Sir Danny hillith of kattegatt's Arc

Chapter 11 of 13

The stranger traced a line on the page with his finger, showing the dragon mistress something about the frozen chamber's text. She leaned forward, studying the mark, her expression unreadable. Danny sat beside her, his hand still resting on the table near hers. The stranger closed the book and stood, meeting the dragon mistress's eyes with the kind of understanding that comes from shared burdens. She nodded once, and he left without ceremony. The tower door closed behind him, and the sound of his boots on the stairs faded until only silence remained. Danny waited, because waiting was the only thing left he hadn't tried. The dragon mistress turned toward him, and for the first time since he'd confessed his feelings three years ago, she didn't deflect with laughter or offer him tea. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "I've been waiting," she said, her voice quiet and steady. "Not for the right words or the perfect moment. Just for you to stop planning long enough to hear my answer." Danny's throat tightened. She stood and led him to a mirror framed with golden dragons, its surface showing not their reflections but a view of the garden where she'd once found him asleep, smiling at the dirt. "You came to me that day without armor or intention. You've spent three years building walls to protect yourself from my yes." She turned to face him, her hand still in his. "My answer has always been yes, Danny. From the moment I saw you unguarded in that garden." Danny felt something break open in his chest, not the burning of the dragon mark but something older and deeper. All his rehearsed responses dissolved. He wanted to make tea badly and not care at all, but she was already pulling him toward the dragon-carved doorway at the back of her chamber. Beyond it lay a bedroom he'd never seen before, its walls engraved with dragons that seemed to shimmer in the candlelight. A bed sat waiting, and he understood this was the place she'd kept ready while he spent years circling closer. She had been still, patient, building a space for the moment he finally arrived. He didn't need a plan anymore. He just needed to stay.