrassment seems... trivial.”
His movements stilled. “What occupies your thoughts?”
“Death,” she admitted quietly. “How strange it is to have died on Earth only to wake here. And then to almost die again at the northern pass...”
Ignis set the sponge aside, one clawed hand tilting her chin until she faced him. His other hand pressed gently over the ruby scale embedded in her side—a reminder of what had happened and what they had now—the contact sending warmth radiating through her core.
“Close your eyes and surrender to your future,” he urged, his voice dropping to a hypnotic cadence. “Purge your thoughts of returning to the life you once had, for this is your second chance to live. Allow me to guide your soul where you long to be... who you long to be...” His forehead pressed against hers, breath mingling with her own. “Only then, when you’ve truly accepted your life on Artania, can you belong to me.”
Her eyelids fluttered closed, the weight of his words settling into her bones with shocking resonance. “How did I survive?” she whispered. “I know you already told me once, but I still don’t understand how . After the blade—I felt the poison burning through me.”
“I gifted you my fire essence—a piece of my soul,” he explained, palm still pressed against the scale at her side. “To give you yet another chance at life. The thought of losing you—” His voice caught, something raw and vulnerable beneath the surface. “I couldn’t bear it.”
She pulled back slightly, studying the raw vulnerability in his eyes. “Is this just the Alpha King speaking? Needing an Omega to bring magic back to your clan? Or the desire to be blessed once more by the Moon Goddess?”
“At first, perhaps,” he admitted, the honesty surprising her. “When I first caught your scent at the Selection Ball, instinct recognized what you were—what you would become.” His thumb traced the line of her jaw with exquisite gentleness. “But now? I’ve fallen for your mind, your courage, your caring heart. The way you aren’t bothered by social statuses, only knowledge—and look at my world with wonder rather than fear.”
Sora bit her lip, uncertainty threading through her despite the conviction in his voice. “But how can this work? You can only change into a human because of an enchanted mask. Most of the time you’re—”
“A monster?” he finished, one eyebrow arching. “A beast. A dragon.”
“ Different ,” she corrected firmly. “I just don’t know how we—physically—”
He brushed her wet hair back from her face, his touch leaving trails of heat across her skin. “Your scent grows more intoxicating each day,” he murmured, deliberately changing the subject. “Cinnamon and moonflower and something uniquely yours.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “I beg of you to trust me,” he urged, his voice roughening. “Savor the sensations between us. Push aside your doubts. Touch me. Explore me freely. Let our instincts guide us… Let our bond truly begin.”
The bare longing in his voice stripped away her hesitation. Whatever this was between them—prophecy, biology, or something entirely of their own making—she couldn’t deny its power.
She couldn’t deny her attraction to him —the soul inside his draconic body.
“I meant what I said,” she whispered, reaching up to trace the outline of scales along his jaw. “I’m yours. Whatever this is between us... I’m willing to see where it leads.”
Something fierce and possessive flared in his eyes. He pressed his forehead against hers, as the steam formed a curtain of heat around them.
“Once you’re truly bonded to me,” he promised, voice dropping to a rumble, “I could never hurt you. Our connection would alert me to any discomfort. My flame would recognize you as part of itself—as you already are to me.” His hands cradled her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones with reverent gentleness. “But first—you must finish healing before we explore how we would fit.”
She refused to let her mind wander on how —not trusting herself to stop—and what it would lead to.
She felt the truth of his restraint through their newly formed bond—the constant battle he waged against instinct, prioritizing her recovery over his own desires.
“And you need to eat,” he added, his tone lightening as he reached for a flask of rinsing water. “Your strength must return before we face what comes next.”
As he carefully rinsed away the soap from her skin, Sora leaned into his touch. Somewhere beyond these chambers, complications awaited: a captive prince, a wounded clan, Coal’s continued imprisonment, and Celestoria’s next move.
But here, cradled in steam and warmth between powerful thighs that could crush stone, watched over by caring eyes that had seen decades pass hoping for change, she felt something she’d never expected to find in this foreign world.
She felt home.