YAWN
Lyra’s blurry eyes opened as her fingers were still tangled in Auryn’s shirt. The soft glow of morning light filtered through the window.
She realized she was lying on sothing warm and solid. It rose and fell in steady rhythm
Her eyes widened as her fingers explored the edges of his frad physique.
I’m still lying on him..
The realization ca with fragnts of mories. The silver flas, Castor’s blade. Blood everywhere and an arrow in his chest.
I awakened because of the bond
She didn’t move. Deciding to just lay there, listening to his steady heartbeat. His arm was around her. Loose in sleep but present.
She had to admit, there was sothing about his warmth that made her just want to remain there for as long as possible.
He held like this all night? She thought even as heat crept into her face. Not just from the mory of falling. But from the dreams she woke up from.
By the fla...
Hazy images surfaced in her mind. His voice, his hands. The way she’d held onto him. Subconsciously lted in his embrace.
Her thighs pressed together reflexively. A different kind of heat pooling low below her stomach.
I was dreaming of him. Did I... say anything? Do anything?
The embarrassnt was imdiate and overwhelming. She’d been pressed against him all night. Body to body.
He knows... He had to know. She shifted slightly. Felt the dampness between her thighs. Evidence of dreams she barely recalled but her body rembered vividly.
The thought was mortifying... To think that he stayed anyway. Didn’t take advantage of her lucidness.
He just... held .
Her face was now totally red and buried into the pillow beside them. It wasn’t embarrassnt this ti. Just want...
Real and undeniable. Not just dragon magic pulling them together. Not just the bond but a subconscious truth rising from the depths of her heart.
I want him. The thought should’ve terrified her. But for so reason, it didn’t.
Accepting she was stuck her in his embrace. She tested her body carefully, expecting exhaustion and weakness from using the flas.
But...
She found neither. Instead she felt power. It humd beneath her skin. Soft, alive and waiting.
It wasn’t overwhelming like when it awakened. Not the uncontrolled fire consuming everything...It just lingered.
She flexed her fingers carefully against his chest. No flas appeared. But she could feel them waiting. Ready if she called.
The bond had awakened and now she was connected to him. Always..
She looked up at his face. He was exhausted. Dark circles visible under his eyes. Bandages wrapped around his chest where the arrow had been.
You stayed. Even wounded. Even dying. You chose to stay here.
She felt warmth spreading through her chest. It was different from the heat lower. This was deeper. Within her soul.
Mine... The thought ca unbidden. Passionate and slightly possessive.
He’s mine. I’m his. This is real.
She’d known about it intellectually before. Marriage contract. Political arrangent. Dragon bond ntioned in passing by priests.
But now—
I feel it. In my bones. My blood. My soul.
This isn’t just magic. This is us.
She reached up slowly. Touched his face. Fingertips gentle against his jaw. She traced the line of his cheekbone. The shadow of exhaustion beneath his eyes.
His eyes opened imdiately. Still alert despite the tiredness. Crimson-gold eting amber.
For a mont, no words ca to either rir their minds. Only their eyes interacted.
Finally the silence broke.
"You stayed." Her voice was quiet. Rough from sleep.
"I did." He answered simply, still staring into the endless depths of her eyes.
"Your wound?"
"Will heal."
"You should have rested properly"
"I did. Right here. Where you are." No words followed after that. Just the weight of things unsaid.
Her hand was still on his face. She should have pulled it back but she didn’t. Instead rubbing her soft fingers against his dry lips.
"Thank you." Lyra said.
His expression softened. Just barely but she noticed.
"You saved first."
"The bond did.."
"Through you , yes."
"I can feel it now. You are always there, on my mind."
Auryn’s hand moved to her hair.
"You’re in my heart."
She sat up slowly. His arm fell away. The bond screeching louder in her chest when she created distance.
It wants close. Lyra deducted
She looked down at him. Still lying there. Watching her with those impossible eyes.
"We need to talk." Her voice was steadier now. "About everything. About who you are. About what happened."
His jaw tightened slightly. "I know."
"Then talk."
Auryn pushed himself up carefully. The wound was quite irritating but he forced his way through.
He sat with his back against the headboard.
Alright, partial honesty. Enough truth to satisfy. Not so much she runs away.
He exhaled slowly. Preparing his speech.
"When I woke, after the poison..." He started carefully. "Sothing changed."
She waited. Eyes patiently fixated on him.
"I have mories that aren’t mine." Each word chosen deliberately. "But I also rember Borin. This castle. Growing up here. You and Aurelia"
Her brow furrowed. "mories that aren’t yours? What does that even an?"
"Another life. Maybe. I don’t know." He let confusion bleed through. Honest confusion because he didn’t fully understand it either.
"Is it reincarnation? or sothing else entirely?"
"I don’t have answers, Lyra. Just... two sets of mories. Two people in one body." His hand gestured vaguely. "One who rembers being Auryn Ignisar from birth. And another who rembers... sowhere else. Soone else."
She stared at him. Trying to process. She had wanted answers but she didn’t think it would be this complicated. Her mind went through the implications.
"That’s why..." Her voice was quiet. Almost to herself. "The handwriting changed overnight. Your vocabulary shifted. The way you hold yourself."
Her eyes snapped back to his. "Everything."
"Yes." He answered flatly, placing a full-stop on the conversation but it was only for a short mont.
"So Auryn is..." Pain flickered across her face. "Gone?"
The question cut deeper than expected. Guilt twisted in his chest, unexpected and unwelcod.
"Part of him is here." He said gently. His eyes eting hers directly. "His mories live in . His childhood. His love for Borin. His—"
He paused.
"His feelings for you."
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