Chapter thirty two- A kiss to shut me up
The doors shut behind Liora with a heavy, metallic thud that echoed through the chamber like the closing of a vault.
The sound reverberated in her chest, final and cold, sealing her inside the testing room with the examiners, Kael, and the looming machinery that waited in the center.
The air felt colder here, sharper, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
Ashwing pressed close behind her, his claws scraping against the reinforced stone floor.
His wings were half?spread, his body coiled with tension, every muscle ready to strike.
The chamber was large enough for him to move freely, but he stayed glued to her side, his golden eyes fixed on the examiners with a predator's focus.
The examiners didn't flinch. They moved with the same clinical precision as before, their robes whispering against the floor as they approached a metal table lined with instruments. Glass vials. Needles. Strange devices she didn't recognize. The sight made her stomach twist.
One of them gestured toward a raised platform.
"Liora. Stand here."
Her feet felt heavy, but she forced herself forward. Ashwing followed, rumbling low, his tail curling protectively around her legs. The examiner paused, glancing at the dragon with a flicker of irritation.
"He must step back."
"He won't," Liora said quietly.
Ashwing growled, as if to confirm it.
Kael stepped forward then, silent until now. His presence was a cold weight in the room, controlled and unreadable. He didn't look at her directly, but he positioned himself between her and the examiners, just slightly — a subtle shift, but enough to make the examiners hesitate.
He gave her a small nod.
A silent message.
It's alright.
She didn't know if she believed him, but the gesture steadied her enough to breathe.
The examiner approached with a needle. Liora's pulse spiked. She hated needles. She hated the coldness in their eyes even more. She held out her arm anyway, jaw clenched.
The needle slid in. The vial filled with dark red.
Ashwing roared.
The sound shook the chamber, dust falling from the high arches. The examiner jerked back in alarm, nearly dropping the vial. Ashwing's wings snapped open, his body rising to full height, towering over them. His snarl echoed like thunder.
Kael didn't touch him — he knew better. Instead, Kael spoke sharply, his voice cutting through the tension.
"Stand down. She's unharmed."
Ashwing didn't stand down. His growl deepened, his tail lashing across the floor in warning. He would not be soothed by anyone but Liora.
The second examiner stepped forward, holding a larger needle designed for dragons.
"We will now collect the dragon's sample."
Ashwing's reaction was immediate. His wings flared wider, his body shifting to shield Liora completely. His teeth bared, a deep, guttural snarl ripping from his chest. The floor trembled beneath his claws.
The examiner hesitated but didn't step back.
Kael moved before anyone else could.
"I'll take it," he said sharply.
The examiner blinked. "That is not—"
"It's the only way you'll get it without losing an arm."
His tone left no room for argument. But Ashwing didn't calm. His wings stayed flared, his body rigid with the instinct to protect Liora. His eyes flicked between Kael and the examiners, torn between distrust and fury.
Kael didn't approach yet. He knew he couldn't.
He looked at Liora instead.
"Tell him," Kael said quietly. "He'll only listen to you."
Liora's heart clenched. She stepped forward quickly, placing both hands on Ashwing's snout, pressing her forehead to his scales. His breath was hot and steady, his muscles coiled like a drawn bow.
"Ashwing," she whispered, voice trembling but firm. "It's okay. Let Kael do it."
Ashwing's growl vibrated through her bones. His wings twitched, and for a moment she thought he would refuse. She stroked the ridge above his eye, grounding him with her touch
"It's alright," she said again. "Kael won't hurt us."
Ashwing's posture shifted. Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his head. His body remained tense, but he held still — not for the examiners, not for the Academy, but for her.
Only then did Kael approach.
He did not touch Ashwing's snout or neck.
He kept his movements controlled, respectful of the dragon's boundaries.
He positioned himself beside the massive foreleg, finding a vein beneath the scales with practiced precision.
Ashwing's eyes followed him the entire time, unblinking, ready to strike if Kael made one wrong move.
Kael inserted the needle. Ashwing flinched but didn't lash out. The vial filled with shimmering, iridescent blood — dragon blood, rare and powerful.
When Kael stepped back, Ashwing immediately pressed himself against Liora, rumbling with protective fury.
The examiners collected the vials without a word and moved toward the far end of the chamber, where a reinforced door led deeper into the facility.
"That is for today," one of them said.
The door shut behind them.
Silence fell.
Ashwing's growl echoed softly, a low, restless sound. Liora's heart hammered in her chest. She turned to Kael, anger rising like fire in her throat.
"You told me the eggshell would buy us time."
Kael's jaw tightened. He didn't look away.
"It was supposed to."
"Supposed to?" Her voice rose, sharp and trembling. "They took my blood, Kael. They took his blood. That's not time — that's the beginning of something worse."
"Liora—"
"No." Her voice cracked. "You promised."
Her words echoed through the chamber, louder than she intended. Too loud.
Kael moved in a flash.
In a moment he was right in front of her, the air shifting with the force of his movement. His hands came up to her face — urgent, steady, commanding — and before she could even gasp, his mouth was on hers again.
The kiss didn't stop after the first sharp press.
He held her there for another heartbeat.
And another.
Long enough for her breath to catch.
Long enough for her pulse to stumble.
Long enough for her to feel the heat of him, the tension in him, the fear he was trying to hide.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't soft.
It wasn't meant to be anything but a warning.
But it lingered.
His lips stayed on hers just a fraction too long — long enough that she felt the tremor in his breath, long enough that she felt the way he leaned into her before he forced himself to pull back. Long enough that her heart slammed against her ribs in a way she couldn't control.
Ashwing's growl vibrated through the floor, but even that felt distant, muffled beneath the shock flooding her senses.
Kael didn't step away immediately.
He stayed close, his forehead nearly brushing hers, their breaths mixing in the cold air.
She could feel the warmth of him, the tension in his shoulders, the way he held himself too still — as if he was fighting something inside himself as fiercely as he was fighting the danger around them.When he pulled back, his voice was low and fierce.
"Someone could hear you."
Liora didn't breathe for a moment. Her lips still tingled from the sudden pressure of his, and the shock of it sent a jolt through her chest that she hated herself for feeling.
Anger flared first — sharp, hot, justified — but it tangled instantly with something far more dangerous.
Her heart was racing, not only because he had silenced her, but because part of her had wanted that closeness again, had craved it since the training grounds.
The memory of that first kiss — the one he pretended never happened — crashed into her with humiliating force.
She felt furious at him for using her like that, furious at herself for reacting, furious that her body betrayed her even when her mind screamed at him.
Heat rushed to her face, not just from anger but from the way her pulse leapt the moment his mouth touched hers.
She hated that she noticed the warmth of him, the steadiness of his grip, the way he always smelled faintly of steel and cold air.
She hated that she wanted more than a kiss meant to silence her.
She hated that she cared.
"You kissed me to shut me up?"
"Yes."
The word cut through her, but not in the way she expected. It hurt — not because he admitted it, but because it confirmed what she already feared: that the kiss meant nothing to him. That the moment she couldn't stop thinking about was, to him, a tool. A tactic. A necessity.
Her stomach twisted painfully. She wanted to scream at him, hit him, kiss him again — she didn't even know which urge was stronger. The confusion burned through her, raw and humiliating, and she hated that he could do this to her with a single touch.
Ashwing growled, sensing her distress, but Kael didn't step back. He held her gaze, his eyes burning with something she couldn't name.
"You are safe for now," he said, voice steady, "they want tests. Nothing more."
"And later?" she whispered.
Kael's silence was answer enough.
He exhaled slowly, the mask slipping just enough for her to see the fear beneath.
"If they come for you again before graduation," he said, "you run."
Her breath caught.
"Run where?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Straight to my father."
She blinked.
"Your father? Alone?"
"Yes."
The word was final, heavy, carrying a weight she didn't understand yet.
Ashwing pressed closer, rumbling with unease.
Liora swallowed hard.
Her blood ran cold.
Kael stepped back then, the mask sliding fully into place again, shutting her out.