I don’t know. Permission. A sign. Some indication that the woman on the other side of that door doesn’t still see me as the monster from her nightmares.
The hallway stretches empty in both directions. Morning light filters through narrow windows, painting golden stripesacross the flagstones. Somewhere in the fortress, I can hear the distant clang of training—younger dragons running drills, keeping sharp for threats we all know are coming.
I should be there. Should be doing anything useful instead of haunting this passage like some lovesick ghost.
But every time I try to leave, my feet carry me back. Every time I convince myself to walk away, my dragon snarls and snaps until I’m pressed against this wall again, listening for any sound that might tell me she’s okay.
It’s pathetic. I know it’s pathetic.
I don’t care.
The door opens.
Selene emerges, and I’m standing before I consciously decide to move. She doesn’t look surprised—just tired. Dark circles under her eyes, shoulders tight with tension. Being a Fire-Bringer apparently doesn’t exempt you from exhaustion.
“She’s asking for you.” A small grin graces her face. “Voluntarily, I mean. No weapons involved this time.”
The words don’t register at first. “What?”
“Aisling. She wants to talk to you. Specifically. I know—I’m as shocked as you are. Apparently near-death experiences make people temporarily insane.”
My heart does something complicated in my chest. “Why?”
“Why do you think, genius?” She steps aside, gesturing toward the open door. “Maybe because you’ve been lurking outside her room like a golden retriever waiting for its owner to come home. Very subtle, by the way. No one noticed at all.” The sarcasm could cut glass. “Don’t make her wait. She’s nervous enough already, and frankly, you smell like you haven’t showered since the rescue. For everyone’s sake, make this quick so you can discover the miracle of soap.”
Nervous. About seeing me. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
I move past Selene, catching her scent—herbs and fatigue and something that smells like determination. At the threshold, I pause. Take a breath. Force my dragon to settle instead of surging forward with demands.
Easy. Slow. Don’t scare her.
The infirmary looks different in daylight. Cleaner. More organized than I remember—and I realize with a start that Aisling has been arranging things. Medical supplies sorted by type. Bandages stacked in neat rows. Even the bed linens are precisely folded.
She’s standing by the window when I enter, silhouetted against the morning light. Wild red hair pulled back from her face. Shoulders rigid beneath a borrowed shirt that’s too big for her frame. She doesn’t turn when she hears my footsteps, but I see her spine stiffen. See her hands curl into fists at her sides.
“Selene says you’ve been out there the whole time.” Her voice is steadier than I expected. Quieter too—careful, controlled, nothing like the raw terror from three days ago. “Standing guard like some kind of oversized watchdog.”
“Sitting, mostly.” I stay near the door. Don’t advance. Don’t retreat. “My legs got tired.”
She turns. Studies me with those sharp green depths that seem to catalog everything—my rumpled clothes, my unwashed hair, the shadows under my own eyes that probably match hers.
“You look terrible.”
“You should see the other guy.”
Her mouth twitches. Not a smile—not quite—but close enough that my dragon rumbles with satisfaction. “There was no other guy.”
“There was a wall. I leaned on it pretty aggressively.”
That earns me an actual exhale. Almost a laugh, if you squint. Progress.
Silence stretches between us. She’s still studying me, and I realize I’m being evaluated. Measured. Judged by criteria I don’t understand but desperately want to pass.
“Selene filled in some gaps.” Aisling’s voice goes flat. Clinical. The tone of someone reciting facts to avoid feeling them. “Dragons. Guardians. An ancient brotherhood. The political structure I was apparently chained in the middle of.”
“That’s one way to describe it.”
“I already knew the important parts.” Her shoulders tighten. “Fire-Bringer. Rare bloodline. Valuable commodity for anyone trying to wake ancient horrors.” A pause, and her voice drops even flatter. “They told me what I was while they were draining me. Valdris was very thorough in her explanations. She wanted me to understand exactly why I was suffering.”
