I didn't run away.
I chose to come here.
To this forbidden underwater cave. To a place that could get me executed before I even stepped foot in the Academy.
And now, the egg is in my arms.
Cracked. Warm. Pulsing like a heart that's still alive.
Then the voice comes.
Not from outside.
From inside my head.
"We are not animals. We are kings. And you… you're one of us."
That night, I wrote my little sister Oza a letter three times.
First one was too long.
Second one too cold.
Third one—just two sentences.
"I'm leaving, Oza. I'll send the medicine. Take care of Dad."
"Don't come looking for me."
I left it under her pillow. So she'd read it when she woke up. So she wouldn't get the chance to hug me, beg me, cry on my shirt again. I couldn't handle seeing her eyes wet. Not tonight. Tonight I had to be strong.
I slipped out through the back window. Opened it slow. Paused. Heard Dad's breathing. Heavy. Choppy. He'd been smoking opium again. Five years since Mom got lost in the storm, and he's never gotten better.
I closed the window. Then I ran. Didn't look back.
Tidewell, my village, was dead quiet at night.
Oil lamps flickered out one by one.
Only the waves never stopped, crashing against the cliffs at the edge of town.
I ran over the rocks. The night felt like it wanted to stop me, but I kept going. I've known these paths since I was a kid. Fishermen's routes. Smugglers' trails. Paths for people who want to disappear.
But tonight, I wasn't running away.
I was looking for something.
And I knew where to start.
The underwater cave.
The forbidden one.
The one no one's supposed to name.
It's not on any village map. In people's mouths, it's just a whisper: "Don't go near the cliffs at low tide. The sea will take you."
But I don't believe in ghost stories.
I was born on the coast.
And I've got instincts—something that made the Obrynd Dragon Academy come straight for me when they saw me sparring at the market.
"Exceptional physical talent," they said.
"Pure combat instinct."
But they didn't know the rest.
They didn't know I can hear the sea.
That waves sometimes whisper.
That storms sometimes call.
And tonight?
The sea was screaming.
Low tide.
The cliffs opened up.
A dark hole at the base, covered in moss—only reachable when the water's down.
I went in.
Inside, the air was thick and wet. Smelled like salt, moss, and something weird—like hot metal. The walls glowed faint blue from magic moss. Ancient carvings on the stone. I couldn't read them, but I knew what they meant: "Forbidden. Death penalty."
I kept going deeper.
Then I saw it.
In the middle of the cave, on a flat rock—
An egg.
Round.
Cracked on the left side.
Thin steam coming out of the crack.
Warm. Pulsing.
I knew it wasn't a bird's egg.
Not a fish's.
This was a dragon egg.
I knew because the Academy teaches: all dragon eggs must be collected and sent to the central lab. Damaged ones—destroyed. Cracked ones—killed before they hatch. Because an uncontrolled dragon could be dangerous.
But this one…
It was never sent.
It was hidden.
In a forbidden cave.
I stepped closer.
Felt something in my gut.
Ears ringing.
Like something was pulling me from the inside.
I touched it.
And everything changed.
"We are not animals."
The voice hit my ears.
"We are not slaves. We are kings. And you… you're one of us."
I stepped back. Heart pounding. But not scared.
Felt something else instead—anger. Disappointment.
Like I just realized my whole life was a lie.
Then a flash.
Quick images.
Sky splitting open. Giant dragons burning, falling. Armed humans standing on piles of bones. Fire burning across the land.
And one voice echoing: "The fire will rise again."
I snapped back. Couldn't breathe.
Looked at the egg again.
Still warm.
Still pulsing.
And I knew one thing:
I couldn't leave it.
Mom once said, "Don't believe what they teach you, Kyla."
I didn't get it back then.
Now I'm starting to.
I wrapped the egg in cloth, tucked it inside my jacket. The heat cut through the fabric, touched my skin. Felt… warm. Right.
I turned to leave.
But something new caught my eye on the cave wall.
A painting. Hidden under moss.
Five figures.
Humans.
But not normal humans.
They stood above the clouds. Behind them, the shadows of giant dragons.
One of them—a silver-haired man, golden eyes burning—his hand raised to the sky, like he was calling down a storm.
I didn't know who he was.
But my heart shook.
That night, when I got back to the village, I dreamed about him.
I was running along the beach.
The egg in my arms.
Not even home yet—
A shadow passed overhead.
Not a bird.
Not the wind.
A dragon flying low over the shore.
No rider.
No Academy marks.
Wings wide, black, like living smoke.
And for a second…
it looked at me.
Red eyes burning. Like it recognized the egg.
Like it recognized me.
I froze.
Couldn't breathe.
Then the voice came again—louder. Angrier.
"They already know you were born. Now… they'll know you're back."
I woke up in my bed.
Morning.
My eyes were wet.
Like I'd been crying.
The dream felt too real.
The golden-eyed man.
Trapped in an endless storm.
Calling my name.
"You're the one called. You belong to me. You belong to us."
I don't know who he is.
But I know one thing:
I have to go to the Academy.
Not to learn.
Not to become a hero.
To find answers.
Because last night, I didn't just steal an egg.
I woke something up.
And that something…
is calling me.
Small Note Under the Bed
I wrote it down. To remember. So I won't forget.
The cave's forbidden not because of the sea. It's because of the egg.
The dragon I saw last night isn't Academy-owned. That means free dragons exist.
The man in my dream… he's not human. And he knows I'm alive.
I folded the paper. Put it in my pocket.
Grabbed my bag.
Threw in clothes, my knife, and medicine for Oza.
The egg went into a special pouch, wrapped in insulation.
I left the house.
Dad still asleep.
Oza just nodded. Eyes watery. But no tears. Kid's strong. Stronger than our dad.
I hugged her tight.
"The medicine will come," I whispered.
"And I'll come back."
I don't know if that's a promise.
Or a lie.
But I left.
At the dock, the Academy ship was already waiting.
Magical Airship. Dragon emblem.
Black-uniformed officers calling out names.
I boarded.
Didn't look back.
But as the ship started moving, I felt something.
The egg…
was pulsing faster.
Like it was happy.
Like it recognized something in the distance.
I stared at the sea.
Gray sky.
Cold wind.
And somehow, I knew one thing:
I'm not an Academy student.
I'm a threat.
And they don't know it yet.