Page 25 of The Dragon King's Awakening

Zahraxis completes his mark with a final flourish of his tongue, then presses his forehead against mine."You are ours now," he says, his voice thick with emotion."And we are yours."

The combined marks pulse in perfect synchrony with my heartbeat, sending waves of magic coursing through my veins.I can feel them both now—Finn's steady presence like a banked flame, Zahraxis' ancient power like molten gold.Their emotions bleed into mine through our newly formed connection, desire and possession and something deeper that makes my throat tight.

When I look up, I find them staring at each other over my shoulder, something unspoken passing between them.The air grows heavy with tension, but not the kind that preceded my marking.This is different—laden with history and unresolved emotion.

Finn breaks the silence first."It's time," he says quietly."For us to mark each other."

Zahraxis goes still, his golden eyes flaring with a complex mix of emotions I can't fully decipher."You ask me to break three thousand years of tradition," he says, his voice tight."For one who answered only to the Dragon Council to bear another's mark?—"

I watch the tension ripple across Zahraxis' face, his jaw tight with three millennia of ingrained hierarchy battling against the need I feel pulsing through our new bond.The amber mark on my chest throbs in time with both their heartbeats, connecting us in ways I'm only beginning to understand.

"The world has changed," Finn says, his voice gentle, yet unyielding.He reaches out, palm hovering just above Zahraxis' chest."I'm not asking you to submit.I'm asking you to choose."

Zahraxis' golden eyes find mine, searching."What say you, Raelesha?"

The formal address—my dragon name on his lips—sends a shiver down my spine.I rise to my knees, placing one hand over my freshly marked chest and the other against his cheek.

"I say that power flows in all directions," I tell him, the words coming from somewhere beyond conscious thought."That's what makes it stronger."

Something shifts in his expression—pride giving way to possibility.He captures my wrist and presses his lips to my palm, then turns to Finn with newfound resolve.

"Then mark me," he says, his voice a low rumble that vibrates through the jade beneath us."And I shall mark you in turn."

Finn's aura flares crimson with barely contained desire.He moves to face Zahraxis directly, both dragons kneeling before each other with me at their side.Finn leans forward, his dragon tongue emerging—split and gleaming with red energy.I can't tear my eyes away as he brings his face level with Zahraxis' chest.

The first touch of Finn's tongue against Zahraxis' skin draws a hiss from the ancient dragon.His hands clench into fists at his sides, every muscle rigid as crimson light traces intricate patterns across his dark skin.Echoes of the sensation cascade through our new bond—burning pleasure that borders on pain, resistance crumbling beneath overwhelming connection.

"Breathe," I whisper, echoing Finn's earlier guidance to me.I take Zahraxis' clenched fists in my hands, gently uncurling his fingers to twine with mine.

Our gazes lock, his pupils blown wide with sensation as Finn's mark takes shape on his chest.I lean forward and capture his lips, swallowing his gasp as the final stroke of Finn's tongue completes the sigil.

Crimson light pulses once, twice, then sinks beneath Zahraxis's skin, disappearing from ordinary sight.But through my dragon vision, I see how it weaves into his very essence, creating new pathways of power that flow between him and Finn.

Finn straightens, breathing heavily."Your turn," he says, voice rough with emotion.

Without changing positions, Zahraxis leans forward, his dragon tongue emerging, gleaming again with golden light.When it touches Finn's chest, just beneath the dip of his clavicle, Finn's entire body goes taut.His head falls back, throat exposed in a gesture of trust that feels more intimate than any physical act.

Golden light blooms across Finn's skin, intricate patterns weaving themselves into his flesh.Where the mark takes shape, his crimson scales shimmer into existence, then fade back to human skin, as if his dragon form can't decide whether to emerge or retreat in the face of such powerful magic.

I feel it through our bond—the ancient power of Zahraxis flowing into Finn, no longer constrained by hierarchy or tradition.Something new being forged between them, a connection that transcends their long and complicated history.

When the golden mark is complete, it pulses once before sinking beneath Finn's skin.All that's left are the subtly glowing outlines of the dragon scale tattoos that cover one side of Finn's torso.Both dragons exhale in unison, as if they've been holding their breath for centuries.

"Now," Zahraxis says, his voice thick with need, "we must complete the circle."

They turn their attention back to me, and the hunger in their eyes makes me tremble.Through our new bond, I feel their desire amplified by the jade chamber, by the marks we now share, by something ancient and primal awakening within all three of us.

"You must mark us as well," Finn explains."With your own dragon essence.You should feel it even stronger now that you carry our marks."

"How?"I ask, my voice barely a whisper.I'm positive I can't replicate the wondrous magic they just displayed to mark me and then each other.

Zahraxis turns back to face me again, both dragons looking at me with identical expressions of reverence and desire."Your desire," he says, "will bind the magic into its final form.All you must do is want it.Here."He reaches out and touches his fingertips to the place in the center of my torso.Not the pulsing, tingling marks, but a place just below them, where that bubble of power swells inside me.I'm still getting used to the sensation that feels so much like a knot of anxiety, it's easy to mistake.But anxious is far from what I feel when I take a moment to focus on it.

He's right.It's desire.A potent, pulsing need for connection.And it's been there for ages, ever since I set foot on Bear Island.

Understanding dawns, sending liquid heat pooling between my thighs.I reach out, placing one hand on each of their chests, directly over their newly formed marks.The knot of power swells like a bubble, just the way it did when I tested it before.The moment my skin makes contact, the bubble pops and energy surges through both connections, drawing a collective gasp from all three of us.

"Yes," Finn breathes, leaning into my touch."Just like that."

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