Draziel’s POV

  My nightmares always begin the same way. The scene where the capital was drowned in moonroot dust.

  My father's phoenix had just arrived with the information concerning the attack, then arriving at the capital to carcasses and blood baths.

  I was there again, watching a wolf drive star-iron into my father’s chest. He only held on long enough, even severely poisoned; he waited till I came back.

  The dragons only fought back after the death of my father, and I died watching my mother burning from the pain of seeing my father helpless. I watched them burn.

  The time I spent hoping I could stop it before they were reduced to nothing but warm ash could have gone into killing more traitors. I remembered Seraphine clutching Kealith in her arms as we fled.

  We never fought back until we were pushed to the wall. And even with my eyes closed, the anger welled inside me like a restrained stream.

  After the death of Seraphine, I had to fight for Kealith and I, he was so little and incapable of fighting. I remembered fighting for our people's freedom with a child on my back—

  "Mate!!"

  My beast roared to life. A rush of air filled my lungs. I bolted upright, panting and confused. Flames surged through my veins. Then I saw it, a flicker of light in the corner of my room. Someone was there. And whatever they were, they were the source of the chaos boiling in my heart.

  In a blur, I leapt from my bed toward the threat. My beast thrashed inside me, searing my insides like star iron. But this pain was different.

  Mate bond.

  Fire scorched my veins. My beast clawed for release. I grabbed the intruder by the neck, her body, the core of my torment. My vision blurred from exhaustion and fury.

  “Who sent you? Who are you?” I barked.

  The lamp in her hands illuminated her face. A strange familiarity hit me. It was a human. She scratched at my arms. Her breathless pleas finally broke through the haze. I saw her feet dangling above the floor, pinned against the door by my grip.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  The force of the bond overtook me. Scales tore through my skin. I had to leave, or I’d burn her alive.

  Turning sharply, I ran through the glass wall, shattering it as I leapt off the building. My beast ripped through me, wings sprouting violently as I flew into the night sky.

  ~~~~~*****~~~~~~

  Lyra’s POV

  I was led into the room by Maryam, she left me at the door with her prayers, a lamp, and a hidden knife as my only weapon. My heart pounded as I pushed through the door. I was told he would be sleeping, and I expected to kill him in his sleep. Aluminum might not be as effective as star iron, but a dagger to the heart would slow any dragon sire down.

  I expected him to be asleep, but he wasn’t asleep. He twisted in bed, muttering in his dreams, pleading, maybe. My hand tightened around the knife, but I didn’t move. I just watched. His dark hair acted as a fortress beneath his head, and with every twist and turn I felt pulled to touch him. A real Dragon Lord, the strongest mortal in the entire realm.

  Then, like a fog springing from darkness, he grabbed me by the neck.

  The moment our eyes locked, everything changed. They burned like a furnace. The heat of his skin ignited something ancient inside me. I couldn’t hear Estel, but something deeper stirred. My chest ignited. My breath hitched. My knees buckled not from fear, but from recognition. A pull. A calling. Like someone had whispered my true name, and I’d forgotten it until now.

  Mate…

  He snarled, demanding to know who I was, but I was choking. His scales grew beneath his skin, hurriedly tearing into mine. I felt them burn every inch of me as they pierced through my skin. “Please.” Unable to lift my hand, the knife fell from my thigh, but the clinking sound seemed to have gone unnoticed in the heat of the moment.

  At last, he let go. I collapsed, gasping. Too terrified to reach for the knife.

  He staggered back, then turned and leapt through the glass wall, falling from the tall building.

  Taken aback, I ran toward the shattered glass, dreading his fall, just to be overshadowed by the largest creature I had ever seen. A mighty dragon flew into the sky, letting out a high-pitched sound almost damaging my eardrums.

  I fell to my knees, covering both my ears with my hands to stop the painful ringing. Just then, the door burst wide open, and Maryam and Lord Kealith rushed inside.

  “What happened?”

  Still quivering, I couldn’t speak. I was pulled to my feet and dragged out of the room. It was only when I got to a quiet room, far from all the noise, that I noticed I was badly bruised.

  More people entered the room. One of them punched Lord Kealith across the face. He crashed beside me.

  “It was just a prank! Chill! I didn’t know my big brother was too rusty to have sex!” Kealith yelled.

  “You shouldn’t be so stupid, Kealith!” An older male roared. The room fell into silence.

  “Your brother said he doesn’t want to breed with anyone. The least you could do is respect that, you spoiled brat!” Another punch sent Kealith covering his face in defense.

  I was still in shock. My chest ached. The mate bond, whatever it was, had hijacked my senses. I didn’t even know this man, and yet I had been cursed with utmost curiosity.

  A pull far from hatred or fear, a pull I couldn’t name. It awakened something I thought was dead, and in that moment, I fear I felt Estel. If somehow this bond awakened my wolf, it meant my wolf quality and scent might be prominent. Compared to the last time I had a bruise on my body, I could feel my body heal faster.

  “Get out now. Go out there, find Draziel.”

  “Get out. Go find Draziel,” the elder barked.

  He turned to me, grabbing my chin. His expression twisted with displeasure as he took in the burns marring my skin.

  I thought he might notice something—that my supposedly dead wolf had flickered the moment Draziel touched me. I couldn’t see it, but I fear my golden eyes had returned.

  He scoffed and walked away.

  “Treat her. We need every woman we can get.”