Valeris leaned back slightly, eyes drifting toward the inn's flickering lantern light. The warmth made her golden hair glow faintly, and for a long moment, she said nothing—just gathering her thoughts.
Then she spoke.
"It started… with an egg."
Veyra blinked, surprised. Asher simply watched quietly, respectfully.
"I was already the Dragon Queen by then," Valeris continued, her voice calm but distant. "There was no rival strong enough to defeat me. No mate worthy of my bloodline. So, I did something that hadn't been done in centuries. I created life through will alone. I laid a single egg—pure, untouched by any other's lineage. My child."
She paused, her tone darkening.
"But not long after, it was stolen."
Veyra straightened. "Stolen?"
Valeris nodded grimly. "By a sect known as the Dragon-Binders. They had long sought the blood of royal dragons to create artificial vessels for their dark rites. My child—unhatched, defenseless—was their perfect target."
