“Anything to note, Kai?” a soldier asked.

Kai shook his head. “There seems to be no revolt... but in time, perhaps there will be.”

“Kai, brother, you know the segregation is necessary.”

“Is it?” he muttered, then turned and walked away without waiting for an answer.

________________________________________

“By the stars above… what devilry is this?!” Luna gasped, staring at the strange creature before her. “This must be why the King’s men came. They were searching for this egg!”

She looked down at the small, lizard-like being now blinking up at her with curious, intelligent eyes.

“What do I do, little one?” she asked gently, brushing a finger across its damp head. “Did you like the fire?”

The dragon cooed softly and nuzzled against her hand, clearly pleased. Its wings, delicate and shimmering, twitched as they began to stretch. The sticky mucus that had coated its body was already fading.

“You’re adorable,” Luna murmured, grinning. “Are you hungry?”

She glanced around and spotted a large cockroach scuttling along the wall. Grimacing, she caught it and placed it before the dragon.

The dragon gave the insect a single, unimpressed glance. With a tiny puff of smoke from its nostrils, it turned its head away in offense.

“Oh, apologies,” she laughed. “You’ve got standards, huh?”

Carefully scooping the dragon into her shirt, she tiptoed into the house, where Menorah had already fallen asleep. Slipping into the pantry, she retrieved a small piece of meat they’d saved for the next day.

Her mother would be cross—but hopefully not too much.

She fed the morsel to the dragon, who devoured it eagerly. Then, as if satisfied with the offering, it climbed onto her shoulder

and nestled into her hair, letting out a contented sigh before falling asleep.

Luna wrapped her arms around herself, a wide grin spreading across her face.

“I have a dragon…” she whispered.

Then again, louder—still disbelieving: “I have a dragon!”

The royal family might very well be hunting for this creature, but for once, she didn’t care. This dragon had chosen her—and that was all that mattered. She knew she was destined to be a dragon rider.

____________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, in the city, King Augustus was far less excited. The royal psychic had insisted on seeing him and he was forcibly awakened.

“It had better be good, Astra,” he muttered, glaring at the old woman who stood silently before him. Her eyes, pale and pupilless, gave her an eerie presence. Her long black hooded robe didn’t help.

“I have had a dream…” she said, her voice hollow.

“A dream?”

“The stars whispered tonight,” Astra murmured, her silver eyes clouded as if peering through time itself. “Darkness gathers at the edges of the realm… blood upon banners, fire in the skies.”

Her fingers moved through the air, tracing invisible threads. “The kingdom shall tremble, brought low by a storm none shall see coming. Yet… from the ashes, one shall rise.”

She looked up slowly, her voice echoing with conviction.

“A child cast aside… born of blood and breath long forgotten… shall ride the flame. Not raised in gold, but in shadow. Not named, yet marked. She is the heir not crowned—but chosen.”

Then softer, as though afraid the stars themselves might hear her:

“She will save us… or end us. The bond has awakened. And the dragons… remember.”

“You speak of the heir,” Augustus whispered, his tone strained, nearly desperate. “That prophecy will not come true. The child is dead.”

Astra tilted her head. “You speak of death as if it ends all things. But I have seen the threads, Your Majesty. The stars do not lie. The bloodline breathes still. The fire has not gone out.”

Her voice dropped further, almost a breath.

“You may bury a name. You may cast away a child. But destiny is not so easily silenced Agustus. You always thought you could change fate if you know it. You are mistaken.”

The king stood motionless as she walked away. She had spoken of the heir before—eighteen years ago, almost to the day that child had been born. The dreaded child that had brought such pain to his sister.

“She who was cast away shall rise.

When dragons kneel, the crown shall fall.”

That was what Astra had said at the time of the birth. The child would bring destruction—he had been sure of it. So he had it… removed.

But now… Was it possible the child still lived?

What had happened to the egg?

Frowning, he rushed down into the cellars where the dragons were kept. The chambers were deep beneath the palace, close to lava channels—dragons needed the heat.

He passed his own beast’s enclosure and made his way to the smaller vault where the eggs were once stored.

“Where is the egg meant for Alora’s child?” he demanded of the keepers.

Looking uneasy, one answered, “It was discarded, Your Highness, as you commanded. But… not destroyed. It was taken outside the city. Thrown away like the others.”

“You imbeciles!” the king snapped. “If a commoner finds it—!”

“Your Highness,” another interrupted, “it didn’t hatch. The night the princess was—”

“That wasn’t a princess,” Augustus growled. “It was a baby. A weak, dying baby.”

“The egg wouldn’t have yielded fruit,” the keeper continued carefully. “It perished with the child.”

“Right…” The king breathed deeply. “It was faulty. Wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Highness. You have nothing to worry about.”

But far from the palatial walls, deep in the outskirts among the unwanted and forgotten, a girl now cradled the kingdom’s greatest threat in her arms.

A dragon had chosen her.

And as she smiled in her sleep, unaware of the power she now carried, fate stirred.

The kingdom would kneel—if she embraced her destiny.

Because death cannot touch what fate has chosen.

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