Page 20

ZARVASH

The darkness was absolute.

It was an oppressive weight crushing vision, heavier than any sleep. This void was an insult, a cage built of stolen light. Then, there was agony. It seared through my skull like shattered obsidian, radiating from where scales were scraped raw against something cold.

I fought the blackness, tried to command limbs that refused to answer. I was bound. The tight, coarse material bit deep, grinding against hide, against bone. Humiliation burned hotter than the pain. My wings were in violation. They were wrenched back, twisted grotesquely, joints screaming a silent protest. Panic, cold and sharp, clawed at my throat.

To be grounded … trapped. A warrior stripped of his sky is less than nothing.

The metallic tang of my own blood coated my tongue. Salt and iron. Fury coiled tight in my gut. I carefully worked my jaw, ignoring the fresh pulse of agony through my skull. I was unbroken. It was a small mercy in this degradation.

"… waste of resources …" The voice grated, harsh and thick with the unmistakable, sloppy cadence of the Ignarath. It was like stones scraping stone. Contemptible.

"Orders are orders." The second voice was smoother yet carried the same underlying arrogance. "They pay well for live ones."

Live ones. Tactical awareness cut through the pain. I forced my breathing shallow, even. Stillness was a shield; information, a blade waiting to be drawn. I let them think me broken.

"The female's useless," the first grunted, closer now. The scrape of his talons on unseen stone set my teeth on edge. "Human. She won't survive."

Human? The word struck like a physical blow. Female. Images fractured behind the darkness—the scouting mission, the sudden chaos, Ignarath filth pouring from the rocks. Was it Kira? No … Terra? Darrokar's mate? Impossible. He would have leveled this mountain range. Who else? Khorlar would have died fighting. Who?

A guttural snort followed. "It's double price for humans now."

Then, something else cut through the stench of blood and the cold dampness of the stone. A scent bloomed in the stale air, impossibly sweet, complex. It was like fire-nectar blooms, yes, but laced with something … alien. Utterly foreign, yet it resonated deep within my bones, a vibration beneath the pain. My nostrils flared, drawing it in against my will. It invaded my senses like fine smoke, bypassing thought, settling somewhere primal. My fangs ached—a sharp, unfamiliar pang. The very air seemed to thicken, growing textured against my tongue.

"Check the bronze one's restraints," the calmer voice commanded, closer now. "He's dangerous."

Heavy talons scraped stone, approaching. Every instinct screamed to tear free, to rend and shatter, but I forced stillness. Weakness is a cloak.

"Still out," the first grunted. "I hit him hard enough." A sharp prod dug into my shoulder, finding a raw wound I hadn't fully registered. Pain flared, white-hot. I clamped my jaw, biting back the reflexive growl, tasting blood anew.

Then the scent intensified. It was overwhelming. Closer. Something warm, impossibly soft, pressed against my side. Heat radiated through thin fabric, against my scales. Not stone. Not metal. Life. Small, rhythmic breaths, too fast for my kind. A human. Her. The realization struck like lightning, rearranging the landscape of my pain.

The scent poured from her, wrapping around my senses, drowning the stench of Ignarath and damp rock. It fogged my thoughts, pulling focus with a magnetic force, an undertow dragging me toward something ancient and absolute.

"He's waking up," a voice snarled from my other side. A vicious kick landed squarely on my ribs, stealing my breath. "Dose him again."

"Waste of venom. Exchange by nightfall."

Movement beside me indicated she stirred, the woman—the source of the scent. A soft sound, feminine, fragile, bypassed reason, striking a deep, resonant chord within my chest. It was possessive. Primal. My muscles bunched, straining futilely against the unyielding bindings.

"Separate them," the calmer one ordered sharply. "He's reacting. I've seen this filth before."

"Disgusting," spat the first. "Scalvaris heathens. Mating with off-worlders." Another kick slammed into my wounded side, fueled by contempt.

She made another sound. It was pained. A soft whimper that ignited a bonfire of fury within me. A growl tore from my throat, low and vicious, shattering my facade of unconsciousness. I was exposed.

"See? Told you." Rough hands fumbled near my head, grabbing at the binding over my eyes, then pausing. "Leave him blind. It's less trouble."

"Move her."

"No …," her voice came. Barely a whisper, yet it resonated through my bones like a struck shield. A challenge. A claim?

Hands seized her, dragging the warmth, the scent, away. Panic, raw and illogical, clawed through me. The sudden emptiness beside me was an agony sharper than any physical wound. The scent faded, pulling my focus, my strength, with it.

"Stop …" The word was a broken rasp, torn from my throat. Darkness surged at the edges of the void, thicker now.

Pain pulsed, a relentless hammer against my skull, but beneath it, one imperative burned with the clarity of molten corestone. This pull, this sudden, fierce certainty … it wasn't confusion. It was recognition. An awakening of something buried deep within the bedrock of my being.

Whoever she was, she belonged under my protection.

I had to find her. Shield her.

She was mine.

The blackness swallowed me whole once more.

* * *

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