“No.” Estelle’s answer came without hesitation. “Margaret isn’t cruel. That’s not the problem. The problem is that she would think I was unstable if I tried to explain it now, and if she ever saw the truth for herself...” She shook her head. “I don’t know what she’d do. Maybe she’d panic. Maybe she’d try to explain it away. Maybe she’d convince herself Adara needed help becoming normal. But whatever it was, it would come from fear. And fear would hurt Maris’s little girl.”
Her dragon stirred, restless but quiet now.
“And so you left,” Leo said.
“Yes.” Estelle stood and crossed to where Adara slept, looking down at her small face. “Not because Margaret is evil. She isn’t. But because I couldn’t let Adara grow up in the middle of thatpressure. Because as much as I hoped things might get better, I was afraid they could get worse.”
“I understand.” And she saw in his eyes that he did.
“I cannot lose her, Leo. Not to Margaret, not to the courts, not to anyone. She is everything to me.” Her voice broke. “And I promised Maris. I promised I would keep her safe. Let her grow into what she truly is.”
She drew in a shaky breath.
“That’s why I asked for discretion. Why I’ve been so careful about... us.” Estelle shook her head. “I can’t risk that kind of exposure. And I don’t want you getting drawn into this.”
“She can’t hurt me,” Leo said quietly.
“You don’t know that...” Estelle looked toward the window, toward the mountain dark beyond the glass.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said, not pushing any further. “For trusting me with your story.”
Estelle searched his face for any sign of retreat. Any sign that this was too much.
She found none.
“Aren’t you...” She hesitated. “Aren’t you going to say this is more than you bargained for? All these secrets?”
Leo’s mouth curved in a gentle smile. “Estelle,” he said, his voice warm with certainty, “I signed up for you. For both of you.”
He glanced at Adara, sleeping peacefully by the fire.
“The moment I sensed you, I knew my life had changed. Nothing you’ve told me changes that.”
He reached up slowly, giving her time to pull away, and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Fate chose you. Chose us. Dragon and all.”
Estelle’s eyes burned with unshed tears. “Even knowing being with me could make your life complicated?”
“Even knowing that,” he said, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders. “You don’t have to face it alone anymore.”
The words cracked something open inside her. Tears spilled over, sliding down her cheeks as years of tension began to give way.
“I’m so tired,” she whispered. “So tired of always having to think three steps ahead.”
Leo pulled her gently against his chest, his arms wrapping around her as she leaned into him. She pressed her face into his shoulder, feeling the solid warmth of him as quiet sobs shook through her.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured against her hair. “Both of you. We’ll figure this out.”
Her dragon unfurled within her, stretching toward his warmth like a flower turning to the sun.He means it,her dragon said softly.This is real.
“I don’t know how to stop running,” she admitted against his shirt. “I’ve been doing it for so long.”
Leo’s hand moved slowly down her back. “Then don’t think past tonight,” he murmured. “You stay here. Both of you.”
Estelle pulled back slightly to look at him. “Just like that?”
“Yes.” His voice remained calm, certain. “Let me take care of you. Both of you. Even if it’s just for tonight.”
Her throat tightened.
