Chapter 4: Dragon King Decree
Three days after Julien’s rejection, the sky over Oakhaven turned a deep, ominous crimson. It wasn’t the color of a sunset, but the hue of liquid fire.
The ground trembled. From the northern peaks, the shadow of a massive, terrifying beast cut through the clouds, accompanied by the sounding of heavy, iron horns. The Dragon Clan’s imperial guards had entered the human territories.
Within hours, a royal herald stood in the town square, surrounded by armored naga soldiers whose eyes gleamed like cold amber. The townspeople huddled in terror, whispering the dark rumors that had circulated for years.
The new Dragon King, Zain, was a tyrant. Rumor said he was so ruthless that he had slaughtered his own mother, the Queen Mother, to seize the obsidian throne. No one had seen her in years, and the kingdom trembled at the mere mention of his name. He was a beast without mercy, a monarch of ash and blood.
The herald unfurled a massive black scroll.
“By imperial decree of His Majesty, King Zain of the Dragon Clan. Every noble and merchant house within the outer provinces must send one daughter to the capital as a bride candidate. Regardless of whether a daughter is chosen or rejected, each participating house will receive a basic imperial betrothal gift of one thousand lumens. Defiance will be met with fire.”
The crowd gasped. One thousand lumens was an astronomical sum—enough to buy an entire province. But the fear of the Dragon King’s ruthlessness made the money feel like blood coin. Families wept at the thought of sending their daughters into the jaws of the beast.
Inside the Alden estate, however, the atmosphere was entirely different.
“One thousand lumens,” Alden whispered, his eyes wide with manic greed. He paced the floor of his study, his fingers twitching. “This is the salvation of my house. With that amount, I can double my fleets.”
“But Father,” Tania cried, clutching her mother’s arm. “You can’t send me! The Dragon King is a murderer! What if he chooses me? I’ll be torn to pieces, or kept as a slave in his volcanic dungeons!”
“Calm yourself, Tania,” Alden said, a cruel, sharp smile cutting across his face. He turned his gaze slowly toward the corner of the room, where Tamara stood in the shadows. “I have no intention of sending you.”
Tamara felt a cold dread settle in her stomach. “You’re sending me.”
“Of course I am,” her father stated smoothly, as if discussing the sale of a common horse. “The decree states one daughter from every merchant house. If I send Tania, she might actually be chosen because of her beauty, and I cannot risk her life or her future potential. But you? Look at you.”
He stepped closer, pointing a disdainful finger at her birthmark.
“The Dragon King is a proud creature. He demands perfection. The moment he sees that hideous mark on your face, he will disqualify you instantly. You will be kicked out of the palace before you even reach the stairs of the throne. And I? I get to keep the one thousand lumens as a free reward from the kingdom.”
Tamara stared at the man who shared her blood. Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “And what if he kills me for offending him with my presence?”
“For you, it’s just a free reward,” her father said, turning his back to her, his tone casual and indifferent—as if sending her to her death meant absolutely nothing.