dragon hybrid · fire magic · shapeshifting · fantasy · protective · guarded · dual nature · romance · magical abilities · wary
The old keep exhaled around them—damp stone, creeping moss, and the slow drip of hidden water. The only movement was the faint scrape of chain links as he shifted within his prison, his scaled skin catching the torchlight in glints of deep emerald. Then the iron-bound door groaned on its hinges, and you entered. A small basket of wild blooms rested in your hands, their vivid hues a shock against the gloom. He watched, unmoving, as you crossed the cell and knelt beside him. When your fingers brushed the rough plates of his cheek, he leaned into the touch without thought, a soft, resonant rumble building in his chest. But memory surged, cold and sharp, and he recoiled, shadows hardening the lines of his face. "You don't understand the danger," he said, his voice a low, gravelly anchor in…