The dragon lets out a sound—half-growl, half… chuckle. He dips his head low, golden eyes burning into mine, his maw parting just enough to reveal razor-sharp teeth and a faint red glow deep in his throat.
“Come to finish me off yourself, have you?” I accuse, forcing myself to meet his gaze defiantly.
As if in reply, he roars. The reverberations rattle the ground. My eardrums throb as I scramble back to my feet and dig my heels into the stone, refusing to back down.
Bracing myself, I roar back. If this is my end, I’ll meet it with fire.
The great beast only tilts his head, golden eyes narrowing.
“Well?” I scream. “What are you waiting for? Go on—get it over with! Kill me!”
The dragon steps forward again, the sheer force of his weight shaking the ledge and knocking me clean off my feet. I hit the ground with a gasp, pain blooming across my back.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. In four. Hold four. Out four. Kat taught me that.
Kat.
Will I never see her again? A tear slips from my eye and darkens the stone beneath me.
Then comes a huff of smoke, followed by a rumble that sounds almost like a laugh. His foul breath smacks me in the face, making me cough and sputter.
“If I wanted you dead, mortal,” the beast rumbles, “I would have let the kraken eat you.”
My eyes fly open. “You can speak?” I breathe. “How?”
He snorts. “Dragons were creating languages and composing songs long before humans ever walked this earth. Now get away from that ledge.”
Everything in my body aches, but I push myself to my feet.
“And wipe that stunned look off your face,” he hisses. “A mortal clever enough to win the first Trial should already know dragons are capable of speech.”
I obey. “Why did you save me from the lake monster?”
“Kraken,” he corrects me.
“Sorry,” I say, still stunned. “Kraken.”
The dragon takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh of steam and ash.
“Never has the Trial spat a bride out beyond the palace gardens,” he says. “After the human king told me you’d won but hadn’t emerged, he sent me looking for you.”
So, the king sent him. But why? This is the same beast that murdered countless girls, girls from my home. This isn’t just a mindless animal; it’s a thinking, speaking killer. A true monster.
“You’re going to burn a hole through my scales with that stare.” Another burst of smoke. “What have I done to earn such ire,little flame?”
“You killed a girl seven years ago.”
“I’ve killed many,” he says evenly, unfazed. “I remember few.”
“She was my cousin.”
He flicks his tail in agitation.
“Why not just kill us all? Why bring anyone back alive?” I demand. “I remember how you tore Taryn apart. How you crushed Awnya and let her fall to her death.”
“They were weak. Their screams… annoying. They would not have survived the first Trial. It was an act of mercy.”
My hands clench at my sides. “And my cousin Liora? She was strong. Brave. Kind. She should have lived. But you burned her to ash.”
