Chapter 863 – My Dragon

Her fingers lingered there for a second longer than necessary.

Then she pushed off the door.

Turned the water on.

Because right now... She needed distance.

From him.

From that look.

From that tone.

From the way her heartbeat hadn’t settled since he said ’you’re mine’ like it wasn’t a question.

Like it wasn’t something she should have rejected immediately.

The water started running.

Steam began to rise.

And Yue stood there for a second.

Quiet.

Still.

Before stepping in.

Trying very hard not to think about how much she was looking forward to seeing him again in five minutes.

Yue stepped under the water.

Hot.

Steady.

Clean.

It hit her shoulders first, then slid down her back, washing over skin that still remembered too much. The steam curled around her like a quiet conspiracy, sealing her inside a space where no one could see her...

Which was exactly why this was dangerous.

Because now?

There was no distraction.

No conversation.

No Lux casually smirking and saying something that derailed her thoughts.

Just her.

And her thoughts.

"...This is ridiculous," she muttered.

Her voice echoed faintly off the tile.

Didn’t help.

Not at all.

She dragged her fingers through her hair slowly, letting the water soak through it, grounding herself in something physical, something real.

Didn’t work.

Her mind went right back.

To him.

Annoying.

Infuriating.

Persistent.

Her eyes lowered.

And that’s when she saw it.

Marks.

Faint.

Not brutal.

Not ownership in the way she had known before.

But there.

Subtle traces across her skin where his hands had been, where his lips had lingered, where heat had built and refused to leave even after everything ended.

Yue froze.

Just for a second.

"No."

Her hand lifted instinctively, brushing over one of the marks on her collarbone.

Warm.

Still warm.

Like it hadn’t fully faded.

Like it was... waiting.

Her breath hitched.

And then...

Memory hit.

Not clean.

Not organized.

Fragments.

His voice.

Low.

Close.

That stupid, calm tone that somehow made everything worse.

The way he said her name.

’My dragon.’

Her fingers curled slightly.

"Stop."

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Tried to force it down.

Didn’t work.

Because her body betrayed her before her mind could catch up.

A faint flush crept up her neck.

Then higher.

Her cheeks warmed.

Fast.

"Seriously?"

Yue pressed her palm against her face for a second.

Because this was not her.

She was an ancient dragon.

She had lived through wars.

Through power struggles.

Through marriages that were nothing more than contracts stamped in bloodlines and obligation.

She didn’t react like this.

Not then.

Not ever.

Even in her first marriage?

Cold.

Controlled.

Efficient.

It was duty.

Nothing more.

No hesitation.

No warmth.

No...

This.

Her hand dropped slowly.

And her eyes opened again.

Locked on her reflection in the fogged glass.

"Why now?" she whispered.

Because this didn’t make sense.

Not logically.

Not strategically.

Not emotionally.

Her gaze drifted down again.

To the sigil.

That damn sigil.

Still faintly glowing.

Still... connected.

Her fingers brushed over it again.

And instantly, a pulse.

Subtle.

But real.

Her breath caught.

"You didn’t bind me," she muttered.

That was the problem.

Kaelmor bound.

Controlled.

Owned.

That she understood.

That she could fight.

That she could break.

But Lux?

He didn’t take.

He didn’t force.

He left it open.

And somehow, that made it harder to ignore.

Her shoulders slumped slightly under the water.

"This is worse," she admitted quietly.

Because now she had a choice.

And she wasn’t sure she liked the direction that choice was pulling her toward.

Her thoughts drifted again.

Uninvited.

Uncontrolled.

Back to him.

That moment.

That look.

When he wasn’t joking.

When he wasn’t teasing.

When he said things like it was just... truth.

’You’re mine.’

Her face flushed again.

Harder this time.

"Shut up," she muttered to herself, to him, to whatever part of her mind kept replaying that line like it was important.

Because it wasn’t.

It shouldn’t be.

And yet, her fingers tightened slightly against her own arm.

Because something about the way he said it.

Not commanding.

Not forcing.

Just... certain.

That certainty.

It lingered.

Unwanted.

And worse?

A part of her didn’t reject it immediately.

Yue’s eyes widened slightly.

"No."

She straightened.

Water running down her back, grounding her again.

No.

That wasn’t acceptable.

She was not going to stand here and analyze why that idiot demon’s voice was stuck in her head like a curse.

She dragged her hands down her face.

Then through her hair again.

Breathing slow.

Controlled.

Centering.

"Get it together," she whispered.

You are a dragon.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Not some...

Some...

Her thoughts stalled.

Because the next word that came up?

’Teenager.’

Yue froze.

Then immediately frowned.

"Absolutely not."

And yet...

The evidence was right there.

The flushing.

The way her thoughts kept circling back.

The way her body reacted before her mind approved.

"This is humiliating," she muttered.

She had never...

Never...

Acted like this.

Not even in her youth.

Back then, she had been composed.

Cold.

Distant.

Untouchable.

Even when others tried to provoke her, tempt her, challenge her... Nothing.

She didn’t react.

Didn’t care.

Didn’t feel.

So why now?

Why him?

Her fingers tightened again at her side.

Because she knew the answer.

And she didn’t like it.

Because Lux didn’t treat her like something to own.

Or something to use.

Or something to conquer.

He treated her like...

Equal.

Partner.

Challenge.

And that hit differently.

Her breath slowed.

Her gaze softened just slightly.

"You’re trouble," she murmured again.

And this time, it didn’t sound like an insult.

It sounded like a problem she hadn’t figured out how to solve yet.

The water kept running.

Steam rising.

Wrapping around her.

And Yue stood there.

Trying very hard not to think about how she was going to look at him when she walked out.

Because if she wasn’t careful, she might not look at him like an enemy.

Or an ally.

Or even a threat.

And that was the real danger.