25. The Frozen Watermellon Balls

A cluster of white daisies were clutched in the dragon prince’s hand. Thorn walked through the grand hall of the gallery. Recently, the adjacent volcano had made the subterranean floor extra hot.

There was a time, long ago, when he resisted coming here. He especially avoided the top floor, as the air lingering there stirred up a deep fear in his heart.

But as time passed, the fear had gradually become mourning. which he found easier to handle. He started to come once a month, just to get a bit of alone time. Thorn pushed on the obsidian button on the gallery wall and got into the tomb. His footsteps echoed around the dried stones of the earthen walls, as though the spirit in the vault could hear a living being approaching.

He glanced over the vault. Everything was exactly the same as before. Dust floated through the air under the blueish, slanted beams. He put the delicate flowers before the statue of his mother, Tora, the previous dragon queen. She died when Thorn was young. He sat