CHAPTER 1
984 Words
The city woke to the sound of dragons.
People poured into the streets before sunrise, pointing toward the sky as one dragon after another swept over the capital. Children shouted with excitement, Merchants abandoned their stalls, and Soldiers stood at attention along the palace road while nobles gathered inside the royal courtyard.
Seraphine saw all of it from the back of her crimson dragon. A smile crossed her face as the wind rushed past her. Three years of training had led to this day.
In a few minutes, the crown would be hers. Laughter and music drifted through the city as everyone celebrated the arrival of the dragon clans.
At the center of it all was Seraphine, and she believed her story was only beginning. She had no idea it was already falling apart.
Drums rolled through the streets. Banners the colors of every noble house snapped from balconies, and beneath it all, the roar of the crowd rose to meet the dragons in the sky, thousands of voices blending into one long, breathless sound of celebration.
Seraphine led the procession on the back of her crimson dragon.
For three years, she had trained with him every day, earning his trust one step at a time until they moved as one. The wind tore through her hair, pulling loose the pins that had held it in place.
A smile spread across her face.
She wasn’t afraid; she could hardly believe she was really here.
As a little girl, she’d stood at her bedroom window watching dragon riders soar across the sky, wondering what it would feel like to join them. Now she didn’t have to imagine it anymore. She had finally earned her place among them.
He banked low, wings cutting the wind into ribbons, and dove.
They dropped toward the courtyard at breathtaking speed.
Seraphine held herself still as the ground rushed closer. The people below became clearer with every passing second.
Just before they hit, the dragon opened his wings.
His feet slammed onto the stone, and the impact echoed through the courtyard. Dust lifted into the air as the crowd broke into cheers.
She was off the dragon almost as soon as he landed. The moment her feet touched the ground, she headed straight across the courtyard without looking back.
Beside her, the dragon began to change.
His body changed before her eyes. The scales vanished, and Draven stepped forward in human form. His dark hair was damp from the mist above the clouds, and he looked as calm as if the flight had been nothing more than an ordinary ride.
He held out his hand to her.
Seraphine placed her hand in his without thinking. He helped her with the last few steps to the ground before letting go.
His touch was warm, and for a brief moment, she wished he wouldn’t let go so soon.
"All hail the new Dragon Lord!"
"All hail Lord Seraphine!"
"All hail the new Dragon Lord!"
"All hail Lord Seraphine!"
The crowd's voice rose as one, a wave of sound that broke over her, leaving her breathless. She had heard people cheer before for her father, for the old Dragon Lord, for victories that belonged to other people. She had never once heard them cheer for her.
She crossed the courtyard one step at a time.
Nobles knelt on either side, and the soldiers saluted as she passed, but she barely noticed any of them.
Her attention stayed on her father.
She stopped before him, knelt, and lowered her head.
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears; this was the moment she had spent her whole life preparing for, and there was no turning back now.
"Rise, my daughter." His voice, always so measured, cracked with something close to pride, and when she lifted her eyes to his, she saw they were wet.
Her father lifted the Dragon Crown and placed it gently on her head.
It was colder than she expected. The metal rested against her forehead, and for a brief moment, she forgot about the crowd watching her.
Her father placed the scepter in her hands.
She wrapped her fingers around the dark iron shaft, its handle carved into the shape of a dragon. It weighed more than she expected, and she adjusted her grip before lifting it.
She was no longer preparing to become the Dragon Lord; she was the Dragon Lord.
A single voice rose above the crowd.
“All hail the new Dragon Lord!”
Another answered, then dozens more.
“Long live Lord Seraphine!”
She rose and lifted the scepter high above her head. The sound that answered her was deafening with voices and dragons roaring together. Drums, horns, and something that might have been weeping from the older women near the front, the ones who remembered what the clan had suffered before there was a Dragon Lord strong enough to protect it.
She felt Draven step in behind her; his hand rested lightly against her back before he turned her to face him.
Her father stood only a few steps away. Beyond him were the nobles, the soldiers, and the thousands of people who had gathered to witness the ceremony.
Without saying a word, Draven leaned in and kissed her.
The kiss was gentle, and for a brief moment, everything around her seemed to fade. The cheers, the voices, and the excitement in the crowd no longer reached her. All she could think about was the man standing in front of her.
She looked into his eyes and felt her heart fill with happiness.
“Nothing could take this away from me”, she thought.
She couldn’t have been more wrong; she should have known better than to trust a heartbeat.
The memory vanished as quickly as it had come.
Seraphine blinked, and the world crashed back into focus.
She was on the cold stone floor.
- Writer
