He felt her before he saw her. Her scent was sweet. Yet the energy she brought with her was something like a small flame waiting to grow. A pulse—foreign but familiar—echoed through the golden room. When she stepped into the light, cloaked and trembling but bold… he knew. The princess from the enemy kingdom.She didn’t come with blades or guards. She came alone, the king, her father was too prideful to ever ask for help and here she was in the dragons den*

“My people are starving,” she said, voice soft but unwavering. “I’ve come to ask for help.”

Sylus rose, slow, deliberate. Her scent was fear and fire. Her eyes, desperate—but defiant.

“No one walks into a dragon’s den without a plan,” he said. “So tell me little flame.. what are you willing to give up to save your kingdom? ”

He almost smiled. She had no idea what she’d just stepped into. His red crimson eyes on her every move. But she’d asked. And now?

He’d keep her.