I felt the press of Thane’s mouth against hers as if it were my own, but wrong. It was too gentle, too hesitant, lacking the consuming fire that definedus. But then she responded, climbing into his lap, pressing herself against him, and the sensation shifted from hesitancy to a deep, resonant thrum that vibrated in the marrow of my bones. It felt like safety. It felt like being held by the earth itself.
A low, guttural sound ripped from my throat before I could stop it. The temperature in the cavern spiked instantly, drying out the damp air and crackling with static heat. The embers in the fire pit flared from dull red to blinding white.
"Easy, lizard," Flynn drawled from the shadows.
He was sharpening his dagger again, the rhythmicshrrk-shrrksound grating on my nerves like sand in a wound. He didn't look up, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. "You're going to singe the moss."
"She is kissing him," I snarled, my hands gripping the scabbard of my sword until the leather groaned under the pressure. The dragon inside me was pacing, thrashing its tail, raking claws against the inside of my ribs. It wanted to fly, to roar. The beast inside me wanted to find the Bear and remind him who had found her first.
"We know," Flynn said, testing the edge of his blade against his thumb. A bead of blood welled up, bright and red. He licked it away with a casual, predatory grace. "We can all feel it, Kaelen. It feels heavy. Grounded. Good for her."
"Good for her?" I stood up, the movement abrupt and violent. The stone scraped beneath my boots. "He is my brother. He knows... heknows."
"He knows she needs balance," Elias said softly.
The Phoenix was standing by the water’s edge, gazing into the black depths of the pool where the Skal lurked. He turned to face me, his expression serene, though his eyes swirled with that unnerving mixture of past and future.
"You are fire, Kaelen," Elias continued, his voice melodic and maddeningly calm. "Fire consumes. It warms, yes, but it also burns. Thane is the hearth. You cannot have a fire without a hearth to contain it, or you will simply burn the house down."
"I am not burning the house down," I snapped, pacing the small perimeter of our camp. "I am the one holding the roof up while everyone else plays house."
"You are jealous," Flynn corrected, sheathing his dagger with a sharp click. He leaned back against the rock, crossing his ankles. "It’s ugly on you. Makes your scales show."
I glared at him, and for a second, I felt the phantom itch of scales ripple along my jawline. I forced them back, willing my skin to remain human.
"It isn't jealousy," I lied, the taste of sulfur heavy on my tongue. "It’s concern. We’re in the middle of a war zone. We’re being hunted by a goddess. And they are canoodling on a cliff edge."
"Canoodling?" Flynn let out a sharp bark of laughter. "You sound like an old man. They aren't canoodling, brother. She climbed into his lap and told him she wanted him. I felt it. The want. It was honest."
Possessive rage flared hot and bright, blinding me for a second.Honest.Yes. That was the worst part. When she had kissed me in the Sanctorum, it had been desperate, a choice made at the edge of oblivion. When she had kissed Elias, it had been a transaction of healing that turned into passion.
But this? This quiet moment on the mountain? Aria had asked for it, had sought him out. She found peace in him that I apparently couldn't give her.
"She feels safe with him," I whispered, the admission hurting more than the physical drain of the magic. "Safer than with me."
"Because you are terrifying," Flynn pointed out, not unkindly. He stood up and walked over to me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. His grip was firm, grounding. "You’re the Dragon Prince, intensity personified. Thane is... Thane. He’s the one who remembers to ask if you've eaten, who carries the heavy things so you don't have to."
"I would carry anything for her," I argued, my voice rough.
"We know," Flynn said. "But you would make it look like a crusade. Thane makes it look like a hug."
I pulled away from him, pacing toward the water. The Skal, Steve, lifted its armored head from the mud, its eyes tracking me warily. It let out a low, subservient chitter, sensing the violence rolling off me in waves.
Danger?the creature projected, a wet, nervous thought.Burn?
"No," I growled at it. "Go back to sleep, squid."
The creature lowered its head, but kept one eye open. Smart monster.
I looked at Elias. "Why does it bother me so much? We agreed. I know we have to share her."
"Agreeing with the mind and accepting with the heart are two different countries," Elias said, drifting closer. "And you have always struggled to share, Kaelen. Even before the chains. You hoard. It’s your nature."
"Pandora," I murmured, the name slipping out like a curse.
The atmosphere in the cavern shifted instantly. Flynn went still. Elias stopped moving. The name hung in the damp air, heavy with a thousand years of resentment and pain.
"She picked you," Flynn said quietly, his voice losing its playful edge. "In the end. Before the betrayal. She picked you."
