CHAPTER 4 – Rumors of the Black Dragon
Tavern voices rose like smoke through the night.
"I swear I saw black scorch marks in the forest!""You're imagining things.""No, I'm telling you—burned clean through the earth!"
The tavern keeper scoffed. "Dragons are extinct, old man."
The old hunter leaned in. "Not all of them…"
The room fell silent.
Meanwhile, in the palace library, Kael questioned the royal mage, Master Elion.
"You said the tremors aren't natural?"
Elion adjusted his crystal monocle. "Not natural… and not recent. These readings echo an energy we haven't seen since—"
"Since what?"
The mage hesitated. "Since the fall of the Black Dragon."
Kael frowned. "Velderina? That's just a story scholars exaggerate."
Elion tapped a glowing rune tablet. "Then explain this. Dragon resonance. Ancient. Powerful."
Kael's jaw tightened. "If something threatens Aurelia, I won't let it reach Velene."
Elion murmured, "Perhaps… it is not Aurelia that is being sought."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
But before the mage could answer, a runner burst in.
"My lord! A patrol found a crater outside the northern forest—charred black!"
Kael's heart dropped.
"…Fire?""No, my lord. Lightning. Or… something stronger."
Kael turned away. "Prepare my horse."
"My lord, it's unsafe—"
"I said prepare it."
Elsewhere—in her chamber—Velene felt the same disturbance. Her hands shook.
This is no coincidence. Someone is searching for me.
And this time… they were close.
[CHAPTER ENDS]