Page 4 of Beneath Scales and Shadows (Lost Lunas of Artania #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

IGNIS

Ignis had walked among humans for a century, but never had he felt more constrained by his borrowed form than tonight. The enchanted mask pressed against his face, its magic barely containing his true dragon self that raged beneath his skin. Every moment in this deception felt like a betrayal of his true nature—and his kind—but necessity demanded sacrifice.

His crimson eyes surveyed the Celestorian ballroom through the slits of his mask. Humans and their endless games of power. They danced and preened beneath the moonstone chandeliers, oblivious to the predators in their midst. To the war brewing outside their gilded walls.

Focus on the mission, he reminded himself.

Intelligence gathering—that was why he had asked Zalaya to craft the masks for him and his warriors to infiltrate the Selection Ball. To learn of Celestorian military movements against his clan and the nearby elf, fae, and wulfkin territories.

And yet, from the moment he had entered this place, something else had pulled at his senses.

A scent unlike any he had encountered in his long existence. Sweet moon blossoms, simmering embers, and something undeniably his . It had called to him across the crowded room, drawing him like a lodestone to true north.

When he found its source cornered by drunken nobles, rage had nearly shattered his control. The girl was small in her white serving dress, but the power emanating from her belied her stature. Even diluted by whatever herbal concoction she had used to mask it, her scent spoke of dragons and moonlight, of prophecies long forgotten by human minds.

Now she stood before him, sapphire eyes wide with confusion and something dangerously close to recognition. His hand remained on her shoulder, the connection humming between them, calling him to take what was his .

“Who are you?” she whispered, her voice steady despite the tremor he could feel beneath his palm. “And why did you help me?”

“I’m someone who has searched for you all of my life.” The truth slipped out before he could contain it. “To find the one who was written about for centuries, to bring balance to our land.”

She shook her head as confusion flickered across her features. “You’re mistaken. I’m just a kitchen maid. No more.”

Ignis allowed himself a small smile. “Are you certain of that?”

Her gaze darted around the ballroom, noting the attention they had begun to attract. The music had shifted to a slower melody, drawing couples to the center of the floor.

“Dance with me,” he said, not a request but not quite a command.

“I can’t.” She gestured to her serving dress. “I’m working.”

“Not anymore.” With a subtle gesture, he summoned one of his disguised warriors—Ember, his most trusted guard, currently posing as a minor noblewoman. “My companion will ensure you’re not missed.”

Ember approached, her scarred face hidden behind a delicate mask. She bowed slightly to Sora, her eyes assessing the baker’s daughter with thinly veiled curiosity.

“I’ll handle her duties,” Ember said in a flawless court accent, taking the serving tray. “Take your time.”

Before Sora could protest further, Ignis guided her toward the dance floor. Her body moved with the reluctant grace of prey sensing a predator but unable to flee.

“I don’t know how to dance like this,” she murmured as they reached the edge of the gathered couples. “Please… I’ll embarrass you.”

“Foolishness,” he replied, placing his hand at the small of her back. “Your body remembers what your mind has forgotten.”

The moment he drew her into proper dance position, her body responded with an intuitive precision. He led, and she followed as though they had danced together a thousand times before.

The music pulsed around them, a rhythm old as time itself, drowning out the conversations, creating the illusion it was just the two of them.

“Do you feel it?” He sent the thought directly to her mind, watching her eyes widen at the mental intrusion. “ The connection between us.”

“How are you doing that?” she whispered aloud, missing a step before recovering.

“Dragon to dragon. Mind to mind.” He turned her in a slow circle, their bodies moving closer with each revolution. “Though in your case, the dragon blood runs thin—diluted by generations of human breeding. But it’s there. I can sense it.”

Her pulse quickened beneath his palm. “You’re mistaken.”

“Am I?” He guided her into a more complex sequence, their bodies moving in perfect harmony despite her protestations. “Your skin shimmers with scales in the moonlight. Your body burns with the fire of your ancestry. You are becoming what you were always meant to be.”

“And what’s that?”

The dance intensified, their movements shifting from the formal court patterns to something more intimate. He led her into a turn that pressed her back against his chest, his arm encircling her waist.

“I’ve waited for you,” he continued, his breath warm against her ear. “For centuries, I have ruled alone, watched my clan diminish in power and magic. The last pure-form dragon king without his queen.”

She spun to face him, defiance flashing in her eyes. “I am not yours to claim.”

“Not to claim,” he corrected, leading her into a dip that arched her back, exposing the column of her throat to him. The dragon in him hungered to mark that vulnerable skin, to bind her to him irrevocably. He restrained the impulse with a century of practiced control. “To complete.”

Their movements became a conversation—her resistance and his persistence expressed through the language of dance. With each step, each turn, each moment of contact, he felt her defenses weakening, giving in to him.

“You’re fighting your nature,” he observed, fingers tracing fire along her spine. “Why?”

“I don’t belong here,” she countered, even as her body betrayed her, melting into his guidance. “To you... or anyone.”

“Perhaps.” His lips curled into a smirk, a deep chuckle rumbling from his chest. “Or perhaps you need to come to terms with your truth—your reality.”

The music carried them through another turn, but Ignis’s predator senses flared with warning. Their dance had drawn too much attention. Eyes tracked their movement across the floor—calculating, suspicious, hungry. Princess Jewels stood at the edge of the gathering, her icy gaze sharp with interest. The king and queen had paused their conversation, heads tilted toward the spectacle their dance had become.

And the prince was still missing… gone from his chair.

Danger pooled around them like shadows. A century of survival had taught Ignis to recognize when curiosity transformed into threat.

“Ember,” he projected the thought to his disguised guard across the room. “The mission concludes now. Signal the others to withdraw. Staggered departures through the designated exits.”

His delta guard’s acknowledgment brushed against his mind—a subtle flicker of assent. Across the ballroom, he caught the momentary gleam of amber eyes as Ember passed the message to Blaze and Enixa, his Wing Leaders. His warriors, scattered throughout the crowd in nobleman’s finery, began their practiced retreat.

The woman in his arms—this mysterious creature with dragon blood stirring beneath her skin—moved with him as though crafted to match his every step. Her body knew truths her mind still denied.

She stumbled slightly as the music shifted, her gaze darting to the royal family who watched them with undisguised interest.

“You seem flushed,” he said aloud, for the benefit of those listening. “Perhaps you need some air?”

Confusion flickered across her features, but she nodded. “Yes, I... I think that would help.”

Ignis placed his hand at the small of her back, guiding her toward the balcony doors. The crowd parted before them—not from courtesy but from the subtle wave of alpha authority he projected. Even in human form, confined by the enchanted mask, his presence commanded deference.

Through the glass doors, the winter night air greeted them with its crisp bite. The balcony stretched empty before them, a half-moon of stone overlooking the castle grounds. Below, the frozen lake reflected moonlight like shattered glass.

Ignis released her, stepping back to allow her space though every instinct screamed to keep her close. To sweep her into his arms and take flight, to carry her far from these humans who would harm her once they discovered what she was becoming.

She moved to the stone balustrade, her fingers gripping the weathered edge. Her breath escaped in small clouds of vapor as she inhaled deeply, eyes lifting to the night sky. The great white moon hung full and luminous, partially overlapping its blue companion, appearing smaller behind its glorious beauty. Their celestial dance painted the world in silver and indigo, casting her features in ethereal light that coaxed the dormant scales beneath her skin to shimmer faintly.

“What are you looking at?” Ignis asked, moving to stand beside her, careful to maintain a respectful distance despite the dragon within him that raged to claim her.

She gestured toward the twin moons. “No matter how many times I look at the sky, it always amazes me.”

“The Great Mother embracing her Blue Knight,” he offered, studying her profile rather than the heavens. “Their convergence, the final step in their monthly dance.”

“Like lovers,” she whispered, the words seeming to surprise even her.

“Like mates,” he corrected softly. “A joining that brings balance—life and magic.”