Chapter 2: The Dragon Prince's Claim
1204 Words
The silence that followed was suffocating.
The entire royal courtyard seemed to hold its breath, every noble, guard, and commoner staring at Elara’s marked hand in stunned disbelief. The golden Dragon’s Mark still glowed against her skin, its intricate design pulsing with an unseen power.
This was not supposed to happen.
Elara could barely think past the racing of her heart. A moment ago, she had been just another face in the crowd. Now, she was being branded as the mate of the Dragon Prince himself—a role meant for a noblewoman, not a commoner who had spent most of her life struggling to survive.
Kael Draven had not looked away from her. His golden eyes burned with something unreadable—anger, suspicion, maybe even something deeper. He took a slow step toward her, towering over her, his presence suffocatingly intense.
“Who are you?” his voice was low, commanding.
Elara opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
And then—
“She’s a fraud!”
The shrill voice cut through the tense air, and Elara barely had time to react before Lady Selene Voss—the woman everyone had assumed would be the prince’s mate—stepped forward, her face twisted with fury.
“She must have used some kind of trick,” Selene spat, her blue eyes burning with accusation. “There is no way a lowborn nobody could have been chosen by the flame!”
The murmurs in the crowd grew louder. The nobles were shifting uneasily, some nodding in agreement with Selene, others too stunned to speak.
Elara clenched her fists, pulse hammering in her ears. She had expected resistance, but the intensity of the hostility directed at her was staggering.
“I—I didn’t do anything,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. “I didn’t even step forward. The fire chose me.”
“Lies,” Selene hissed, taking another step forward. “She’s nothing more than a—”
“That’s enough.”
Kael’s voice cut through the growing chaos, and instantly, the crowd fell silent.
Elara turned to him, her breath catching as she realized just how close he had moved. He was watching her with sharp, calculating eyes, his gaze flickering between her face and the mark on her wrist.
Whatever thoughts were running through his mind, he was keeping them to himself.
Kael turned to the priestess. “The fire does not lie,” he said. “If the mark has appeared on her, then she has been chosen.”
“But Your Highness—” Selene started, but Kael silenced her with a single glare.
His jaw tensed. Then, after a long pause, he turned back to Elara.
“If the gods have chosen you…” He extended his hand. “Then you belong to me now.”
Elara’s breath hitched.
This was too much. Too fast.
She took an instinctive step back, but before she could react further—
The guards moved.
In an instant, she was surrounded.
Her stomach twisted. No, no, no.
She wasn’t given a choice.
Kael’s hand closed around her wrist, firm and unyielding, as the glow of the Dragon’s Mark pulsed between them.
And just like that, her fate was sealed.
---
Elara had always thought the palace was beautiful. Even as a child, when she had wandered its halls as a servant, she had marveled at the towering marble pillars, the endless corridors lined with golden sconces, and the enormous stained-glass windows that told the history of the Draven dynasty.
But now, as she was escorted past those same halls under armed guard, the palace felt less like a home and more like a gilded cage.
“This is madness,” Lyria whispered at her side, struggling to keep up with the hurried pace of the guards. “You should run. We should run.”
“I don’t think that’s an option,” Elara muttered.
Lyria shot her a look, but before she could argue further, they reached a set of heavy wooden doors. The guards pushed them open, revealing an opulent chamber unlike anything Elara had ever seen.
A massive blackstone fireplace crackled with warm flames, casting flickering shadows across the ornate tapestries lining the walls. A grand bed, large enough to fit three people, was draped in silk sheets of gold and crimson. The air smelled of smoke, leather, and something distinctly masculine.
Elara barely had time to take it all in before the doors slammed shut behind her.
She turned just in time to see Kael standing across the room, arms crossed, watching her like a predator assessing its prey.
“You’re not a noble,” he said, voice dangerously low.
Elara lifted her chin. “No, I’m not.”
“You weren’t supposed to be chosen.”
She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Believe me, I know.”
Kael’s golden eyes narrowed. He took a slow step toward her, the firelight casting sharp shadows across his strong features.
“Then explain to me why the sacred flame ignored every noblewoman and marked you instead.”
Elara swallowed hard.
“I don’t know.”
It was the truth. She had never expected this—had never even believed such fairy tales could apply to her.
Kael exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked frustrated, but there was something else beneath the irritation. Something… unsettled.
Elara’s gaze flickered to his wrist, where his own Dragon’s Mark was now pulsing in sync with hers.
A shiver ran down her spine.
The bond was real.
And there was no turning back.
---
Kael paced the room, tension radiating from his every movement.
Elara knew she had to tread carefully. Whatever happened next would determine her fate.
Finally, Kael stopped pacing. He turned to her, his expression unreadable.
“You will stay here,” he said. “Under my protection.”
Elara’s breath caught. “You mean under your watch.”
Kael’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Call it what you like.”
Her pulse pounded. “And if I refuse?”
Kael tilted his head slightly, as if amused by the very thought. “Then you’ll be arrested, tried for deception, and executed by the end of the week.”
Cold fear gripped her.
So that was it. She wasn’t being given a choice at all.
Elara gritted her teeth. “Why do you care so much?”
Kael stepped closer, his voice a low growl. “Because the moment that mark appeared on you, you became my responsibility.”
He leaned in, his presence overwhelming. “And I don’t take my responsibilities lightly.”
Elara’s breath hitched.
This was a battle she couldn’t win.
Not yet.
So instead, she did the only thing she could.
She nodded.
Kael studied her for a long moment before stepping back.
“Good,” he said. “Then from this moment forward, you belong to me."
And as the words settled between them, Elara knew one thing for certain.
She had just stepped into a game far more dangerous than she ever imagined.
And she wasn’t sure she would survive it.
- Writer
