The town was built almost entirely in stone—the streets, building walls and plazas that gathered people among fountains and bright flowerbeds in the spring. Boutiques and all kinds of shops lined the center while houses flanked the sides, all roads leading to a monument of a dragon standing proudly at the very heart of the small town.

People hustled and bustled about, running errands and greeting each other cheerful good morning’s as friends and not-so-friends passed each other at the market. It was a common scene at the human town of the Southern Kingdom and an old man watched it all from behind the desk of his small souvenir shop.

Shelves and shelves were stacked with all kinds of dragon merchandise, from artificial claws to masks and scales and fire breathing tricks that entertained children to no end. It was a small but simple store, not the most popular but it was one the aging man was happy with.

Had it not been for the dragons, most especially Prince Hyukjae’s efforts to make peace with a bunch of humans he’d found starving in his forest after the war, none of this beautiful town he and his family now live in would’ve existed. He was in great debt and admiration towards the dragons and helped build both the town and this shop to show his gratitude.

A young man stopped at his stall and interrupted the old man’s thoughts, picking up one of the dragon figurines he had displayed out front.

This man wore a cloak that revealed only until his forearm as he raised the figurine for closer inspection.

“You have good eyes,” the old man spoke up, “that right there is a replica of the prince, strongest dragon around these woods.”

 “Is it now?” the man replied, voice smooth.

“Made with the best material at a good price,” he grinned, “could even be fireproof.”

The cloaked stranger only hummed in response, eyes scanning the other fire dragons on display. He looked at each one with interest and reached out, “and what is this?”

“Oh, the pendant? Every dragon has one, never been too sure what it’s for but legend says it’s almost like their hearts,” he said, “made of the hardest diamond, but some dragon pendants glow, some don’t.”

All the old man got in response was a simple nod and silence—silence he used to observe the man a little more closely. His face was almost entirely covered by his hood and the large long-sleeved cloak hid everything except the rucksack on his shoulders.

“Say,” the stranger spoke again while he turned Hyukjae’s figurine over in his hands, “do any of these come in blue?”

Silence.

A small, almost invisible smirk.

The old man’s deep breath.

“Blue dragons… I don’t think there are any, th-they don’t exist.”

“Don’t exist?” he set the figurine down and leaned forward.

“That’s r-right, it’s impossible.”

“It’s not,” He whispered, “ after all, I’ve seen one with my own eyes.”

With that, the man turned to walk away but before he could get far, the old man managed to speak up.

“Who are you?”

The cloaked stranger only waved a hand, not bothering to turn back.

“Just a traveller passing through.”

❄

Hyukjae considered himself to be quite the sensible, levelheaded thinker.

His position as royalty and the responsibility he held over an entire kingdom did not allow him the luxury of submitting to his emotions like a fire dragon should. He thought clearly, strategized, weighed options before making decisions and Hyukjae took pride in that. He refused to be the impulsive dragon his father was, but at the same time, neither did he want to be the softhearted royal his mother had been.

Hyukjae prided himself to be a prince of stature—admired but feared, firm but approachable, considerate but his final word was deemed law. He’d run his kingdom this way since the war and he had no plans of changing that.

It was no surprise then, that Hyukjae’s stress and frustrations shot through the roof when he had every sensible decision in his head, but could not execute them. He avoided Heechul’s questions, remained vague about his trip past the Wall, and left no room for discussion when he ordered the western hemisphere specifically void of any scouts or search parties.

“I checked it myself,” he’d said to Yesung one strategy meeting, “the coast is clear, and it’d be a waste of time and effort to travel there for surveillance.”

Why did he say that.

Yesung didn’t even ing ask about the West.

Hyukjae bit back a groan as the Head of Weaponry agreed with a curt, slightly confused nod, before turning to leave his throne room.

And despite everything, Hyukjae still found himself flying to the very same West he ordered clear of scouts, cruising over the familiar path of trees that led to the hideout built exclusively for royals.

True to his word, Hyukjae had returned the next day and the day after that, and a few days after that. Even though he argued with Donghae every time he did, be it big fights or petty fights he would still return and it quickly became part of his routine. But he didn’t often stay long and other times he didn’t even go inside—he’d sit outside and just listen to the sound of Donghae’s breathing.

This time, the sun had already begun to set when he landed in front of an entrance well concealed behind a wall of vines, some of which had suspiciously frozen over. Hyukjae glared at the icy foliage until they melted back to normal, and sighed before entering he cave.

It was with little surprise that he found the floors and walls covered with four inches of rock hard ice—a blue serpent draped on the cold ground, its tail swinging from left to right.

“What did I say about letting your dragon out?”

At the sound of his voice, Donghae lifted his head and shifted seamlessly, blond hair bouncing about as he skid to a stop in front of Hyukjae.

“You’re back!”

Red eyes narrowed at Donghae’s surprised but excited smile.

“And you…” Hyukjae glanced at the ice walls, “redecorated.”

“I didn’t mean to,” a sheepish grin, “I woke up and it was like this.”

“Unfreeze it.”

“I can’t.”

Hyukjae snapped, “what do you mean you can’t?”

“I can’t do it,” Donghae shook his head, “I can’t melt my own ice…”

Heavy silence hung between them—words that were clearly unsaid and Donghae’s increasingly troubled look made Hyukjae grunt and shove past him. “Do as you wish.”

Donghae bit back a smile as he watched Hyukjae melt a portion of the ice only large enough for him to sit.

“Come,” He beckoned.

Donghae walked over and sat cross-legged in front of him, leaving a comfortable space between them despite how much he wanted to press himself against the dark haired prince. But his breath caught in his throat when Hyukjae leaned forward and carted slender fingers through Donghae’s blond hair.

“This won’t do,” he muttered.

Donghae winced at the warm skin that met his scalp in a hiss.

"Your arm… there’s steam.”

Hyukjae raised a delicate brow, “Not only is the evening cold, but my cave has been turned into a block of ice.”

As if to prove his point, Hyukjae gestured to his entire upper body blanketed in steam, his scalding body temperature struggling to adjust to the iced walls around him. Donghae ducked his head at the sight—both in apology and shame for letting his eyes wander past the milky line of the fire dragon’s shoulders.

“Hold your head up,” two warm fingers tapped Donghae’s chin once, twice. “A dragon must handle himself with grace and eloquence, what more in the presence of a royal?”

A snide retort of you’re not my royal was caught at the tip of Donghae’s tongue as he stared into deep red eyes and leaned forward, his breath mingling with Hyukjae’s. He was vaguely aware of the heated gaze that ran a line from his temple to his jaw and down to his neck, struggling not to catch Hyukjae’s stare which Donghae somehow felt grew more intense each day.

They had not kissed since then.

No, Hyukjae had refused to come close enough for even their skin to touch.

Donghae saw no problem with it—even gazing at the skin of Hyukjae’s nape was enough for him to palpitate, what more the fire dragon smell of musk and ash that used to be rancid to him but now smelled nothing but sweet and alluring?

There was a pull from Hyukjae’s dragon that clawed for Donghae’s touch, and a pull equally strong from his own dragon that craved the same and more, but Hyukjae refused to acknowledge this and Donghae was beyond confused with these new emotions.

What were they to each other? Friend? Foe?

Why was he even still alive?

Donghae didn’t know and clearly, he wasn’t going to get answers from the fire dragon anytime soon.

So they kept their distance.

Until Hyukjae started running his hands through Donghae’s blond hair and Donghae inched closer, closer still.

“Hyukjae…”

“This won’t do,” he muttered again, “you can’t hunt like this.”

“Hunt?”

Hyukjae struggled to remain calm at the clear excitement in Donghae’s voice.

“You’ve emptied my supplies, have you not?”

Donghae glanced at the torn up boxes that littered the back of the cave and bowed in guilt.

“Head up,” two fingers tapped his chin again, “you haven’t eaten in weeks.”

“This place is laced with magic,” Donghae groaned.

It was evident from the deep claw marks lining the walls—visible even under the layers of Donghae’s ice—that he’d tried time and time again to escape the cave. Hyukjae could feel his mate’s discomfort prickling off his skin in this closed space and as much as the thought irritated him, he had a strong urge to make that discomfort disappear.

“And so, we hunt.”

At that instant, Donghae disappeared and a blue serpent dove towards the entrance of the cave, sharp claws desperately digging against his own ice lining the wall. But before he could dig deeper, a black dragon tackled him midway, pinning him down with Hyukjae’s roar ringing loudly in his ears. There was little distance between the two snouts and two sets of sharp teeth fixed in snarls.

‘Shift!’ Hyukjae ordered with a growl, ‘now!’

The blue dragon beneath him squirmed, a sound between a groan and a whine escaping between its clenched teeth.

‘I want to hunt.’

‘Donghae!’

‘Hunt!’

‘You may hunt!’ He roared, two balls of fire conjuring on either side of Donghae’s head—large enough to make him dizzy but small enough to keep him aware and conscious. ‘But under my rules. Is that understood?’

Donghae stilled and huffed out mist.

‘Now shift.’

Blue scales were replaced by soft skin and blond hair, but the same clear blue eyes stared almost submissively at the black dragon that hovered above him.  

Hyukjae could feel it; in the way his blood ran furiously through his veins and his claws curled with raw desire as he stared into those wide blue eyes—he could feel it. But Hyukjae was a fire dragon and he refused to succumb to the likes of a lowly ice dragon. No matter how enticing Donghae was, or how strong his desire to possess him.

‘Rule number 1,’ he huffed, ‘When we’re outside, you listen to me and no one else.’

Donghae frowned, “why should I—”

‘Number two. No dragon. If I see your little snake out in the open, I’m going to drag you back here myself, with or without food.’

In this territory, he wanted it clear who the dragon in charge was.

‘Three. If you’re seen, if you’re caught, if you’re spoken to by anyone else but me, we do not know each other and I have nothing to do with you.’

He saw hurt flash in Donghae’s eyes.

‘And four.’ Hyukjae leaned forward and shifted to his human form, careful not to inhale too much of Donghae’s scent while holding a lock of his blond hair, “we have a problem to fix.”

❄

It was odd how a simple change in hair color could dramatically alter his entire look, but watching Donghae speed through the trees with swift footsteps that were a little difficult for Hyukjae to keep up with, he could not deny how dark hair brought out the twinkle in Donghae’s clear blue eyes.

Maybe it was because Hyukjae never had the chance to see those eyes under the sun or maybe because he’d never allowed himself to stare too long at his mate, but whenever Donghae would turn around just to smile at him, Hyukjae imagined a puppy finally let loose out of his cage, running around with a tail furiously wagging left and right.

He wondered what could be so wonderful about a forest that had Donghae look the epitome of excitement the moment he stepped out of the cave.

“The spell will only last a few hours,” he’d told him when Donghae did nothing but stare at everything in awe, “so use your time wisely--”

Had it not been for the strong famil