Page 29 of Fire’s Resonance (Hearts on Fire #1)

The bond flares between us, her need calling to mine. Her body instinctively seeking the relief that only my touch can provide.

"Are you hurt?" I demand, voice rough with emotion and suppressed desire.

"No." Her chin lifts defiantly. "Just pissed off."

My nostrils flare, scenting her to confirm. No blood. No injury. But her scent has changed subtly. The bond accelerating her transformation under stress. More dragon now than yesterday.

And fuck, her arousal spikes, mixing with the anger and fear. Her body's reaction to danger, to my protective presence, to the bond strengthening under threat.

The dragon in me rumbles with approval. My hands linger on her skin, unable to break contact now that I've found her safe. I run my fingers along the opalescent scales visible on her forearms. Her body changing to match mine. To complement mine.

Tiny flames dance where our skin connects, crimson-tinged fire that doesn't burn. The visible manifestation of our bond strengthening. Her scales shimmer in response, the pattern extending slightly up her arm as I watch.

Our eyes meet, amber against silver. A world of communication passing without words. Through the strengthening bond, I feel her emotions—anger dominant, but underlaid with fear not for herself but for what this means for us. For our future in Emberhold.

And beneath it all, desire. Hot and insistent. Her body calling to mine even in crisis.

"Not your fault," she says before I can speak, reading my guilt. "You couldn't have known."

But I should have known. Should have anticipated this escalation after the council's dismissal.

The tactical part of my mind catalogs the evidence. Noting patterns. Forming conclusions. This wasn't random. This was a message—to both of us.

The sanctuary isn't safe for her anymore. Perhaps it never was.

"Who did this?" she asks, her voice steady.

I examine the scorched message more closely. Nostrils flaring to catch the fading scent signature.

"Not Orrath. Not directly. But someone with authority.

" My eyes narrow as I detect the faintest trace of corruption beneath the fire scent.

Something familiar yet foreign. Something I can't quite place, but that sets off warning bells deep in my warrior instincts.

"Someone powerful. Connected to the anomalies I found in the thermal systems."

I pull her against me, needing the contact. Needing to feel her warm and whole against my body. She comes willingly, her smaller frame fitting perfectly against mine. Her heartbeat thunders against my chest, her fear gradually giving way to determination. To anger.

And to something else.

My cock hardens instantly at her closeness. At her courage. The dragon wanting to claim her here and now. To erase the enemy's scent with our mating. To mark her as mine so thoroughly that no one would dare threaten her again.

"Raak," she whispers, her voice taking on that husky quality that drives me wild. Her hands slide beneath my tactical vest, seeking skin contact. "I need—"

"I know what you need, female," I growl, the dragon rising dangerously close to the surface. "I feel it too."

The bond-fever spikes between us, her body's reaction to stress and the accelerated transformation. Her skin burns against mine, the fever only quenched by one thing—my touch, my claim, my seed inside her.

Not the time. Focus.

But the dragon doesn't care about timing. About strategy. It cares only about the female pressed against us, her scent calling to our most primitive instincts.

I capture her mouth in a hard, claiming kiss. Her lips part instantly, tongue meeting mine with equal hunger. One hand grips her hip, the other tangling in her copper hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss.

She moans into my mouth, the sound vibrating through me. Her nails dig into my shoulders, body arching against mine, seeking more contact. More pressure. More everything.

The bond pulses between us, amplifying every sensation. I can feel her pleasure as if it were my own. Feel how my touch eases the burning beneath her skin. How my scent calms her fear even as it stokes her desire.

With monumental effort, I break the kiss. Rest my forehead against hers, both of us breathing hard.

"Later," I promise, voice rough with restraint. "When you're safe. When we're safe."

She nods, understanding. The practical human part of her acknowledging the danger even as the emerging dragon part craves completion.

My warrior mind shifts from protection to strategy. Options flash through my thoughts. Pathways and contingencies I've maintained for decades.

I always have escape routes. Safe houses. Resources cached beyond clan reach. It's why I'm the best at what I do. Always prepared. Always three steps ahead.

"Pack what you can carry," I growl, reluctantly releasing her to gather her needed items.

I move with efficient precision. Warrior training taking over. Categorizing what's essential. What can be replaced. What must be protected at all costs.

She doesn't argue. Doesn't question. And that fact alone tells me how truly shaken she is beneath her defiant exterior.

She trusts me—complete and unquestioning—warming something deep in my chest even as rage still burns through my veins.

"Where?" she asks, gathering her belongings with the same efficiency I display, including one of her original glass orbs I have. Partners already, moving in synchronization without needing direction.

"Somewhere safe," I answer, mind already mapping our route through Emberhold's forgotten passages. "Somewhere only I know about."

As she works, I notice the changes in her—the opalescent scales spreading. The amber of her eyes ringed with gold. The transformation progresses rapidly, accelerated by stress and the bond's response to danger.

She's becoming more dragon every minute, and the sight sends a surge of possessive satisfaction through me despite the circumstances. My fingers brush her arm deliberately, tracing the scale pattern. Marking her with my scent even in this moment of crisis.

Mine to protect. Mine to defend. Mine to keep safe at any cost.

She finishes gathering her essential items, slinging a bag across her body. Our eyes meet, a moment of perfect understanding passing between us. No need for words when the bond speaks more clearly than language ever could.

The connection between us pulses with shared purpose. Shared power. And shared desire, temporarily banked but far from extinguished.

"Ready," she says simply, chin lifting with that stubborn determination that first drew my dragon to her.

I nod once, extending my hand. When her fingers intertwine with mine, power surges. My flames responding to her touch by shifting from gray to crimson around our joined hands.

The sight still amazes me. My "defective" flame transformed by her touch. By our bond. What the clan mocked as weakness, now revealed as specialized power. As unique strength.

The Guardian Bond strengthens with each challenge. Each threat we face together.

I can't resist pulling her close once more. Burying my face in her neck, inhaling deeply. Memorizing her scent. Marking her with mine. Her pulse races beneath my lips as I place a single, claiming kiss on the sensitive spot where neck meets shoulder.

A shiver runs through her body. Her scent spikes with arousal. Her free hand grips my arm hard enough that her nails leave half-moon indentations in my skin.

"Stay close," I order, reluctantly releasing her to lead her toward the hidden passage that few know exists. "And if I tell you to run, you fucking run. No arguments."

Her grip tightens on my hand, defiance flashing in those amber eyes. "We face this together or not at all."

The dragon in me rumbles with approval even as the warrior recognizes the practical challenge of keeping a stubborn mate safe. But her courage, her refusal to cower even now, sends a wave of fierce pride through my system.

And fuck, it makes me want her more. Makes me want to claim her right here amidst the destruction. To show whoever did this exactly who she belongs to. Who I belong to.

As we slip through the shadows of Emberhold, alarms still blaring behind us, I make a silent vow.

Whoever orchestrated this attack, whoever seeks to harm what's mine, will discover exactly what these "anomalies" are truly designed to do.

And why they thought to target a gray-flamed warrior and his human mate.

The sanctuary may have rejected us. The council may have dismissed my warnings. But something deep in my dragon instincts tells me there's more to this than simple prejudice or politics. More to my "defective" flame than anyone has been willing to tell me.

And in the hidden sanctuary I'm taking Spark to, we might finally find the answers we need.

I pull her closer as we move through the darkness. Her body pressed against my side. The bond pulsing between us with shared purpose. Shared power. Shared destiny.

Together, we'll uncover the truth.

And when we find who's truly responsible for these attacks, for the sabotage, for the threat to my mate...

They'll learn exactly how lethal a "defective" dragon can be.