Chapter 42
The Final Trial
The cave looms ahead, black and breathing. Golden light seeps from the cracks within, spilling across heaps of treasure—coins, jeweled goblets, relics piled high like offerings. At the center of it all waits the dragon.
Drako. Keiren. Both.
Massive wings half-unfurled, eyes molten gold. When they meet mine, the ground itself hums.
“Welcome,” his voice rumbles, shaking the walls. “To the final Trial. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I step forward, heart hammering. “Let Mariel and Vivian go. This is between you and me.”
A low, thunderous laugh rolls through the cavern. “Everything here is because of you. But if you wish to save them, you’ll have to win.”
Seraphina stands near the entrance, her lips curved in smug defiance. “I accept the challenge, too. When I win, I’ll be queen.”
“Seraphina, stop,” I warn her.
Keiren’s voice deepens to a growl. “Silence. All of you will compete. The winner decides the others’ fate.”
He gestures to the hoard. “Bring me what you believe is most precious to me.”
We scatter. Gold glints under the dragon’s firelight—crowns, blades, statues, endless gleam. But none of it feels right. My pulse thrums as I move deeper into the cavern.
Seraphina lunges for a massive, jeweled egg, lifting it high. “The heart of his treasure!” she calls, triumph sharp in her tone.
Mariel crouches near a pedestal, fingers brushing a leather-bound tome. “Knowledge, maybe,” she whispers.
“Or courage,” Vivian says, lifting a sword as if she’s ready to fight the dragon.
“What if we use our tokens?” Mariel asks.
“You mean the ones we very conveniently left behind during our escape attempt?” Vivian says with a long sigh, shaking her head.
I ignore them all. My gaze drifts toward a faint shimmer at the back of the cave—a pool reflecting light that isn’t there.
The water ripples like liquid silver. A whisper fills my mind.
A drop of blood for the answer to any question.
I draw my blade, nick my finger, and let a drop fall. “What does the Dragon King value most?”
The surface stills, then trembles. My reflection shifts, and I see myself wearing a simple ring, a band of silver crowned with a small, clear stone that catches the light like a star.
I glance down. My hand is bare.
Hesitantly, I reach into the pool and find something cold and solid. When I lift it free, my breath catches.
The ring from the image. And the missing star stone Drako wanted me to find gleams at its center.
Understanding hits like a heartbeat. It’s not gold he treasures. Not power. Not crowns.
It’s me.
A soft glow draws my eyes to a gown draped across a chest, white silk whispering with moonlight. It hums faintly when I touch it. Without thinking, I strip out of my torn clothes and slip into the gown. The fabric clings to me like light, the star-stone ring pulsing against my palm.
When I step from the shadows, the dragon turns his head. His molten gaze follows every step I take.
Seraphina sneers. “You think wearing a dress will save you?”
I walk forward, steady. “At your feet lies your treasure hoard,” I start. “Gold. Gems. Knowledge. But none of these riches are what you guard most fiercely.”
“Then what is?” Seraphina spits.
I hold out the ring. “Me.”
Keiren’s growl rumbles deep, reverent. The air trembles.
“I offer my life,” I say, voice shaking but sure. “In exchange for theirs. Let them go, and I will take their place. I will be your bride.”
Seraphina gapes. “You’re insane—”
A roar drowns her words. The dragon lowers his head, eyes locked on mine. Firelight burns behind them, alight with grief and love and endless hunger.
He nods once.
Wind lashes my hair as he unfurls his wings. I don’t look back at Mariel or Seraphina as his shadow engulfs me. His claw curls gently, possessively, around my waist.
The last thing I see before the world lifts away in a storm of flame and starlight is Mariel’s face: tear-streaked, proud, whispering my name.
Then the dragon carries me into the sky.