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
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
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
It was a dark and dusty room. There was no fire in the hearth, as they would never allow it. Leila was laying on her tiny bed against the wall. She tried to place her bed as far away from the door and broken windows as possible. The wind chilled her to the bone at night. She was exhausted after another day of hard work. After only having a small piece of bread for dinner, she was still hungry. Yet she couldn’t sleep; the cold kept her awake. She heard a voice, then a footstep. Someone was turning the doorknob. She hid herself under her sheet. She didn’t have the courage to sit up or confront them. She believed all horrible experiences would pass eventually, if she chose to bear it all, and wait for time to heal her wounds. This had always been her way of life. She shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. It was her uncle, her aunt’s husband. He entered her room, quietly tiptoeing. Leila felt a sense of relief wash over her. Her uncle had always been good to her. When her aunt wasn’t
She was knocked back by the sudden impact. Leila lifted her eyes to see what she had run into. A tall, strong knight with a golden sword and shield was standing before her. His armor shone with a golden light under the bright, hot sun. Her flustered escape caused her to crash into the leader of a squadron of golden knights, ranked as golden dragons, patrolling under the direct command of the royals. Their glistening armor hurt Leila’s eyes. She had never seen anything like it; everything was gray and brown in her aunt’s house. She was amazed by this troop of men. The shield was emblazoned with a fierce dragon, as though it was vividly flapping its monstrous wings on the beautiful piece of weaponry. Their swords were long and sharp. Just gazing upon the points of their swords was enough to make Leila’s heart hover in her throat. People on the street gathered around, enthusiastic to observe the stupid girl who had just committed a crime. Rarely had one dared to stumble into the golden
Leila was sitting in a grand room. It was a much larger space than she was used to. The room was quiet, as it was facing the opposite direction from the noisy courtyard. She wiggled her toes deep into the thick carpet and played with her fingers absentmindedly. There wasn’t anyone else in the room, but she could’t help feeling like a horrid stranger might barge in at any second. Even so, she decided to tiptoe to the other side of the room and peek outside. The large, floor-to-ceiling window was absolutely mesmerizing. Leila had never seen a window so enormous. Peering outside, she realized how wonderful the weather was, regretting wasting such a perfect day on escaping. The view was simply extravagant. A sprawling field of crops stretched on without an end in sight under the crystal blue sky. In addition to a few farm houses and wandering cows, several watchtowers also dotted the lively green. Leila wondered if she might be at the edge of King’s Harbor; the view was quite different th
Leila knew it was the prince who had come into the room. She recognized him right away, and this time, she was able to get a good look at him. Although his thick, black hair appeared untrimmed, she was instantly struck by his elegant cleanliness and regal poise. He wore a neat, navy velvet jacket and black pants. Along with his perfectly pointed nose, his eyes were as dark as an abyss. The pressure of their eye contact was too much for her. She quickly broke her gaze and lowered her head. The prince briefly glanced at Leila as he walked past her; he seemingly had no intention of speaking with her. Taking a thick stack of letters in his hand from the large ironwood table by the window, he started to read the documents one by one. The prolonged silence gave Leila a small amount of confidence to peek at him again. The prince was a breathtakingly handsome young man, chiseled like a diamond. But she had never seen a more stern expression than his. He was the prince of the dragon kingdom,
Leila startled awake as a loud bang resounded from somewhere downstairs. She felt her heart jump from the sudden noise. She quickly got to her feet, put on a plain cotton dress, then rushed out to the door. It had been three days since Leila returned to her aunt’s house. Unsurprisingly, not a single day had she ever got her peace back. Just as Thorn told her, the house was completely emptied by her family; not even a single pot was left behind for her. Leila guessed that her aunt must be hiding somewhere far away from the capital now, and that she wouldn’t return until things cooled off. It was better this way though. She could rest for a few days and use that time to think about her future. Staying with her cruel family was the only thing she wanted to do now. But apparently, the prince couldn’t even let her have that. Leila rushed downstairs and spotted a pile of black and blue fabric, ripped to shreds, at the end of the stairs. It was the third time she had found a pile like this