King Eros’s ChamberDagen came to Eros’ chamber and listened there’s someone else in the room was talking with his father. And the sound was belonged to a strange woman.Dagen entered the room. He saw Eros was staring blankly at a well of water as if a conversation just been finished.“Who were you talking to?” Dagen asked confusedly, he didn’t see anyone else in the room.“Myself.” Eros stuttered.Dagen shrugged his shoulder for the king often times appeared to be in a trance.Then he immediately started recount everything he had overheard at Amaya’s door. To his surprise, his father didn’t express much shock upon hearing the information. The signs of his aging, however, seemed more evident. His eyes were tired, back hunched.“Father?” Dagen raised his voice to get Eros’ attention, “Are you listening to me?”Eros returned to the present, pulling himself out of his wandering mind. “Ah, yes. I heard you.”“Well? Say something!” Dagen demanded; he had always been a little hotheaded and
The second Thorn heard mention of his half sister’s name, he felt his dragon blood freeze. Not now! Thorn thought. Leila was still sulking, angry at him for some mysterious reason, and he knew it was somehow related to Rina. But her sudden appearance in the Jubilee Inn would only worsen the situation. He decided he’d better stay put. “Erm…Ben?” Thorn cleared his throat and turned around to look at Ben, using it as an excuse to peek at Leila. To his vast terror, Leila’s face had grown even redder. “Go to the princess and find out what she wants.” “On it!” Ben peeled away from Leila and raced out through the front gate. Due to their constant practical experience on the battlefield, each of the knights and warriors in the room possessed an ability to precisely analyze their surroundings. They could sense that their prince was in trouble; they knew he was extremely nervous, even though he didn’t show it. Shortly after, Ben returned and loudly reported to Thorn, “The princess said she w
Thorn rushed into the bedroom like a fierce storm. Leila turned around in shock. She was just about to change back into her usual clothing and was completely naked.“Thorn,” Leila uttered her prince’s name softly, “What are you…”Thorn paced towards her and suddenly picked her up, kissing her lips passionately. Leila felt his tongue, hot and wet in her mouth. “I missed you terribly,” Thorn said while taking off his clothes.Leila was surprised by her own physical response. She felt her body uncontrollably thirsting for him. All her previous sadness and anger had vanished with his ravishing kiss. She remembered something and pulled away from the kiss for a moment. “But you’re poisoned! I was told that you can’t…”“I’m fully recovered.” Thorn laid his lips back onto hers. Leila decided to give in and put everything behind them. She completely indulged in the kiss and helped him take off his clothes.Leila looked into Thorn’s dark eyes. She only sensed love, and felt like she was the lu
Thorn seemed to be in a bad mood; he hadn’t said a word the whole morning. His usual icy and regal air had further deepened, so everyone chose to just leave him alone.He was, indeed, in a terrible mood. Learning that Leila was the lost princess of the Stormy Clan had struck him unexpectedly. There had always been a faint voice, lingering in the deepest recesses of his dragon soul, telling him that Leila was no ordinary girl, that she was different from any women he had ever encountered. But he had deliberately ignored that voice. It gave him an uncomfortable feeling that went against his true desires. He’s afraid that the Mother Dragon may take her away from him.Stormy Clan was an ancient dragon clan, the origin of all dragon spirits. It had a direct connection with the dragon divinity. But the whole clan had vanished, following the death of the Father Dragon. His queen, the Mother Dragon, was too devastated to continue ruling. She soaked in her own tears every day. Her body became
Remus arrived at a large house at the edge of King’s Harbor. The house had a gloomy air, blanketed in shadow behind ghostly trees. Messy twigs and thorny weeds snaked around the deserted yard. It was an abandoned orphanage. The cruel owner was a grumpy old man, with a pale complexion and a bald head. He had been collecting stray dragon boys and girls his entire miserable life, selling them to high-ranking lords for gold. They earned him every penny he owned, but he treated the children terribly, beating and starving them, all except for one particular boy.“The surprise I told you about is in that house,” he said to Fenris, the second prince of the northern realm, as he rang the large bell hanging on the door. Fenris glanced around their surroundings, thinking it was the perfect place; no one would suspect that the young wolf prince, his competitor to the throne, was hidden there.The old man came to the door, staggering. He wore a decent green robe and with expensive silver trimmed s
Main Palace The first thing Dagen had to do when he returned to the palace from the Misty Mountains was to find the trapped dragon queen. He was pacing back and forth in front of Amaya’s chamber door and hesitated whether to talk with her or not. As the firstborn of the current dragon king and queen, so many thing should have been his, like the power of the throne and respect as the first silver bloodline prince; yet Dagen had always been in an awkward position. According to tradition, Thorn would inherit the throne as the dragon king’s firstborn, regardless of whether Tora was dead or alive. But he had never cared about the throne. All he really wanted was a caring family, which was impossible. There was always competition among the dragon princes. He was lucky to be physically adept and posses incredible strength. But he’d never been as ambitious as Remus. Even if Dagen had beat him in a fight, he would never give him a feeling of satisfaction. Complements he’d earned from the dra
At the end of a busy street, there was a quiet lane heavily overgrown with maple trees. Steep, rocky mountains stretched behind the swath of murky brown woods. According to Oswald’s map, Slathar was concealed just beyond the path.Leila was sitting on a swing, leaning against rough hemp ropes. She hid herself among the gorgeous golden foliage, and was listening to the leaves rustling in the wind.Since they arrived at the Craggy Mountains, she had felt a sense of inexplicable exhaustion. Her mind was working slower as well. The whole morning, she had been observing the cotton-shaped clouds in the sky without taking much notice of her surroundings, as if the clouds weren’t far-off from the ground, but floated above her, only skin deep. Leila’s senses seemed enhanced. She could even predict the weather hours in advance. The humidity in the air rose, and the clouds grew darker as sparrows flew lower. She knew that heavy rainfall would hit the town very soon, as the morning chill had alre
The Dark TunnelFenris had decided to carry out his plan. He entered the dark tunnel connected to the outside of King’s Harbor, and its damp chill dissipated the unbearable heat. The dragon capital’s hot climate was one thing he couldn’t stand. One more reason to quickly settle his business and return to the north.The second prince of the werewolf kingdom wasn’t a fan of the dragon realm, nor would he visit if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. But it would be foolish not to invade during such a rare opportunity. The whole nation had lost their dragon spirits, which meant they had lost their power. He had been waiting for his chance ever since.He believed that the scarred dragon prince would never discover his true intentions. Remus’s ambition had never disappointed him. From the day he learned Remus planned to steal Thorn’s throne, he had started to carry out his plan. He orchestrated the attack at Ironedge to establish contact between the two kingdoms and even offered the poison to R
Bolts of lightning snaked out from the scepter and scorched the entire dragon skeleton. The energy of the almighty power had given a life to the dormant, ancient bones. It was the undying existence of Father Dragon. The ashes were his flesh, burnt and crystallized.Thorn felt his dragon spirit quiver and heart grow empowered. He looked down at Leila. Her skin was glistened with a creamy glow, like a pearl, as she held the scepter like a goddess. He sensed that she was different; a more powerful being was connected to her soul.Then, the dragon eggs were lit up one by one. Soon, they illuminated the entire room.Olcan withdrew to the back of the room and tried to get away, but he was spotted by Thorn.The dragon scooped him up with his claws, then smashed him onto the ground, flashing his teeth and ready to bite off Olcan's head.Ben suddenly appeared behind them. He walked forward, restraining the urge to shift into a wolf. He moved past Leila to reach Thorn. His skin tickled from the
The MoonlightLeila was free-falling. Her hair was flying upwards. She was surrounded by darkness. She tried to reach, to grab onto anything around her, but there was nothing she could do to slow the fall. Fear flashed across her mind, but it was too brief to take notice. The faint gleaming of the scepter in her hands anchored her—it was a part of her. The constant noise of water sloshing was gone. She felt a tickling sensation in her throat as the air became drier and hotter. Then she heard the same whisper again,Sla..thar... Sla.. thar..As the sound grew louder and clearer, for the first time ever, Leila felt the power the word carried with it. It seemed like some sort of energy was resonating within her, shattering her muscles and bones, affecting her mind and thoughts as if an unknown power was waiting for her, and it was buried deep down below.She couldn’t possibly know how far she had been falling. When she landed, the ground was strewn with smoldering ashes and cushioned her
Thorn stepped up. He placed himself between Olcan and the water sphere Leila and his baby were in.He stared at the wolf king with a deadly glare, and said with the coldest tone possible, as if every syllable was made of a sharp blade, “It was you all along.”Olcan responded with a wicked grin, pulling the string of the crossbow in his hands, aiming at the sphere, “I suggest you back off, dragon prince, if you don’t want to die with Mother Dragon. I should have killed her along with her annoying husband that day. But after I finally killed that old wretch, I was already too exhausted, giving her a chance to escape.”“But Eros’ ring... how did you get the ring?” Ula asked impatiently with a bewildered expression.“I think I know what happened that night,” Thorn answered, his gaze unwaveringly glued to Olcan as he inched towards Eros with small steps, “Olcan killed my mother and the Luna Queen. Then, he stole Eros’s ring while he was drunk and asleep in Amaya’s chamber. What always both
Olcan stood over the rampart, looking down on the ancient draconic city resting under the darkness. The palace was fully under his control. He was the first-ever werewolf king to accomplish standing at the dragon realm capital's highest point. But there was still a hole in his heart that couldn't possibly be healed.“My king,” one of his sentries approached and reported, “The dragon warriors, the so-called "Dark Wings," surrounding the palace were all captured.”“What about the brute prince and his foolish knights?” Olcan withdrew himself from the city view and moved back into the torch light.“All were put in the dungeons.”“Any casualties?”“No. The Frost Stones were very effective. As soon as the stones touched their skin, they were incapable of moving.”“You’ve done well,” Olcan gritted his teeth, “They underestimated us in every possible way, thinking I could easily fall for this imbecile's trickery.” He walked over to Serlon, who was bruised and swollen, lying in a pool of his o
Fenris had been tied to the back of a horse-drawn carriage. His body ached from sitting on the hard, wooden panels but was incapable of doing anything about it. Ulric’s corpse lay right beside him and had already started to emit a rotten smell.Normally, a werewolf’s corpse wouldn’t decay so quickly, just within an hour. But tonight was a special exception. A cold shiver suddenly washed over Fenris. Utter darkness had befallen the dragon land. He felt in his bones that the power of the moon had vanished. As far as he knew, the lunar eclipse wouldn’t be long—one or two hours at the most. He needed to survive it, then find a chance to escape.With quiet neighing, the horses stopped. The carriage pulled over on an empty alleyway. Fenris stayed put and tried to catch every sound passing through his ears. Someone was coming for him.“How was the trip?” Hugo flashed a grin at Fenris and pulled him out of the carriage. He then dragged him all the way into a dark house. Fenris was surprised b
Thorn forced his eyes open. The sharp water spear had become deformed, dissolving into the ocean water. He saw queen Amaya drop lifelessly onto the ground. King Eros was standing next to her. Eros picked up a handful of bubbling shells, buried his nose in them, and took in a big gulp of fresh air.“Dragon King,” Ula drawled, keeping a safe distance, “I didn’t expect you'd dare come here.”“I had to,” Eros lifted his face up from the shells, feeling better with ample air in his lungs, “I had a feeling you would make a move tonight. The streams’ mirrored surfaces only confirmed it.”Thorn looked back to Amaya, observing the fresh cut on her throat. “How did she die?”Eros glanced briefly at Thorn, dodging away from answering directly the question.“Who killed her?” Thorn pushed again, fixing his gaze on Eros.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Eros snapped, suddenly annoyed, “I did! Alright?” He raised his voice. “I had to. The capital is going to be attacked by werewolves! There wa
Like a dark, looming storm, every werewolf squadron had set off for King’s Harbor under Olcan’s command. They moved faster than the night wind, carrying light-weight but incredibly deadly weapons made of frost stone. It was the night of the Lunar Eclipse, the strongest ever since the dragon race had lost their spirits. The werewolves believed that, if they could conquer the dragon palace, the first beam of searing moonlight would bless them with a century’s-worth of glory, power, and endless fortune. As for their eternal rivals, the dragons would lost their position in the world and fall to the Northern Realm, all thanks to the wolves’ frost stone.“Our fiercest enemy,” Fenris said to Olcan as they left the marshland, “the black dragon, he’s already dead.”“Your meticulous research amazes me, Brother,” Olcan said to Fenris without looking at him, “I underestimated you. I thought you were merely a careless man.”Fenris chuckled, hair prickled on his skin. “I’m glad to be of help. My me
Leila heard the voice again. It was louder and clearer this time. Sla-thar.. It came from down below, but it was too dark to see anything from her current distance. A faint reflection of the moon loomed beside Leila as she sunk downwards, cradled in Thorn’s arms. Unlike the cold and remote moon in the sky, its silver light was blazing hot, like the sun hanging over a parched desert. The path ahead was endless. The farther they went, the less it looked like an underwater world. It was the fishy scent that reminded her that she was deep in a river. The pain in her belly was subsiding; it mellowed into a slight discomfort instead of a sharp, breathless ache. What was more disconcerting than the pain was the rate of its growth. Leila’s belly was growing larger at an unprecedented rate. Thorn put his hand on it, feeling its heartbeat. Leila stared at him through the transparent bubbles on their heads, trying to decipher what he was thinking. His thick dark hair swayed in the water. H
Fenris was in a rather good mood. He just got a message from the spies he had sent to the Craggy Mountains; they reported that they had seen Thorn die with their own eyes, lying in bed and as his knight mourned. However, unbeknownst to him, it was a fake message—Hugo had forced the spies to write it with swords pointed to their necks before he finished them off for good.James and Serlon had escorted the crossbred girls back to their homes and had made sure any remaining Green Robes had surrendered or were executed. Unfortunately, Luca had died. The pain of losing one eye to Leila and further torture from Thorn was even too much for him to withstand.This city is soon to be mine, Fenris thought. He had dreamt of this moment for a long time. He strode across the damp ground, and the scent of the night seemingly became sweeter. The moon’s light was fading. It’s almost time to for their final strike. In high spirits, he entered the tent where his big brother was waiting.To his surprise,