Chapter 1 The Betrayal And The Rebirth

• The smell of blood always tasted like metal, but today, mine tasted like cold ash.
• I pressed my palm hard against my stomach, trying to hold my body together. My heavy silk wedding dress was soaked in dark red blood, sticking to my skin. My knees gave out, and I slammed hard onto the cold marble floor of the grand hall.
• A few feet away stood Troy.
• He didn't look like the dying dragon chick I had rescued from the snow seven years ago. He was tall now, dressed in gold royal robes, his chest broad and his eyes glowing with dragon power.
• Power that came from me.
• Every drop of magic running through his veins had been paid for with my blood, my strength, and my life.
• "You're empty, Ruth," Troy said. His voice was cold. There was no memory of the nights he used to rest his huge dragon head on my lap while I healed him. "A dragon king needs a queen with real power. Not a useless, broken girl who has run out of blood."
• I tried to breathe, but red liquid bubbled up my throat. "I made you..." I choked out, tears burning my eyes. "I gave you my core, Troy... I gave you everything..."
• "And I thank you for your service," Troy said.
• He turned his back on me and walked away.
• Light footsteps clicked softly against the stone. A pair of shiny silver slippers stopped right in front of my face.
• Iris. My half-sister.
• Iris bent down, her clean white dress dragging through the red puddle around me. Her face was soft and sweet—the same innocent look she always used whenever she wanted to steal what was mine. She reached out and tapped my wet cheek with her nails.
• "Thank you, sister," Iris whispered in my ear. "You raised him so well. He is strong, rich, and handsome. And now he is mine. You were always the stupid one—working hard so someone else could take the prize."
• "Iris..." My voice trembled. "Mother asked me... to protect you..."
• "Mother is dead, and so are you," Iris sneered.
• She raised her foot and brought her sharp heel straight down onto my right hand—the hand that held our old blood mark.
• Bone crushed under her weight. Sharp pain shot up my arm, but I couldn't even scream. My chest felt squeezed tight, and I couldn't get air.
• Troy didn't stop her. He just stood beside his golden throne, watching me die with a bored look on his face, as if my death was taking too long.
• Seven years, I thought as the cold darkness slowly crept into my body. Seven years of feeding him my blood. Seven years of living in the dark so he could shine.
• The sadness inside me died. In its place, a dark, burning rage took over my heart.
• If I get another chance... if there is any justice in this world... I will never give my heart away again. I will destroy them both.
• My eyes rolled back. The world went black, and my last breath left my lips.
• "Ruth! Wake up! Stop acting crazy!"
• A sharp slap on my arm pulled me out of the darkness.
• Air rushed into my lungs so fast my throat burned. I sat up quickly, gasping for air, my hands instantly covering my stomach.
• No hole. No blood. The silk dress was gone. I was wearing my old grey tunic—the one I wore years ago. I looked down at my right hand. The skin was smooth and clean. No crushed bones. No scar.
• "Are you deaf?" a voice snapped beside me.
• I slowly looked up.
• I was standing in the middle of the Dragon Nest Courtyard. The air smelled like wet leaves and faint smoke. Dozens of young people stood around the stone stage in ceremonial clothes.
• Beside me stood Iris.
• She looked younger. Her eyes were full of greedy excitement, and she was wearing the pink dress from seven years ago.
• On the stage in front of us sat two iron cages.
• In the left cage was a handsome golden dragon hatchling. His scales were bright, his chest puffed out, and he roared proudly at the crowd. Troy.
• In the right cage, sitting far back in the dark shadow where nobody looked, was a quiet black dragon. His scales were dull, his wings were clipped, and his body was covered in dirt. Everyone called him the useless junk of the dragon pens.
• My heart pounded hard against my ribs.
• I wasn't dead. I was back. I was standing on the exact day my life was ruined—the day of the Dragon Selection.
• In my past life, Iris had cried and thrown a fit, begging me to let her pick first. I had stepped back like a good big sister. But Iris had picked wrong, so she threw another fit and forced me to trade with her later, taking Troy after I had already spent months bleeding for him.
• "Ruth," Iris said, pulling my arm with that fake, sweet voice. "You are the older sister. You should pick first... but that golden dragon looks so strong. My heart is beating so fast for him. You wouldn't take him from your little sister, right?"
• I looked down at her fingers on my sleeve. The memory of her heel crushing my hand flashed in my mind.
• Slowly, I pulled my arm out of her grip.
• A cold, quiet smile touched my lips.
• "Of course not, sister," I said softly. "If you like him so much, take him."
• Iris froze. She blinked, shocked that I didn't fight back. Before she could think twice, she ran toward the left cage, eager to claim the golden dragon.
• "I choose the Golden Dragon!" Iris yelled to the elder.
• The crowd gasped in jealousy. Troy let out a proud roar inside his cage, showing off his shiny scales. Iris turned around and gave me a smug, victorious grin.
• I didn't care. I turned away from Troy and walked slowly toward the dark cage on the right.
• As I stopped at the bars, the black dragon in the corner shifted. He lifted his head. Deep, dark purple eyes stared straight into mine. He didn't roar. He didn't show off. There was only a cold, dangerous mind watching me from the dark.
• I reached my hand through the cold iron bars and held out my palm.
• "I choose him," I said.