Claimed By The Last Kind.

Her Arrival

Chapter Two – Blaze’s POV

The moment I landed in my lair, I dropped her.

Sonia hit the cold stone floor with a soft thud, her silver gown pooling around her as she pushed herself up. The heat from the molten rivers flowing through the cavern cast an eerie glow, illuminating the jagged rock formations and the massive piles of gold and jewels behind me. My treasure hoard.

She was an intruder. A human who didn’t belong here.

And yet, she looked around, not with fear, but with something far more dangerous. Curiosity.

I folded my wings, my golden eyes narrowing as I loomed over her. Why wasn’t she trembling?

Did she not understand what had just happened? She had been stolen, ripped from her kingdom, taken by the last dragon in existence—a creature her kind had spent centuries hunting to extinction. And now, she was trapped in my domain, alone.

Her father would never reach her here.

And still… she wasn’t afraid.

Sonia ran her fingers over a stone wall, tilting her head. “Your home is beautiful,” she mused, as if she were an invited guest.

I let out a slow breath through my nose, the heat making the air shimmer. “You think this is a home?” My voice was low, dangerous. “This is a tomb.”

“For whom?” she asked, turning to face me.

I didn’t answer.

Because she didn’t need to know.

She was just a tool—my leverage against her father, the man who had put a bounty on my head. A reward for anyone who could kill me.

They had tried for years.

Now, I would make the king pay.

My claws scraped against the stone as I took a step toward her, towering over her small, delicate frame. “You should be screaming.”

Her lips curved. “Why? Would that please you?”

I scowled. “It would be natural.”

“Well,” she said, brushing off her gown, “I’ve never been good at doing what’s expected of me.”

Foolish girl.

A growl rumbled in my chest, echoing through the cavern. I leaned in, lowering my face just inches from hers. “You don’t understand what you’ve done, human. I am not your savior. I am not your protector.” My claws dug into the stone, cracking it. “I am the last of my kind. And if I wished it, I could turn you to ash with a single breath.”

She didn't move.

Didn't even flinch.

And then, to my utter surprise, she smiled.

"Then why haven't you?"

The words struck deep, raw.

I should have. I should have burned her the moment I claimed her.

Instead, I had brought her here.

Instead, I was warning her.

Sonia inched closer, her head craned up to my eyes, completely ignoring the threat gathering about her. "You brought me to hurt my father," she said to me. "To hurt him. But what do you do when you discover I am not as powerless as you suppose?"

I pinched my eyes shut. "You are human. Your life is fragile. You are nothing."

Her mouth parted slightly, and then—

She kissed me.

It was so sudden, so unthinkable, that my entire body went rigid.

I stiffened for the first time in centuries.

Her mouth was warm, her lips soft on mine. Too warm. Not with fear, but something other. Something wild.

The moment shattered.

A growl ripped from my throat as I wrapped claws around her wrist, pulling her back with enough strength to make her stumble. Before she could catch herself, I slammed her against the nearest wall, pinning her there with my claws encircling her throat. Not hard enough to kill. But hard enough to remind her exactly what I was.

My wings unfolded, shadows deepening on the walls. "Don't ever do that again."

Sonia leaned her head back. "Why not?"

I pulled her closer. "Because I am not a woman who are touched."

She should have been quaking in fear.

But she smiled instead.

This woman is going to be a nuisance.

I pushed in closer, spreading the hot breath on her skin, and she flushed with the heat. "You are inviting trouble," I snarled.

She maintained her focus on mine, unflinching. "I like the flame."

I pursed my lips into a pressed line.

I was not pleased.

I let her go, stepping back hard. "Enough." I turned on my heel, my claws clenching into fists. "You will not be leaving here. You will not speak unless spoken to. And you will know your place."

"And what place is that?" she asked, crossing her arms.

I blew out a breath, flames dancing at my lips. "A prisoner."

Sonia looked around the cavern again, then at me.

And smiled.

"Then I've had worse cages."

I looked at her.

Then, for the first time in a very long time, I wasn't sure who had really caught whom.