Elara's POV
My grandmother? I stare at the silver-eyed stranger. That's impossible. My mother's family is dead.
That's what they wanted you to believe. He gestures toward the door. Three minutes. Outside. Now.
My father grabs my arm. Elara, don't
Let her go, Marcus, the stranger says. Or I'll tell her right here how you've known the truth for years and said nothing.
My father's face goes white.
My stomach drops. You knew?
Elara, I can explain
I yank my arm free and walk out the door. The stranger follows.
Outside, the night air is cold. The stranger leads me away from the house, into the shadows where no one can hear us.
Talk, I demand. Fast.
Your mother, Celeste, was Morganna's granddaughter, he says. Morganna is ancient over five hundred years old. She cursed the Dragon King three centuries ago when he refused her love. Since then, she's been waiting for someone from her bloodline with strong enough absorption magic to complete her plan.
What plan?
To steal the Dragon King's power and immortality through you. His silver eyes bore into mine. The curse can only be broken by someone absorbing it completely. You're the first person in three hundred years with magic strong enough to do it. But if you absorb the curse, Morganna can perform a transfer ritual pulling the power from you into herself before it kills you.
My head spins. The curse would kill me?
Eventually. But Morganna doesn't care. She's been engineering this for decades. She made sure your mother would marry someone from this region. Made sure you'd be born here. Made sure you'd volunteer as tribute.
How could she make sure of that?
His smile is bitter. Because she's been watching you your whole life. Every beating from your stepmother, every insult from your sister she allowed it all. Made sure you'd be desperate enough to volunteer when the time came.
Rage floods through me, hot and sharp. She let them hurt me on purpose?
Yes. A happy, confident girl wouldn't volunteer for certain death. But a broken, desperate one? He shrugs. She knew you'd see it as escape.
I want to scream. I want to cry. Instead, I ask: Who are you? How do you know all this?
My name is Corvus, he says. I'm a hunter of dark magic. I've been tracking Morganna for twenty years. When I learned she had family in this region, I came to watch. To wait. He steps closer. I watched you grow up, Elara. Watched you suffer. I wanted to intervene, but I needed proof of Morganna's plan first.
And now you have proof?
The Calling Crystal confirmed it. That crystal was designed to find magical bloodlines but it also detects Morganna's specific signature. The fact that it exploded when it touched you means her magic is woven into your very blood.
I feel sick. So everything my whole life was manipulation?
Not everything, Corvus says quietly. Your strength is real. Your courage is real. The magic inside you is yours, not hers. She may have influenced events, but you made the choice to volunteer. That matters.
Does it? My voice cracks. If I was manipulated into choosing?
You still chose. He pulls out a small vial filled with glowing silver liquid. This is dragon's blood mixed with binding herbs. If you drink it before you reach the Citadel, it will create a magical barrier around your core. Morganna won't be able to perform the transfer ritual through you. You'll be useless to her.
Hope flares in my chest. Then I can save myself?
Yes. But there's a cost. His expression darkens. The barrier will also prevent you from absorbing the Dragon King's curse. Which means you'll die like every other tribute within hours of entering the Citadel. The curse will kill you, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop it.
The hope dies as fast as it came.
So my choices are: die quickly and ruin Morganna's plan, or risk being used as her weapon?
Yes.
I stare at the vial. Freedom and death, or slavery and possible survival.
There's a third option, Corvus says. Run. Right now. I can hide you where neither Morganna nor the Dragon King will ever find you. You'll live a quiet, safe life far from all of this.
And my village? What happens when the Dragon King doesn't get his tribute?
Corvus's silence is answer enough.
He'll destroy them, I whisper.
Eventually. Yes.
So running means condemning everyone I've ever known to death.
I look back at the manor. Through the window, I can see my father slumped in his chair. Despite everything, despite his cowardice and weakness, he tried to protect me tonight. He gave me my mother's book. Told me the truth.
And there are others in the village who were kind to me. The baker who always slipped me extra bread. The old librarian who let me read forbidden books. The children who smiled at me even when their parents told them not to.
They don't deserve to die because I'm afraid.
I'm going to the Citadel, I say firmly.
Corvus's jaw tightens. Then you're walking into a trap.
Maybe. But I'm not drinking that vial. I push his hand away. If there's even a chance I can survive the curse and stop Morganna, I have to try.
You'll die.
Probably. I meet his silver eyes. But I'd rather die fighting than live as a coward. I've spent twenty-four years being powerless. If I'm going to die anyway, I'm going to die on my own terms.
For a long moment, Corvus just stares at me. Then he laughs short and sharp.
You're either the bravest person I've ever met or the most foolish.
Can't I be both?
He tucks the vial back into his pocket. I'll be watching. If Morganna makes her move, I'll intervene. But Elara... His expression turns deadly serious. The Dragon King is dangerous. Even without the curse, he's killed more people than you can imagine. Don't trust him. Don't let yourself care about him. He's not a man he's a monster wearing a man's face.
Noted, I say.
Corvus starts to leave, then pauses. Your mother was brave too. She tried to run from Morganna, tried to protect you. That's why Morganna let her die in childbirth punishment for defiance.
Pain lances through my chest. She died because of me.
She died protecting you. There's a difference. He disappears into the shadows. Three days, Elara. That's when Theron comes for you. Use that time to read your mother's book. Learn what you are. Because when you face the Dragon King, you'll need every advantage you can get.
Then he's gone.
I stand alone in the darkness, my mother's book heavy in my bag, the weight of impossible choices crushing my shoulders.
Three days until I walk into the dragon's lair.
Three days to prepare for either salvation or destruction.
I head back inside and lock myself in my room. My hands shake as I open my mother's book again.
The first page now shows new words, glowing faintly:
The curse you face was built on broken hearts and twisted love. To break it, you must do what the Dragon King cannot: choose love over fear. But beware Morganna's blood runs in your veins. The line between savior and destroyer is thinner than you know.
My breath catches.
Because underneath those words is a drawing.
A girl who looks exactly like me, standing between a dragon and a dark-robed woman.
And in the drawing, I'm glowing with so much power that everything around me is burning.