REBORN: CHOSEN BY THE DRAGON KING

CHAPTER 2

LYRA

The first thing I think is that I'm dead. The fall killed me.

But when I open my eyes, I feel an intense heat. It's not like the heat of the sun. It's stronger.

I blink twice before turning my head and then I see.

Golden rocks. Walls black as obsidian. And the smell… ashes. As if the world had ended and been reborn in fire.

My whole body hurts, and then I remember the fall. The cliff. The sound of the wind when I was pushed. I remember Kael’s face turning — cold, empty — and then, nothing.

Now, I’m lying on a stone platform.

Pillars of magma flow around, as if the blood of the earth were alive. The heat wraps around me like an invisible skin. Frighteningly familiar.

"Where am I?" I murmur, trying to sit up.

"In the temple of the dragons."

The deep voice startles me and I turn my head. He is there.

The King of Dragons. He is real.

Tall. Imposing. Dressed in an open robe that reveals a broad, muscular chest marked with golden tattoos that glow under the firelight.

His eyes are golden, as if they are burning right now.

He analyzes me as he walks toward me.

"You… you're real," I whisper.

He just watches me, unhurried, merciless.

"I thought I was dead."

"You should be," he replies, descending the steps of the altar. "The fall kills everyone. But you… you survived, and that has never happened before."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"Something didn’t kill you. You are different from all the others."

"I'm just a rejected werewolf with no pack now..." I whisper, tears in my eyes.

My hands tremble. Kael’s image floods my mind. That icy look. The accusation. He believed I betrayed him. And he threw me away. Gave me up. Like trash.

"He threw me away," I whisper. "Kael thought I betrayed him..."

"And so he condemned you. Without proof. Without mercy."

He stops in front of me. His shadow swallows me whole.

"You were offered to me as a sacrifice. As if I were a monster starving for scraps."

My eyes fill with tears. Hatred, pain, disbelief. Everything spins inside me.

"Then take me back," I plead.

"No. You no longer belong to them. You were given to me."

I struggle to stand, even though my legs wobble. The hatred inside me burns hotter than all the fire around.

"I’ll do anything to see them burn," I say through gritted teeth. "Anything. Please."

I kneel before him. My voice breaks.

"I beg you."

He watches me. The smoke seems to move with him. The entire temple breathes.

"You’re asking me to destroy your own pack."

"I'm begging for them to pay."

"It’s not that simple. There is a price."

"I accept."

"Without knowing what it is?"

"Anything."

He walks around me like a predator. I follow him with my eyes, but remain on my knees.

I blink, feeling my skin shiver under his gaze.

"Marry me."

I feel my stomach sink.

"What?"

"Become my queen. The Queen of Dragons."

"Why?"

"Because dragon blood runs through your veins. You were marked by fire before you were even born. That’s why the fall didn’t kill you."

My mind refuses it, but something deep down… knows it’s true. I’ve always been different. Always resistant to heat. Always out of place.

"And there’s more," he says, now standing behind me. "If you want vengeance, true vengeance… you will have to burn what you love the most."

I turn slowly.

"What do you want from me?"

He lifts my chin with a flaming claw. His eyes pierce mine.

"I want your life. Your vow. Your body. Your soul."

My heart beats too fast.

"You will be mine. And in return, they will all burn."

Kael. His father. The woman who lied. All of them. Each face appears like glowing embers.

The king takes another step toward me, so close now I can feel the intense heat from his body.

I stop breathing when I feel his hand touching my neck, where Kael’s mark should be on my body — but there’s nothing there.

Marrying a thousand-year-old dragon was never in my plans, but he’s my best chance and I need to take it.

"What is your answer? Will you be mine?"

"I accept," I whisper.

He extends his hand. Helps me up. Begins to speak in an ancient, powerful language that makes the ground vibrate beneath my feet.

I feel fear, but my mind screams not to be afraid of him. He is the strongest being in this world. Only he can give me what I need.

Then he grabs my wrist.

"This will hurt."

"I’ve felt worse pain today."

With his claws, he begins to draw a symbol on my skin. A circle of flames. Ancient lines. Magic. The heat is unbearable.

I scream.

The pain cuts through me as if I’m being split in two.

Tears fall uncontrollably. The smell of scorched flesh fills the temple.

"You are marked as mine now. You are no longer a rejected werewolf," he says.

I wipe the tears from my eyes as I see him approach me again.

"Don’t move..." he whispers, and I obey.

I look at my wrist, feeling his breath against my face. The king brushes his fingers over my lips before kissing my neck.

I close my eyes, clinging to his shoulders.

My heart feels like it’s going to stop at any moment.

I don’t move. I just dig my nails into his skin when I feel his dragon fangs piercing my neck.

The pain is a thousand times worse, but I accept it gladly in this moment.

He moans against my neck, and I moan louder, feeling more tears wetting my face.

It’s like he injects lava into my veins. I struggle.

I scream once more. One final scream.

And then… everything goes dark.

But before I pass out, my eyes open one last time.

They are on fire.

"Sweet Lyra, the world will fear you now..."