Page 31 of Beneath Scales and Shadows

The scarred warrior nodded, already mentally selecting her team.

“Blaze, maintain defensive positions along the western border, but do not engage directly,” Ignis continued, his strategy forming with a new clarity, thanks to his Luna’s insight. “Let them believe their diversion succeeds.”

“And the prisoners?” Enixa inquired. “What should we do with any we catch?”

“Keep them secured but treated well,” Ignis ordered. “Until we verify their claims, they remain potentially valuable sources of information.”

As the council dispersed to implement his commands, Sora remained beside the map, studying the terrain with great focus, one equivalent to his own elder historians. “They’ll have contingency plans,” she murmured. “Multiple layers of deception.”

“As do we,” Ignis assured her, impressed by her strategic thinking. “We’ll be prepared, thanks to you. Your insight proved invaluable.”

She looked up, surprise evident in her expression. “You actually listened to my suggestion. Without questioning it, why?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he countered. “Knowledge transcends origin. Your understanding of human tactics gives you perspective my warriors lack.”

“But they are still not of this world.” Her fingers traced the mountain’s representation in the map. “In Celestoria, no noble would heed a servant’s advice, let alone allow them voice in council.”

“I am not a human noble,” Ignis reminded her, moving closer, daring to wrap a wing around her—hovering. “And you are not a servant.”

The luminous shard caught the silver scales along her cheekbone, highlighting their delicate pattern. Without thinking, he raised his hand, taloned finger carefully tracing their outline. Her breath hitched as she stilled at his touch but didn’t withdraw, her pulse quickening visibly beneath her skin.

“What am I then?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“My equal,” he answered simply. “Different in nature, complementary in purpose.”

Her eyes searched his, skepticism warring with longing. “Alphas don’t view omegas as equals. That’s not how this world works.”

“It’s howIwork,” Ignis corrected, dropping his hand with reluctance. “Dragons understood balance long before humans perverted it to hierarchy.”

Around them, the strategic chamber was empty, as they stood alone amid the glowing maps and tactical markers.

“You confuse me,” she admitted, arms wrapping around herself in unconscious protection. “Everything I’ve learned about alphas and omegas suggests you should be dominating, controlling—especially with your mate.”

“I am not claiming you are my mate,” he said carefully, though the words scored his throat like shards of glass. “Thatchoice remains yours alone.”

“But youwantto,” she pressed, taking a step closer, her delicious scent wrapping around him like a serpent trapping its prey. “I can sense it—the restraint you maintain, the control you exercise. Your alpha instincts must be screaming to claim what you believe is yours—to take me as yours.”

Her insight struck uncomfortably close to the truth. “Every instinct in me roars, demanding I possess you,” he admitted, maintaining careful distance despite the effort it cost. “But a true king protects rather than controls what he values. I’ve watched alphas destroy what they claimed to treasure. I won’t become that.”

Something shifted in her expression—wariness giving way to cautious respect. “Humans could learn from dragon philosophy.”

“Your greatest gift to me would be willingly asking for my claim,” he admitted, wings folding tighter against his back. “Without it, I would be the same as your kind, taking what wasn’t theirs. No, I require your full acceptance—nothing less.”

Silence settled between them as Sora traced the edges of the map. “How would I know if... or when I’m ready?” She bit her lip, gaze dropping to the table. “For your claim... to be yours.”

“You’ll know with every fiber of your being.” Ignis pressed a fist between his twin hearts. “Calling out to me, begging me to make you mine... and for me to become yours.”

Sora glanced over her shoulder, sapphire eyes studying him. “Would we be like the uncorrupt kingdoms—their dragon and rider bonds?”

Ignis shook his head. “No, much more intimate than that... but once our skies are safe again, you can ride me whenever you want, if you wish it.”

“Oh...” Her cheeks darkened.

“We should return to our chambers,” Ignis suggested, not wanting to keep her from getting her much needed rest. “Tomorrow brings challenges that will require us at our best.”

As they walked the corridors toward their shared quarters, Sora’s scent shifted subtly—the notes of cinnamon and moonflower deepening, gaining complexity. Her transformation progressed more rapidly than he had anticipated, the dragon blood in her veins responding to proximity to its source... being surrounded by him, the clan and their home.

“You’re changing swifter than I had originally thought,” he observed, watching silver scales shimmer faintly along her forearms when they passed through moonlight from a high window. “Soon your transformation will be complete.”