Elena couldn't stop thinking about her egg.
Two years had passed since she'd laid it, and still nothing. The shell remained intact, silent, stubbornly dormant. Most dragon eggs hatched within a year. Hers had doubled that time, and every passing day felt like another stone added to the weight in her chest.
More than once she'd considered cracking it open herself, hoping for the best. But she always pulled back at the last moment. She'd waited this long. She wouldn't destroy her child before she even got to see it.
Something told her it would hatch soon anyway.
Mother's instincts.
With nothing better to do, she left the cave in search of food. If the egg did hatch, the hatchling would be ravenous.
Hours passed as she soared over dense forest. Finally, she spotted movement below a massive bear lumbering through the underbrush, a cub trailing close behind.
Without hesitation, she dove.
Her claws crushed the bear's skull on impact. The creature collapsed instantly, dead before it could roar. The cub bolted into the trees.
Elena prepared to haul the carcass back to the cave when something made her freeze.
Mana.
Very dense, chaotic mana flooded her senses emanating from inside her cave.
Her egg.
Panic seized her chest. She abandoned the bear's corpse and gathered mana into her wings, blasting off toward the mountain. The air screamed as she tore through it, trees bending in her wake.
Who would dare enter my cave?
The mana signature felt wrong. Not vast in quantity, but impossibly dense compressed, refined. She'd never sensed anything like it. For a brief, wild moment, she wondered if it could be her hatchling. But no. Dragons awakened mana when they were born, yes, but not like this.
This felt ancient.
As she neared the cave, rage overrode reason. She opened her maw and released a beastly roar that shook the entire mountain.
ROOOAARRR!
RUMBLE.
RUMBLE.
Rocks tumbled from the cliffside. The forest below shuddered under the sound.
She shifted into her human form mid-flight and landed just outside the narrow entrance. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she stepped inside, eyes sweeping the cavern for intruders.
Nothing seemed out of place except for a small crater scorched into the stone floor.
And the little dragon standing before it.
Elena stopped.
He was barely over two meters in length. Black scales covered his body, glittering faintly with what looked like swimming stars. But his eyes those stole her breath.
Though he still had the dragon's slit pupil, the iris of each eye swirled with the deep, luminous colors of a nebula violet and indigo bleeding into cosmic blue.
Relief washed over her in a dizzying wave. The tension she'd carried for two years drained from her shoulders all at once. He was here. He was safe. He'd finally hatched.
A warmth bloomed in her chest as she looked at him, really looked at him.
Beautiful.
"You finally hatched, my son."
Kevin stared at the woman his mother.
She was stunning. Long black hair cascaded past her shoulders, framing a face both elegant and sharp. She stood around six feet tall, her form humanoid but distinctly draconic. Four pointed horns crowned her head: two large ones curving upward, and two smaller ones jutting from the sides, curling backward like polished obsidian.
Her eyes gleamed with intelligence and power.
What am I supposed to say? How can I even understand her? Will she realize I don't act like a dragon?
His mind spiraled into turmoil, thoughts crashing over one another in a chaotic wave. But outwardly, his face betrayed nothing. His gaze remained locked on hers, steady and unflinching.
Courtesy of his Dragon King Title.
"Mother?"
Elena didn't respond immediately. She simply stared at him, her expression shifting through emotions he couldn't quite read.
Now that she knew her egg wasn't in danger, the realization settled over her like cold water. It had been him. All that mana the chaotic explosion she'd sensed it had come from him during his hatching.
But now? Nothing.
She couldn't sense a single thread of mana from his body. She should be able to. Any dragon could sense a hatchling's mana signature as easily as breathing. The fact that she couldn't meant something was shielding him something far beyond what any newborn should possess.
To confirm this was truly her son, she asked the only question that mattered.
"What is your name?"
Kevin hesitated. Was she supposed to name me? Or do I already have one?
Before he could decide how to answer, his mana surged without his consent. It gathered in his throat, forcing its way out in a resonant, instinctual roar.
"Khae'Nevan Aethern."
The sound echoed through the cavern, deep and ancient.
Elena's heart skipped a beat.
The name hit her like a physical force not painful, but heavy. Weighted with something she couldn't name. She didn't understand why hearing it made her pulse quicken, why excitement suddenly flooded her veins.
But she knew one thing with absolute certainty.
A name that could make her feel something a name that carried that much presence meant he would become a great dragon.
A small, genuine smile tugged at her lips.
He has our family name.
"Now that you've spoken your name, you are a true dragon." She folded her arms, her tone shifting to something more instructional. "I will teach you about the other dragon races later. But now, let's go home."
Nevan tested the name in his mind. Khae'Nevan Aethern.
It felt… right. Natural, even. As though it had always belonged to him, waiting to be claimed. He'd been Kevin for twenty-some years, but hearing that name emerge from his own throat feeling the weight of it settle into his bones he realized Kevin had been temporary.
This was who he was meant to be.
He liked it.
Still, confusion remained. I thought this cave was home.
Did dragons not live in caves in this world? She claimed to be his mother he could tell she was a dragon by her scent and horns. But if home wasn't here, where was it?
He just hoped it wasn't some cramped human dwelling. The last thing he wanted was to sleep outside because he couldn't fit through the door.
Still, he followed her toward the exit.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to his human life the life he'd left behind.
He'd had no family. None that cared, anyway. His parents had kicked him out before he turned fourteen, claiming they didn't have enough money to feed everyone.
Then why have children in the first place?
He'd spent most of his teenage years couch-surfing with friends until he landed the warehouse job. If anything, his death had been a blessing. No work. No responsibilities. No one who would miss him.
Reaching the edge of the cliff, Nevan stopped and stared down at the dizzying drop. Hundreds of feet of empty air yawned below. He glanced back at his mother, his eyes conveying the only question that mattered
How do I get down?
"Don't worry," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Just jump. Your mana will do the rest."
She stepped off the cliff without hesitation.
For a moment, she plummeted—then enormous red and black wings erupted from her back. She didn't flap them. She simply floated, suspended in the air as though gravity were nothing more than a suggestion.
Nevan took a slow breath.
Trust her words.
He backed up, giving himself a running start. Then he sprinted forward and launched himself off the cliff.
The world dropped away.
Wind roared in his ears, whipping past his scales. His stomach lurched as the ground rushed closer, but he didn't panic. He closed his eyes and reached inward, focusing on his mana.
Looking inside himself, he realized something strange. His mana wasn't concentrated in a core or reservoir it was everywhere. His entire being was mana.
He tried to channel it into his wings the way he had with his claw earlier, treating it like a limb he could move. The mana shifted sluggishly, uncooperative.
The ground rushed closer.
"Come on, stupid wings!"
But mana wasn't an organ. It wasn't something he controlled from the outside.
And then he understood his mistake.
Mana wasn't a tool.
It was him.
He stopped trying to move it.
Instead, he asserted a single thought.
Fly.
The world resisted.
And then it yielded.
His wings snapped open. The air caught beneath them, and his descent slowed to a controlled glide. He let out a victorious roar, grinning as he looked toward his mother.
She floated nearby, a matching smile on her face.
"You almost didn't make it. Glad to see you didn't fall to your death." Her tone was teasing, but warm. "Now we must make haste. A lot of people will want to meet you."
Nevan's smile faded. "Why would people want to meet me?"
He didn't like meeting new people. He had power now power to do things he'd never dreamed of. Learning to use that power sounded far more appealing than social obligations.
Elena slowed her flight, adjusting so they flew side by side.
"I suppose I should give you a lesson about our world before we arrive."
Nevan said nothing, but his attention sharpened.
The wind felt incredible against his scales cool and crisp, carrying the scent of pine and mountain stone. Below them, the forest stretched endlessly, a sea of green broken only by rocky outcroppings and distant rivers that glittered like veins of silver.
He'd loved being outside in his old life. Hated being cooped up indoors, trapped by walls and routine. Now he soared above it all, untethered and free.
It was intoxicating.
"First, our world is called Eldryx home to every race of dragon. No other race lives here, though there are others scattered across the universe. We prefer to keep to ourselves." She paused, her gaze distant. "And I am the Queen of Dragons. Which makes you the Prince."
Nevan's expression didn't change, but inside, irritation flared.
Prince.
That meant work. Responsibilities.
Expectations.
No freedom.
The idea of an entire planet populated only by dragons surprised him. His mother had a human form, so she had to have drawn inspiration from somewhere. Apparently, humans lived on another planet entirely.
That raised another question.
He glanced at her, studying her humanoid shape. "Why do you look different from me?"
She met his gaze briefly. "It's convenient for moving around, though most dragons prefer to stay in their true form rather than this one."
Nevan tilted his head, feigning confusion. "A human?"
"Humans are a weak race. Pitifully so." Her tone carried faint disdain. "But they have their purpose. Their planet is the closest to ours. You'll be seeing them more than I'd like."
She doesn't like humans. As a dragon himself now, Nevan couldn't say she was wrong though he had nothing to compare himself to yet.
He tried to sense his mother's mana, hoping to gauge her strength.
It was like staring into the void.
And the void stared back.
He looked away quickly, unease prickling along his spine.
"Enough about humans," Elena said, her voice sharpening with focus. "When we reach the castle, you'll meet some of the elders. I'll begin your training as well though you seem to have decent control over your mana already." She paused, gathering energy. A faint shimmer of red light gathered around her wings. "Now try to keep up."
Mana exploded from her wings. She shot forward like a missile, leaving a deafening BOOM in her wake. The shockwave rattled the treetops below.
Nevan's grin returned, wide and feral.
He gathered his own mana, feeling it surge through his body like liquid fire. Then he launched himself after her.
The air shrieked as he tore through it, wind screaming past his horns. The forest blurred beneath him into streaks of green and brown. His heart pounded not with fear, but with pure, unrestrained exhilaration.
This was freedom.
This was living.
He chased his mother through the sky, toward his new home.
His new life.