TRIBRID DRAGON: MATED TO MY ENEMY

AURORA DARETH My room is on fire. And it's my fault. I take a deep breath, trying to control the chaos, but every time I close my eyes, the flames grow. My bedsheet is in ashes. The walls tremble with the force pulsing inside me — something ancient, hungry, that I never asked to awaken. "You're not normal, Aurora." My aunt's words echo like a curse. She always knew. Always looked at me like I was a ticking bomb about to explode. But today is my twenty-first birthday. And the clock has run out. My body burns, but it doesn't hurt. The mirror cracks when I look at myself: my eyes are red like embers, my skin shimmers with golden scales, and shadows dance behind me — as if something is trying to come out. Then I hear it. A voice. Deep. Ancient. And cruel. "The daughter of Fire and Night has awakened." My bedroom door bursts open. It's not my aunt. It's a man. Tall, wearing dark armor, with silver eyes. He points his sword straight at my heart. "Aurora Dareth, by the order of the Two Kingdoms, you must die." His voice doesn't waver. It's cold, sharp, filled with something old — like he's killed before. Like killing is part of who he is. But I don't move. I stand there, frozen. My chest heaving and the entire room glowing in shades of orange, consumed by fire I don’t know how to put out. "Who are you?" my voice comes out shaky. "Why are you doing this?" He doesn’t answer. He just walks toward me with the sword raised, his silver eyes locked on me like blades. Each of his steps makes the floor creak, and the magic around me seems to shudder at his presence. "P-Please, stop!" I scream, backing away until my back hits the wall. "I'm not who you think..." He raises the sword. And I scream. I scream with everything I have, not just from fear, but from rage, from desperation, from confusion. The flames around me explode with the sound of my voice, as if the fire hears me, as if it feels the same agony I do. He hesitates — just for a second — but it's enough. I run. I circle the bed, stumbling over the burnt remains of the mattress, trying to reach the broken door. But he's fast. So fast. A hand wraps around my wrist, yanking me back. "You don't understand!" he growls. "You can't run from this!" "Let go of me! Somebody help!" I kick his shin with all my strength. He grunts and lets go for a moment, and I take the chance to punch him in the chest. I feel the impact against something solid — armor or muscle, I don’t know — but I move back just enough. The flames grow stronger. The ceiling starts to collapse. The heat is unbearable, but inside me, something pulses with life. Something that refuses to die today. "Control it!" he shouts over the roar of the fire. "You're going to kill yourself!" "I don’t know how!" I scream back, tears burning in my eyes. He charges again, sword in hand, and I grab the first thing I see — the lamp on my desk. I hit him with all my strength. The object breaks, sparks fly, and he stumbles back. My leg slips, and I fall to the floor. The palms of my hands scrape against the shards, but I don't stop. I leap to my feet, shaky, and when he turns to me again, something inside me snaps. I raise my hand. And the fire obeys. A blast of flames shoots from my fingers, hitting him square in the chest. He flies back, crashing through the doorframe, his body sliding down the hallway like a doll tossed by the wind. I don’t wait to see if he’ll get up. I run through the house, my bare feet scraping the floor, my eyes burning with smoke and tears. Every step is hard — the house is collapsing. Tiles fall. Walls creak. The fire devours everything. My life is destroyed. Disappearing behind me. I ram the front door open with my shoulder, stumble onto the flaming porch, and fall into the wet grass of the forest surrounding our house. My knees scrape against the dirt. The flames roar behind me, tall, hungry, like a monster finally unleashed. I get up and run. Without looking back. For a while, all I hear is my heartbeat. My feet crushing branches. Blood pounding in my ears. The smoke chases me into the forest, as if the fire refuses to let me go. But then… A sound. Footsteps. Running. Behind me. I glance over my shoulder — and there he is. The man with silver eyes. His armor is partially melted, his hair disheveled, a furious expression on his face. But he hasn't stopped. He still wants me dead. I let out a muffled scream and turn forward again. I run faster. Dodge trees. Leap over roots. I feel my body heating up again, the fire wanting to escape, wanting to protect me — or destroy me. "Stop running, Aurora!" his voice echoes through the forest. "You don’t understand what you’re about to unleash!" "I don’t care!" I shout, my throat tearing. "Leave me alone!" The forest darkens around me, as if responding to the chaos inside me. The branches shake. The wind howls. The ground trembles. And something, deep within, calls to me. A force. A destiny. A truth buried for twenty-one years. But none of that matters now. All that matters… Is that a man broke into my room. Tried to kill me. And now he's chasing me like I’m a monster. Maybe I am. Maybe I’m becoming exactly what they said I would be. But one thing is certain. I will not die tonight.