The Crown's Fire - Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Dragons
Luis entered his chamber with slumped shoulders. He had recently moved to an extra chamber close to Katelina and Levi since the green dragon, Jade, had chosen him as her dragonrider.

To be honest, his situation with the dragon still puzzled him. He had no dragonrider blood, so why would this dragon choose him? Katelina and Levi had no idea either, including Priest Saul, who said that this phenomenon hadn’t happened in history before.

It was only Levi who managed to have direct communications with these baby dragons, speaking to them inside his head. As soon as he was inside the chamber, Jade immediately flew onto his shoulder.

“Are you waiting for me?” he asked, and the dragon only made a purring sound at him, so he simply assumed that it was a yes.

He released a deep sigh and murmured, “I wonder when we can truly talk to each other. According to Saul, it never happened before, but Queen Katelina is considering the possibility based on how you even chose a normal human like me as your dragonrider.”

He walked towards the table and sat on the chair. He gently grabbed Jade from his shoulder and put her on the table so he could face her.

“Today, I got turned down by the woman I love before I even had the confidence to confess to her. I guess I saw this coming, but somehow I can’t help but cling to the smallest hope I see in it. But now, she stated it with conviction. I felt every word in her eyes alone. I’m only like an older brother to her… a family she’s grateful to have.” Luis expressed.

Unknowingly, tears rolled down his eyes. He was so brokenhearted, and it struck sharply through his heart to hear it directly from Katelina. But somehow, he felt lighter, perhaps because he finally found closure and understood how she truly felt about him.

The dragon made another purring sound and then nudged its head against his hand on the table as if comforting him in his moment of pain.

“Oh, aren’t you a considerate one, Jade?” Luis commented with a smile as he wiped the tears from his cheek. He liked this dragon, and somehow, he felt a strange, unexplainable connection with it.

Levi had given Jade to him so the two of them could bond more. Levi said that Jade could understand him well, though he wouldn’t be able to talk to her yet without the dragon bond since he was not a dragonrider.

Many things were happening that were out of the norm, like how Katelina was unable to communicate with the dragons like Levi could. Priest Saul speculated that it might be a side effect of the heavenly lightning strike she had received. But since she was still a dragonrider descendant, Priest Saul strongly believed that her abilities would awaken in time.

Luis sighed, reflecting on everything. “There’s so much we still don’t understand, Jade,” he said, gently stroking the dragon’s head. “But I have faith that we’ll figure it out together. Just like I have faith in Katelina and Levi.”

Jade purred again, leaning into his touch. Her warmth and presence provided a comfort he hadn’t expected. Despite the heartbreak, there was a sense of hope, a feeling that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out all right.

*****

Cora was feeling accomplished and giddy. “I hope I helped our King a lot. I’m so glad that she listened to everything I said…” she murmured, glancing around the chamber assigned to her. Today was a rest day, but tomorrow, she had a lot of work to wrap up. Traveling from Zion to Haven Forest would take them at least four to five days, so she had a maximum of three days to help with the cleanup of monsters.

“I should send a heads-up to our King,” she hummed excitedly. She quickly wrote the report, then grabbed her pigeon to deliver the parchment to their king.

Still smiling as she watched the royal pigeon fly outside her chamber, Cora suddenly yawned. The long journey and the excitement of the day had caught up with her.

“Time to get some rest,” she said to herself, stretching before heading to bed. Tomorrow would be another busy day, and she needed to be well-rested to tackle the tasks ahead.

She lay on the bed for a quick nap.

**

Meanwhile, Levi had just finished his lesson and eagerly excused himself from his masters. Humming as he walked back to his bedchambers, he couldn’t wait to see his dragons. Recently, he had been having so much fun playing and talking with them.

“I’m back!” he exclaimed as he burst into the bedroom. Instantly, Ember ran towards him. He frowned when Aurum didn’t follow.

“Aurum?” he called, looking around but finding no sign of the dragon.

He turned to Ember with a raised brow, staring into her eyes. He could only communicate with them through their eyes.

[I don’t know where that silly dragon is. When I woke up, he was already gone,] Ember explained.

“Aurum sneaked out?” Levi burst out. Ember simply flapped her wings. Concerned, he knocked on the adjacent door to his sister’s chamber. “Sister, are you inside?”

There was no response, so Levi opened the door and found Onyx throwing short breaths of fire into the fireplace, practicing alone.

“Onyx,” he called, and the dragon quickly approached him. “Have you seen Aurum?”

[He was complaining about being bored because Ember was sleeping. I told him I was busy, so he went back inside your chamber,] Onyx explained. [Wait, did he sneak out?]

Levi only shrugged.

[Wow, I thought he was more obedient than me,] Onyx scoffed.

Levi turned to Ember that was beside him. “Stay here, Ember with Onyx. It’s dangerous outside. I’ll find Aurum.” Ember simply made a soft chirping sound, understanding the gravity of the situation.

Levi turned and headed out, determined to find Aurum before anything happened to the mischievous dragon.

*

Back in Cora’s bedchamber, she was unaware that a little golden dragon had snuck inside and was now staring at her sleeping form. The dragon moved closer, its curiosity piqued. It yawned widely, showing tiny sharp teeth, before closing its eyes and comfortably nestling closer to her chest, seeking warmth and comfort.