Touch of Flame

In the dark room with only the moon shining through the window, Ravina lay in bed with Malachi. He had promised not to touch her and put pillows between them. She had wondered if she could trust him. His eyes earlier when she licked her lips had said something else. He was unpredictable to her. Like a beast chained but close to breaking loose and she didn't know when that would happen.

She lay facing away, on the shoulder that pained her. Unable to stand the pain, she carefully turned around, being cautious not to hurt her leg. Malachi lay facing away from her as well and she was grateful for that.

"Are you in pain?" He suddenly asked, startling her.

"No."

"Do you ever complain?" He asked.

"To who?"

He became silent, probably realizing she didn't have people she could truly complain to growing up. She had to take care of herself.

"You can complain to me," he said.

"Well, all the complaints I have is about you ...and your brother. Should I still complain to you?" She asked curiously and jokingly.

"Aaron? Yes I know, he is annoying." He joked back.

This man...

"As for me, what complaints do you have?" He continued.

"Aren't you too jealous of your little brother?"

"I am not jealous. Especially not of my brothers and definitely not Aaron. He is the most precious to me."

She believed him. He did seem to care a lot about his brothers.

"It is just... my instinct. In such moments, I am more a dragon." He explained.

He was an animal. More instinct and less thinking, like when he just pulled at the chains, not caring about what happened.

"Your brother loves you too so you don't have to worry," she told him.

"I am not worried about him."

About her? Oh... Of course.

"Well, you would know by now that I don't open my heart to people so easily."

"I know," he said and then it became silent.

Surprisingly, she felt sleepy soon after all the food she had. Of course, there was no night without a dream or a nightmare. This time she dreamt of Ares. He had come to find her and met her in the mountains.

"Ares!" She ran into his arms.

"I have come to take you," he said.

"Take me. Please take me from here. I am tired."

He took her face between her hands, "shh... it is going to be alright."

"Ravina!"

Her head jerked in the direction the familiar voice came from. Fear filled her stomach.

Malachi. He looked at her with a hurt and disappointed look.

She was his queen now. How could she leave him?

"You betray me?" He said.

She shook her head with tears. "No."

"You said you loved me."

"You did?" Ares asked, getting back her attention.

"No." She shook her head.

Now he looked at her disappointed. He stepped away from her. "Ares, listen to me. I can explain."

Then he looked down at her stomach and frowned. "You are pregnant." He said almost accusingly. He continued to step away.

The tears streamed down her face. "Ares."

Suddenly he was walking far away and she couldn't go after him. She turned to Malachi crying. He was saddened too. Turning around he left her as well.

She was left alone with her growing belly. A dragon. She was terrified. It was burning through her skin to get out. "Malachi! Malachi!" She yelled.

"Ravina!"

She shot her eyes open when two hands shook her. Malachi was looming over her in the dark with a concerned look. Her hand quickly flew to her belly. It was flat. Skin intact. She let out a breath of relief.

Malachi stroked her head, gently as she caught her breath. "Just a nightmare," he assured her. But this nightmare could turn out to be true. She could become queen, carrying a child she didn't even want to have with a human, and now it would be a half-dragon and Ares would be gone.

She looked up at Malachi. "I don't want to breed. I don't want to have children," she breathed. "It scares me."

He frowned. "Alright."

No. He didn't understand. "But I can't prevent it."

He became more confused as she blurted out random things. "You are not having a child, Ravina."

"But I might one day," she cried.

He didn't seem to know what to say. "You don't have to worry about that now."

Yes. Why was she even talking about this suddenly? She needed to calm down. As Malachi continued to stroke her hair, she fell asleep again.

When the morning came, Malachi was gone but she was greeted by two maids. They had already prepared a bath and helped her undress, bathe and dress again. Rebandaged her leg, messaged her with oils, and took care of her hair. They were quiet and very professional. They took care of everything, from hair to nails.

"Do you need anything else?" They asked her.

"No, thank you." She said.

"Then we shall go prepare breakfast."

Huh? Where was Malachi?

Just as she turned around she found him standing at the door. The maids walked by but he kept his eyes fixed on her. Walking over he came to stand where she sat, putting on hand on the backrest of her seat.

"What is happening?" She asked him wondering about the maids.

"I thought you might need them. Or did you want us all alone?" he smirked.

She frowned, looking up at him.

"I would not mind helping you bathe," he said.

"Well, I would."

He crouched beside her knees, surprising her. Now she had to look down at him. What was he doing?

"You are terrified of breeding," he said reminding her of last night.

Her face flushed with embarrassment. What nonsense did she say out loud? She looked down at her hands, fumbling with them.

"Look at me," he urged.

She lifted her gaze slightly to look into his eyes. "Don't think of it as breeding," he spoke softly, his hand reaching for her ankle. "I think you call it making love."

Making love?

His hot palm slowly left her ankle and traveled up her calf.