The morning air was no longer sweet. As we stood on the balcony, I felt the Dragon Heart Stone grow cold against my skin. It was a warning.
"Alaric," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Before the High Priest arrives, there is something I must tell you. Something you will find impossible to believe."
Alaric turned to me, his golden eyes searching mine. "You can tell me anything, Seraphina. My soul is tied to yours."
I took a deep breath, the cold wind whipping my hair. "My name is not Seraphina. My real name is Felina. I am not from this world, Alaric. In my world, your life—this kingdom, the war, even your dragon form—is all just a story in a book. I was a girl reading about you in the rain. I died in an accident, and I woke up in this body."
Alaric froze. The heat usually radiating from him vanished. He stepped back, his expression shifting from love to a sharp, painful confusion.
"A book?" he repeated, his voice sounding like cracking ice. "You are telling me my pain, my curse, and my kingdom are just... words on a page? You are telling me you are a ghost inhabiting my wife's corpse?"
"No, Alaric! I am real! My love for you is real!" I reached for his hand, but he pulled away.
"You know my secrets because you read them?" He let out a dark, hollow laugh. "And I thought it was a soul-connection. I thought you were a miracle. But you are just a stranger who knows the script."
"Alaric, please—"
"Enough!" he roared, and the stone on my chest turned a dark, bruised purple. "The High Priest is at the gates. We have a ceremony to attend. We will speak of this 'madness' later."
The atmosphere was suffocating. The "spicy" heat between us was replaced by a wall of obsidian. He didn't look at me as we walked down to the Great Hall.
The Ceremony of Prestige
The Great Hall was filled with the smell of heavy incense and the sound of chanting. The High Priest stood at the altar, wearing robes of gold and white. He looked at me with eyes like a hawk.
"King Alaric," the Priest's voice echoed. "We are here to test the Queen's prestige. To ensure she is not a witch who has charmed the Dragon."
Alaric stood like a statue of salt. He didn't defend me. He didn't wrap his arm around my waist. He simply stared ahead, his heart a cold void in my mind.
The ceremony began. I had to walk through the "Circle of Truth," a ring of white fire that was supposed to burn anyone who lied about their soul. As I stepped into the flames, they didn't burn me—they turned a beautiful violet, the color of my eyes.
"She is pure," the High Priest whispered, looking shocked.
But as the crowd cheered, a thick, magical smoke suddenly filled the hall. It smelled of bitter herbs. I felt a sharp prick in my neck—a needle!
"Alaric!" I tried to scream, but my voice died.
Through the smoke, I saw Alaric's silhouette. He was fighting the guards, his eyes flashing orange, but he was too far away. The last thing I felt was the floor disappearing beneath me.
The Dragon's Rage
When the smoke cleared, the Great Hall was empty of one person.
"Where is she?" Alaric's voice was a terrifying rumble that made the chandeliers shatter. "WHERE IS MY QUEEN?"
The High Priest was trembling on the floor. "She... she vanished into the shadows! We did not do this!"
Alaric didn't listen. The Dragon Heart Stone in his pocket (he had taken it from his neck earlier) began to glow a violent, angry red. He could feel it—Felina was in pain. She was terrified.
Even though he was angry at her truth, the thought of her missing made the "monster" inside him explode.
"You call her a witch," Alaric hissed, his skin beginning to sprout obsidian scales. "But she was the only one who didn't fear me. If a single hair on her head is harmed, I will turn this temple into a tomb!"
He shifted right there in the hall. The roof groaned as his massive dragon wings expanded. He let out a roar that could be heard across the entire kingdom. He didn't care about the "book" or the "real name" anymore. All he knew was that Felina—the girl who loved him in the rain—was gone.
He flew into the storm, his golden eyes scanning the earth for any sign of her. In his mind, he kept hearing her voice: 'I loved you since before I even had a name in this world.'
He finally understood. She didn't use him because she knew the story. She saved him because she had spent her whole life wishing she could.
"I'm coming, Felina," he growled into the wind, his heart breaking with every beat of his wings. "Hold on. The Dragon is coming for you."