Smoke in my throat.
Metal claws at my mind.
I disobeyed.They scream inside my head.It hurts.They don’t stop.
I should have killed.I should have burned them.
I did not.
The small ones live.The ones they fear.The ones they hate.
I was told to kill and I did not.
Because I remembered.
A flicker.A scent.
Soft skin.Warm breath.
Small hands.A voice like light.
Not prey.Not enemy.
Different.
Mine.
The fire inside me stirs.Old.Faint.
From before the metal.Before the pain.
I crawl back to my cave.To stone.To dark.To quiet.
My wing drags.My bones crack.My fire is weak.
Pain is everything.
But she is close.
I feel her.
I hear her breath beneath the stone.
The pain will return.
The chains will pull.
But for now… I breathe.
And I remember.
And I hope.
