"No." I pointed at him. "Do not growl my name like that. I am thinking. You are volunteering to stand in my fire."
"I am volunteering to stop her from writing my ending."
His jaw flexed. I looked at Moses who had appeared near the hearth, quiet and serious.
"Rules."
His dark eyes held mine. "White fire seeks weakness in bindings, lies, false claims. It burns what does not belong."
"Great. Love that. What do I do?"
"Do not run. Do not turn your back. Breathe low. Give your shield a steady hand."
"My shield being this dramatic ring?"
"Yes."
The ring pulsed once. I swallowed. "Fine."
Malachi looked like something inside him was tearing itself apart. "I will not burn you."
I stepped closer, voice low enough for only him. "You told me your heat doesn't kill if you control it."
His eyes flashed. "I was talking about my body," he said.
"Yes, well, right now I need the bigger demonstration." A muscle jumped in his cheek. "And if you kill me," I added, because fear was crawling up my spine and humor was the only weapon I had left. "I am haunting your dick first."
For one insane second, his mouth twitched, then his face turned to iron. "You will not die."
"Good. I have cake in the oven."
They took us to the lower furnace arena, the same place Moses had taught me that dragon fire had rules. It looked different, full of nobles. The clans filled the stone seats, jewels glittering, wings folded tight, eyes hungry for proof or blood. Probably both.
The furnace vents burned blue along the walls, and the floor had been marked with a circle of white ash. Moses walked the edge of it, checking every line. Julius stood beside the council, an old ledger open in his hands. His burned fingers were bandaged. Sheba stood where everyone could see her. Of course.
Cindy grabbed my hand before I stepped into the circle. "Belinda."
"I know."
"No, listen. You come back out."
I squeezed her fingers. "I plan to. Who else is going to make sure these overgrown lizards don't put raw meat on dessert?"
Her eyes shined, but she nodded.
Derek said, "Cousin, I love you, but this family is getting weird."
"It was weird before. This is just expensive weird."
Then I stepped into the circle. The stone was warm under my shoes. Malrek entered across from me. He looked less like a man there. Bigger somehow, older. His scale markings burned bright gold along his face and throat. White light gathered behind his teeth when he breathed.
My knees considered quitting. I locked them.
Moses' voice rang out. "One cast, three heartbeats, no strike beyond the circle."
Sheba's eyes narrowed. She had wanted more. Good.
Julius read the law. I barely heard it. All I could hear was my own heart and Malrek's breathing. He looked at me and all the court disappeared for a second.
"Do you choose this?" he asked.
No royal command. No dragon arrogance. Just a man asking the woman he had accidentally married if she was still willing to trust him with something deadly.
My throat tightened. "I choose me," I said. "And right now, me is choosing us."
His fire flared. The first breath of white flame left him. It was not like regular fire. The regular fire was orange and red and greedy. This was beautiful, like a blade held to your throat. White, bright, silent at first, then roaring so loud my bones felt it.
Panic punched through me. The ring heated, but no shield came. My breath hitched. The flame rushed closer. Moses' voice snapped through my memory. Do not run. Do not turn your back. Breathe low. Give it a shape.
I planted my feet. This was heat. I knew heat. Heat baked bread. Heat ruined sugar. Heat turned batter into structure. Heat was not the enemy if you respected it and watched the timing.
I lifted my hand. Come on, I whispered to the ring. Don't act shy now.
Gold burst from my finger. The shield opened in front of me round and bright, snapping into place just as white fire crashed against it. The force drove me back a step. My arm screamed. The air vanished from my lungs. The shield bowed inward, white flame licking around the edges. My apron smoked. Sweat slid down my spine. The ends of my braids lifted in the heat.
One heartbeat. My fear clawed at me.
Two. The shield trembled. I thought of Sheba smiling over my ashes. Absolutely not. I gritted my teeth and pushed my hand forward. Not today. The ring answered. Gold fire surged through the shield, not fighting Malek's flame, but holding it, shaping it, letting it pass around me instead of through me.
Three. The white fire died.
Silence slammed down. I was still standing, barely. For a second, nobody moved. Then one dragon knelt. Then another. Then a whole section of the court lowered to one knee like a wave breaking over stone.
"She lives," Moses said, voice rough with awe.
Julius closed the ledger. "The claim stands proven under old law."
Sheba's face twisted before she caught it. "He softened the flame," she snapped.
[snorts] Moses turned his head slowly. "If Lord Malek had softened that fire, the furnace stones would not be weeping glass."
I looked down. The stone around me had melted in thin silver streams. Oh, that was going to hit me later.
Malachi crossed the circle so fast the ash scattered. He stopped inches from me, hands open, shaking with restraint. "May I?" he asked.
My chest hurt. "Yes," I whispered. "Before I fall and embarrass myself."
He caught me against him. His body was hot, solid, familiar in a way that scared me more than the fire had. I pressed my face briefly against his chest and let myself breathe.
"You are hurt," he demanded.
"My nerves are fried. My arm hates me, and your fire is rude as hell."
His hand cradled the back of my head. "No burns."
I looked up at him. "Your dick better be less dramatic than that."
A strangled sound came from somewhere behind us. Might have been Derek. Might have been Julius.