Her breath hitched.
But she didn’t run.
She lifted her chin, her hands falling to her sides, her defiant eyes locked onto his.
She stood firm. Ready. Willing.
Vector’s chest tightened painfully.
She was so much more than he deserved.
The power in his lungs swelled, the fire in his veins demanding release, surging forward, raw and unchained.
For the first time in his existence, he had someone to give it to.
Someone strong enough to take it.
He took a slow, deep breath.
And then?—
He exhaled.
Fire. Magic. Love.
A torrent of red, shimmering flame erupted from his throat, spilling toward her, engulfing her, surrounding her.
Magic crackled and burned, the very air charged with power, heat swirling like a living storm.
She was gone inside it.
Swallowed whole.
His mate. His love. His life.
Held in the heart of his fire.
His dragon growled low, body tense, wings half-spread as the flames rushed over her skin, through her blood, inside her bones.
And she?—
She did not scream.
She did not fall.
She stood.
Her head tilted back, arms lifting to the sky, a low, breathless sound slipping from her lips?—
Not in pain.
In ecstasy.
Magic sparked around her, twisting like golden-red lightning, crawling over her skin, sinking into her soul.
And then he felt it.
Relief.
