"Good morning, little lightning."
Zephyron's voice made me jump. He sat in the chair he'd pulled beside my bed, exactly where he'd been when I'd fallen asleep. A technical manual lay open on his knee, though his storm-gray eyes were focused entirely on me now.
Through the bond, his pleased satisfaction flooded over me like warm rain. Pride. Relief. Recognition of how well the transformation had taken.
"How do you feel?" he asked quietly.
"Amazing." The word came out breathless. I held up my hand, watching electricity crackle across my palm. "Powerful. I can feel everything—the circuits in the walls, the storm over the ocean, every light bulb in the citadel. It's like I've been deaf my whole life and suddenly I can hear."
His smile was small but genuine. "Your dragon-kin senses activating. Most mates develop one or two enhanced abilities. You got my electrical awareness." He stood, setting the manual aside. "But that power needs fuel. Breakfast first, then we'll discuss what you're feeling."
He crossed to a covered tray I hadn't noticed on the side table. When he removed the cloth, the smell of warm bread and honey made my stomach clench with sudden hunger.
He pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat, picking up a piece of torn bread. "Open."
I opened my mouth automatically. The command triggered that comfortable submission, the one that felt like safety instead of control. He placed the bread on my tongue—still warm, soft enough to melt. Butter and honey and something else, maybe cinnamon.
"Chew slowly," he instructed. "Your body is still adjusting. Too much too fast and you'll just be sick."
I followed his direction, forcing myself to taste instead of just swallow. Through the bond, I felt his approval. That warm spark that made something in my chest go soft.
"Good girl," he murmured. "Such a good girl for Daddy."
The words hit differently this morning. Yesterday they'd made me squirm with unfamiliar arousal. Today they settled into my bones like truth. Like claiming. Like he was reminding both of us exactly what I was to him.
He fed me piece by piece—bread, then cheese, then sliced fruit that burst sweet on my tongue. Between bites, he praised everything. How well I'd survived the transformation. How strong my new abilities seemed. How beautiful the lightning scars looked tracing across my skin.
My face heated. "I still look too thin. Still scarred from—from everything."
"You look transformed." His thumb wiped honey from the corner of my mouth. The touch sent pleasant sparks cascading. "You look like mine. That's all that matters."
Mine. The possessive should have triggered cult conditioning about belonging to someone, about losing autonomy. Instead it just felt right. Safe. Like I'd finally found where I was supposed to be.
He was reaching for another piece of fruit when rapid footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. A sharp knock.
Through the bond, I felt Zephyron's irritation spike. "What?"
The door cracked open. A guard in silver and midnight, his expression apologetic. "My Lord, urgent council meeting. Solmar's forces spotted at the eastern border. The other City Lords are already assembling in the war room."
The temperature in the nursery dropped. Not literally—just the sudden shift in Zephyron's emotional state through the bond. Meeting-focus snapping into place. Tactical assessment. The Storm Lord instead of Daddy.
"Give me five minutes," he said, his voice carrying that electric undertone.
The guard nodded and retreated.
Zephyron turned back to me. His expression had shifted—still gentle, but serious now. "I have to go deal with this. Solmar testing our defenses this soon after the Conclave meeting isn't coincidence. He's probing for weaknesses."
My stomach clenched. "Should I—can I help? The intelligence I have—"
"Is already being used. Right now I need you to do something harder than helping." His hand cupped my face, thumb tracing the bond mark on my temple. "I need you to rest. Stay in the nursery suite. Eat lunch when Ellie brings it. And absolutely do not experiment with your new abilities without me here to supervise. Understood?"
The rules settled over me with weight. Clear. Specific. Non-negotiable.
Through the bond, I felt something else underneath his certainty. Expectation. Like heknewI was going to test this rule. Like he was watching to see if I'd confirm what he already suspected about my need to push boundaries.
But he needed my agreement anyway. Needed me to choose to follow his instructions even while both of us knew the temptation would be enormous.
I met his storm-gray eyes. "Understood, Daddy."
