Page 82 of To Match A Dragon's Fire

I didn’t know how I was supposed to do this—to live with such a delicate part of me outside my protective scales.

But I vowed to figure it out.

I followed her scent deeper into the caves. She was surefooted here in the dark. It hit me then why I’d so easily uprooted my flock, intending to spend our final days here.

When the humans had requested my presence to examine the runes, I’d felt a calling to this place. I realized now that it was Ember all along.

These were her caves, on her land. Her memories and lifeforce had seeped into the soil and were etched upon the walls.

No wonder it felt like home.

She was written here.

I was only reading her story.

Ice stalagmites glistened along the path deeper into the caves and volcanic sand muted the sound of my steps. I hadn’t lit this way with lanterns, but up ahead, Ember’s flashlight shone as a beacon in the dark. She knew where to go.

Then she turned off the light.

Obsidian deposits marbled the basalt shelves, glittering under the bioluminescent ceiling where the heat from the natural hot spring pool fed the organisms above.

An ethereal bluish-green glow lit the small cavern as steam misted above the clear water and melted ice dripped down the shimmering, layered walls that reflected the soft lights.

“I used to sneak down here,” Ember said. Her back was turned to me.

My breath caught when she lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing her smooth skin as she dragged it over her head.

“My dad would’ve beat my ass if he knew I was coming here alone.” She chuckled sadly. There was a haunting melody to her voice that drew on the protective nature of my beast. “I forgot how magical this cavern is. I’d almost convinced myself that it wasn’t real. Just a figment of a child’s imagination.”

Ember sighed as she stepped out of her shorts, unhooking her bra without looking at me. “Mule would wait outside and I told myself that if anything happened, he’d go find help.”

“Mule is a horse?” My mouth dried as Ember slowly dragged her underwear down her legs.

“Yes, he was.” Her laughter was lighter now. “An old mustang who ran cattle in his heyday, but spent his retirement playing with me. Addie was too valuable to go on our escapades. But she was the best barrel racer I ever met.”

“Why did you stop riding?”

“Money? Time? Life? Responsibilities? Take your pick.” Ember shrugged as she dipped her toe in the heated water of the natural hot spring pool. “It was time to grow up. I had a husband who was going to be a professional football player. There wasn’t enough room in our dreams for two spotlights. I couldn’t afford both an apartment for college and a stable in the city. Sacrifices had to be made for… him.”

We should’ve killed him.

I know.

And I also knew what it meant to live a life of sacrifice. Malachy suffered as guardian, but Lucan and I gave what we could to make sure he wasn’t alone. Hundreds of years we’d remained by his side, until we were no longer needed.

Speaking this way dredged up my own memories—ones I’d intended to let stay in the past.

But meeting Ember changed things. This tempest of a woman had blown into my life and tilted the axis of my world, making me question if I was doing anything the right way.

“It’s still warm,” she laughed as she walked deeper into the pool. The silky water lapped along her ankles, calves, and knees until she got to the ledge.

I leaned against the cool cave wall, watching as she dove into the depths of the darkened water. It was safe down there, smoothed over without jagged rock, and the natural minerals aided in buoyancy.

She emerged a moment later with her wet hair clinging to her back and water droplets rolling down her neck.

There was a playful spark in her eyes as she pushed a wave toward me, causing the water to slosh over the edge of the pool and wet my boots.

“Aren’t you coming in?” She treaded water, waiting.

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