Chapter 2 - One_ The Dragonless Curse

Chapter 2: Chapter One_ The Dragonless Curse

"And so, the Dark Lord sits upon a throne of ash in the deepest trench of Hell, waiting."

I rolled my eyes.

"For every soul that falls into his realm, he offers a bargain," Master Kaelen continued dramatically, surrounded by a dozen wide-eyed children. "Steal the life of a living creature on Earth, and yours shall be returned to you."

"Or," I called from beneath the apothecary overhang, "you could stop lying to children and admit you don’t know what you’re talking about."

Kaelen’s jaw clenched. I stepped into the village square, a half-eaten apple in one hand. The children immediately burst into giggles.

Kaelen’s face reddened. "You insolent, gutter-born brat!"

I tossed the apple into the air and caught it. "What? I was helping."

"You dare interrupt the sacred lore of our ancestors?"

"I’d rather listen to a dragon scream than another one of your stories."

A few of the children snickered. That was Kaelen’s worst nightmare—getting laughed at by the same children he sought to enlighten.

"But what else should I expect from a cursed, dragonless mistake?" he spat. "A child whose own mother couldn’t bear to look at her without dying of shame!"

The children’s laughter died but my smile didn’t. I’d learned early that people enjoyed watching me break. So I stopped giving them the satisfaction.

The first stone had hit me outside the village well when I was eight. A little dragon boy had thrown it because his mother told him cursed children spread misfortune.

I’d since then learned to remind myself: Smile first. Laugh louder than they did. Pretend none of it reached the place in your chest where it actually hurt.

Most days, I was almost convincing.

"Careful, old man. Your blood pressure is showing." I put my hands on my hips, glaring at him.

"Get out of here!"

Kaelen snatched gravel from the ground and hurled it at my feet.

"Go back to the brothels where you belong! You and that pathetic whore you call a mother!"

The stones scattered around my boots. I didn’t spare them a single glance. I simply stared at him until he looked away first.

Then I turned and walked. The murmurs began before I’d even crossed the square.

"Is that her?"

"The daughter of Lord Griffith’s housewoman."

"She has no dragon mark, no manners, and no shame."

"She’s a curse on the whole district."

I kept walking.

Housewhore.

That was the title they’d given my mother. The dirtiest one a woman could carry in dragon society. She’d traded every scrap of dignity we had just to survive beneath a nobleman’s shadow.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Leah came running after me, a piece of bread tucked beneath one arm.

"I saw that," she wheezed. "You ruined his whole speech. He looked ready to sprout wings and drop a rock on your head."

"He’s a fraud."

I kicked a pebble down the road.

"He feeds children fairy tales about Hell Lords and stolen lives so they don’t notice the nobles are taking everything else."

Leah grinned. "Speaking of nobles..."

I groaned. "What?"

"The examination results for Last Bastion Academy were posted at the town hall."

I laughed. "Oh, brilliant. Let me guess. Every silver-blooded Lordling with a fancy crest made the cut?"

"Obviously."

She clasped her hands dramatically. "Oh, darling! I simply must fetch my finest velvet cloak! The Academy expects only the purest dragon blood!"

I snorted. "Oh, heavens! What if my dragon mark gets dusty during sword training?"

"We’d have to cry into our silk handkerchiefs!"

We dissolved into laughter.

There was no chance of me getting in. When my mother had dragged me to the application hall a month ago, I’d practically begged them to reject me.

Status: Dragonless.

Father: Unknown Coward.

Mother’s Occupation: Housewoman to Lord Griffith.

I couldn’t have made myself less desirable if I’d tried.

"See you tomorrow?" Leah asked when we reached the fork in the road.

"Yeah." I waved.

"Try not to get recruited into an ancient apocalypse on your way home." She laughed and disappeared down the eastern path.

I turned west toward home. I was a few meters away when my laughter died almost immediately.

Four figures in dark plate armor with dragon crests stood in our tiny garden.

My stomach dropped.

No.

No, no, no.

I broke into a sprint. "Mother!"

I slammed through the front door. "What the hell did you do?! Tell me you didn’t—tell me you didn’t beg that bloated pig Griffith to–"

"She didn’t beg anyone, child." A cold voice came from the kitchen.

My mother stood beside the hearth, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Her eyes were red. Beside her stood the Captain of the Academy Guard, holding a parchment sealed in red wax.

His yellow dragon eyes moved over me. "Is this her?"

"Yes." My mother’s voice shook. "That is my daughter."

I backed toward the door. "What is this?"

The Captain unrolled the parchment. "Your name was drawn."

Drawn? DRAWN?! What a joke!

I screamed, pointing a shaky finger at my mother. "My name wasn’t drawn! You bought it! How much of yourself did you give him for this? Huh? How many nights in his bed did this cost?!"

My mother said nothing.

"By decree of the High Council, your presence at the Last Bastion Academy is mandatory." The Captain declared.

I stared at him. Then at my mother. Then back at him.

"I failed."

"You did not."

"I left half the application blank!"

"It doesn’t matter."

"I’m dragonless!"

My hand slapped against my bare shoulder. Every dragon carried a mark... I had nothing.

"No beast, no fire. Nothing."

My eyes that had managed to remain dry for years started to water. I glanced up, blinking back the tears. "Do you know what they’ll do to someone like me?"

The Captain said nothing.

"The first years will tear me apart for taking a place they think belongs to them. The seniors will use me for sport. The instructors will throw me into trials I can’t survive."

My breathing became ragged. "You’re not sending me to school." I looked at my mother. "You’re sending me to die."

My mother closed her eyes for a heartbeat then she lifted her chin.

"It is enough." A tear slid down her cheek.

"Enough to have your name seen. Enough to give you a chance no child born in our station has ever been offered."

She reached for me. I flinched away.

"You are stronger than the name this realm has given you, Elira."

I laughed bitterly. "No. I’m just the dragonless girl everyone is waiting to watch fail."

I turned for the door. "I am not going anywhere."

Two armored guards stepped into my path. I swung and my elbow cracked against one guard’s visor.

He grunted.

I kicked the second in the knee then two more hands seized my shoulders.

"Let go of me!"

"Secure her!" the Captain ordered.

"Mother!"

They dragged me outside. "Tell them to stop!"

My boots scraped uselessly across the dirt.

"You think I sent you there because I wanted you gone?" my mother whispered.

I froze for half a second.

Her eyes met mine. "If you knew why they chose you, you’d understand."

Then the guards hauled me toward the waiting carriage. I fought until my muscles screamed. Until my throat was raw. Until the carriage door slammed shut and swallowed my screams whole.

I pressed my forehead against the wood. The wheels began to turn. I thought I was being taken to the Academy.

I didn’t know I was being taken straight into the beginning of the end of the world.

~~~

The carriage came to an aggressive halt two hours later, throwing me forward and crashing me into the door. Pain exploded through my shoulder.

I didn’t cry out. I’d spent the entire journey memorizing the carriage. If the door opened from the outside, the guard on the left would have to step backward.

That was his weak side. I’d get three seconds to run.

The latch clicked and sunlight flooded the carriage.

"Out, girl."

I drove myself through the opening, shoulder-first but a massive hand caught the back of my dress. I was lifted clean off the ground.

"Watch it." The guard tossed me onto the stone.

I rolled, scrambled upright, and dropped into a defensive crouch.

"Stand down, dragonless." The Captain sat atop an armored beast. "You’re at the Concourse. Try running and the perimeter wards will turn your bones to ash before you reach the tree line."

Then he turned his mount and left... Just like that. The four guards followed. They didn’t even bother locking me up. They dumped a single canvas sack beside me and rode away.

I slowly straightened, wiped carriage grease from my cheek, then turned around.

The sight before me stole the breath from my lungs. This wasn’t a Dragon Academy. It... it was an entire world.

A sprawling plaza of white stone stretched beneath towering mountains, packed with hundreds of shifters.

Dragons were not the only ones here. Lions too, Wolves, and... holy heavens... Fae.

Actual Fae.

Carriages lined the outer ring while servants hauled trunks and noble families barked instructions at their children.

Everyone wore silk, diamonds, and gold. Everyone had weapons.

I looked down at myself and immediately became self-conscious. I was in worn-out leather boots, a patched dress, and a canvas bag containing two shirts, spare socks, and a cold biscuit.

A bitter laugh rose from my throat. My mother had called this securing me a better future when what she did was buy me a ticket to the grandest execution realm in existence, dumping me squarely at the bottom of a food chain I didn’t even understand

I gripped my bag and started walking. I needed someone. Anyone. Someone who looked as miserable as I felt.

Instead, I found hundreds of privileged heirs glowing with excitement.

"Watch where you’re putting your shadow, commoner." A tiny voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.

I turned my head. Standing three feet away was a dragon girl. She couldn’t have been older than eighteen. Behind her, an older servant was down on one knee, wiping the toe of her leather boot.

"What?"

The girl’s eyes narrowed in disgust. "You were staring."

"I was wondering if the boot came with the attitude."

A sharp gasp came from the surrounding noble girls.

The dragon girl scoffed. Then she stepped directly into a puddle of black carriage grease.

Splat.

Dark, foul-smelling slime coated the front of her footwear. Without a bother, she raised her chin, looking down her nose at me.

"CLEAN. IT."