Free Embracing the Flames by Candace Knoebel

“There’s more to it than you understand.”
    “Like what?”
    He sighed heavily, his eyes scanning the floor. “Aurora, some things are better —”
    “Left unsaid. Yeah, I’ve heard that before. But do you really think keeping me in the dark about what you know about The Fates is going to help?”
    He finally looked at me. “For right now, yes, I do believe it will help you. You would be wise to leave it at that.” The threat was just enough to keep my mouth shut.
    I headed for my room without another word.

    As usual, Astral followed through with his word. Fire-roasted chicken with charred potatoes and a medley of vegetables from his garden filled my belly. My stomach had been shaken up for so long, I had almost forgotten the joy of food.
    Feeling fully sated and surrounded by the ones I loved made me feel homesick for Mily, my foster mother. We always ate a bountiful meal around a table full of love. The triplets always laughed at the funny faces Fenn would make and the silly sounds I created to go along.
    I felt the weight of someone’s gaze on my skin. My eyes instantly met Fenn’s. The laughter and excitement between Logan and Lexi quieted as I lost myself in his smoldering eyes. For a moment, I almost believed we were back in the other realm, waiting for Mily to say a prayer so we could eat. Lexi’s laughter morphed into the triplets’ spirited cries of joy.
    For a moment, I felt at home.
    But then my dad lightly jabbed me in the side as he sat down next to me. “I want to speak with you later. There is something I need to show you.” He smiled and then took a bite of chicken.
    “Okay.” I stuffed my mouth full of chicken. Since I’ve returned, there hasn’t been much time for us to sit down and have a real conversation. Something else always came in the way. There was still so much I didn’t know about him.
    My plate was finished in record timing. Fenn and Astral started clearing the table. “I’m going to go change,” I told my dad with a warm smile. “Meet you by the front door?”
    He answered with an enthusiastic nod.
    I sighed heavily once inside my room and leaned my forehead against the door. “Fenn,” I said to myself, still feeling the weight of homesickness. It didn’t feel right being mad at him.
    “Yes?” I heard from the other side of the door. I lifted my head and stepped back. A heart had been burned into my door. Inside the heart were our initials with an arrow shot through it.
    I rolled my eyes and opened the door with a sigh. When I shut it again, the heart was gone. “I thought you were helping Astral,” I said stiffly.
    “I was, but then I heard you say my name,” he answered with a cocky grin.
    “How did you hear that from over there?”
    He almost smiled. “I will always hear what you have to say, Rory. It’s one of the perks of you being part dragon.”
    “Wait-what?” I coughed, confusion coloring my tone.
    He brushed my hair behind my ears, his eyes burning with love. My mind went a bit dizzy.
    “I read it in a book. Dragons take one mate for life — a soul mate of sorts.” He began to walk around me. “Whether you like it or not,” he said over my shoulder, his breath warming the skin of my neck, “you have already chosen me.” His lips brushed the edge of my ear.
    I closed my eyes, pressing my lips together to try and keep my composure.
    He stepped back. “We were meant to be together,” he said definitively. I could hear the smile in his voice. “We already knew we were soul mates.” Once again he was behind me, running his hands up and down my arms.
    “But you’re not a dragon,” I said.
    “No, but I am destined to be with you which gives me some of the perks of being mated to one.”
    “What kind of perks?”
    “Haven’t figured them all out yet, but I can feel you and you can feel me, in here,” he said, placing his hand against my heart.
    My breath caught and I stepped away from him, trying to shake the tingling need to kiss