Chapter 1

• The heat rises—bodies collide with lust. As their lips meet, there’s no tenderness—no yearning. Soriene’s fingers tangle in his hair, as if she is trying to claim him, but she knows she could never.
• No one can tame Kaelith’s wretched heart.
• She curls her legs around his torso, as he moves without remorse. She moans under her breath, holding onto him tight. She searches for his gaze, but he refuses to look at her. He is just feeding his primal hunger, nothing else, there’s not denying it.
• A part of her wishes this could be something more, but she knows him too well—the cruelty of the bastard prince. She wonders, will he ever find love, or is he so stubborn that he will die alone, hating a past he can’t escape?
• “That was… that was amazing,” she says between breaths.
• “I always put on my best show when I’m with you,” he teases as he sits right next to her in bed.
• “Your sister told me about your dreams.” Her pipe glows faintly as she inhales.
• He snorts in disbelief. “This girl…”
• “She is just worried.” She places her hand gently on him.
• He stands up abruptly, refusing her touch. “Irelith believes in Dragons and myths.”
• “And you don’t?” She raises an eyebrow.
• Kaelith clicks his tongue. “The Dragons are gone, and that’s for the best. We don’t need them meddling with our lives.”
• She wears her see-through caftan. “It’s not like they wronged you personally. Besides, magic bloomed after they left.”
• “King Aryan hated them—he must have had a good reason,” he confesses.
• “These are rumors. Some said he loved the Light,” she responds.
• He exhales and dark smoke escapes from his lips. “And others say she broke his heart.”
• Before Soriene can continue this conversation, Kaelith is already out of the door.
• He walks the frozen path from his small house—a choice he made to not live inside the palace. The spring is upon them, and even the north starts warming up under the soft light of the sun.
• This is the kingdom of Valekh—the name the north was given after the Dragons’ ascendance and the rule of King Aryan.
• He groans underneath his breath, catching people’s gazes. Even after all this time, people are still wary of him—a man bearing the eyes of the Sun Dynasty. Having blue eyes is seen as a dark omen in these parts, a connection to the Dragons. And this is one more reason for Kaelith to hate them—paying the price of looking like a person of a dead dynasty.
• This is the gift of his mother, a woman he never met, a woman his father spent a night with.
• Entering the palace, Kaelith passes by the big dark columns until he reaches the throne room. There, King Ryuzen—his father—and Queen Serika await.
• “You were late,” the king says.
• “Forgive me,” Kaelith answers through gritted teeth.
• Ryuzen takes a deep breath. “There has been a rumor—a rumor that you’ll need to either confirm or prove its falsehood.”
• Kaelith tilts his head. “What is it?”
• Serika’s gaze is cold toward him, his existence a reminder of the king’s betrayal to her.
• “I—It’s about the kingdom of Nora—”
• “I am not going to that hell hole!” Kaelith interrupts his father.
• “How dare you speak to the king that way!” Serika snaps at him.
• “Forgive me.” Kaelith takes a few steps back, seeing how he is out of line. “Please, continue.”
• Ryuzen adjusts his shirt. “The rumor is—”
• The door opens wide and princess Irelith enters. “I told you he won’t like the idea of visiting Nora.”
• “Can someone please tell me what’s the rumor?!” Kaelith shouts.
• “Gee, you are cranky,” Irelith mocks him. “The rumor is… they say… a new Dragon is born.”
• —***—
• Many centuries have passed since the Dragon Warriors ruled, with a new era blooming; the Emergent Age.
• New magic systems were born, arts flourished under the new dawn that was set, but no Dragon was ever born again. Light and Dark ruled the sky, staying in Atlas’s Paradise and keeping the balance to the world.
• Though, forces stir in the dark, away from prying eyes and a new anomaly was born; one that will threaten Light—that will threaten Leona.
• And inside the Paradise, she dreams of a life she once had. She remembers the friends that she didn’t get to say goodbye, or the lover that she betrayed. And she thought this wound would close by now, but the pain still lingers, even after all this time.
• She has learned how to keep these thoughts close to her heart and out of Dark’s reach. This isn’t something she wishes to share, how lonely she feels in the vastness of eternity.
• She enters Atlas’s chamber, a vast dome with flickering lights hovering above them. There he awaits, just across the silent pond placed in the middle.
• “You asked for me, Father,” she says, as her image drifts above the water. There, she is drawn by the reflection—this isn’t how she looks. She sees not a Dragon, but a woman, the woman she once was, the woman she dreams to be once more.
• She can’t tell him that—ever.
• “Intrigued?” he whispers. “Water is a reflection of who we truly are. It unmasks us, showing what we hide underneath.”
• “Then, it lies,” she responds.
• He taps a finger on his chin—he isn’t fooled by her performance. “I’ve seen your heart, parts you hide from your other half. Why is that?”
• “H—he won’t understand,” she sighs.
• Atlas starts pacing around her, admiring his creation. “What can I do to restore your happiness, my child?”
• She turns to face him. “I am happy, Father.”
• His eyes bear inside her own seeing more that she lets on. He then directs his attention outside and she feels a vibration inside. “Dark.”
• “I called him, we need to discuss,” Atlas confesses.
• The Dragon enters, his elongated body filling the room. She doesn’t remember him being so enormous, it’s like she has shrinked, seeming small next to him.
• They greet each other with respect and love.
• “Now that both my children are here, I need to tell you something,” Atlas says. “I was informed by Anar about something that’s been discovered in the human world.”
• Both Dark and Light growl hearing his name.
• “What is it Father?” Dark speaks.
• “A Dragon was born,” Atlas announces and they both gasp.
• “H—how?” she asks.
• “That is for you to discover. You must make haste and go to the human world and bring me that child,” Atlas continues.
• “We can’t leave Paradise, the balance!” Dark exclaims.
• “Calm, my child,” Atlas says. “One of you will go, and one will stay to keep the peace.”
• Both Dark and Light exchange a look.
• “I can go,” she volunteers without hesitation and Dark notices that.
• Atlas’s lips curl into a smirk. “Then it’s decided. Light will bring the child and Dark will keep the balance.”
• The God raises his hand and light pulsates from within. The energy washes over her, and she feels a strange force throbbing within.
• “Everything you need, you’ll know.”
• She does not fall—she is taken, torn from the sky and thrust into mortal soil, bound once more to the fragile world of humans.