The Crown's Fire - Chapter 237

Chapter 237: To Prank
At Haven Forest, Cora remained inside her tent, watching Aurum as she fed him. She chuckled, seeing the baby dragon throw small fireballs at the raw meat, effectively cooking it before taking it into his mouth.

“Look at you, growing so fast,” Cora commented, amazed by Aurum’s rapid development. She wondered if the rest of the dragons were like him. By now, Aurum could no longer perch on her shoulder or fit inside the magical cage he had used before. He practically stayed inside her tent with freedom.

Thankfully, he listened well, never sneaking out and always using his power of invisibility when someone approached her tent. He would only appear when she called his name. At this point, Aurum was about three feet in size.

She gently stroked Aurum’s back while he munched on the meat. “Do you know why I can’t take you, Aurum?” she murmured. At her words, Aurum quickly turned to look at her, his interest piqued.

Cora chuckled at his eager expression. He even stopped paying attention to the pieces of meat on the table and simply stared at her, making a squeaking sound and flapping his wings.

“I have a younger sister who’s four years younger than me, Aurum. You could say I’m more of a mother to her than a sister since I was the one who practically raised her,” Cora began.

Aurum snuggled his head on her arm resting on the table. “She was so close to me. We had a strong bond, but Rora had a very weak heart. She was my only family, Aurum, and I lost her three years ago. The pain is still here in my heart. It’s been three years, but losing someone you love, someone you cherished and cared for, is something I’m scared to go through again,” Cora explained.

Katelina had briefed her about the role of a dragon rider to their dragon. They would have a bond like family, especially once the dragon bond was formed between her and Aurum. Their lives would be linked together at some point. Cora was not ready for something like this. It wasn’t because she was pessimistic about what could happen in the future; she was just not ready to lose someone or something that she would grow to love and care for more than her own life.

“You need someone with a strong will, like Asura,” she commented, and Aurum flared its nostrils with smoke. Cora chuckled and gently caressed its back.

‘Lady Cora, there’s a word from the king,’ came Wizard Lurio’s voice. “Please come in,” she responded. Wizard Lurio was already aware of the hatching of the dragon eggs, so Lady Cora let him see Aurum.

“Oh my, look at you. You’re magnificent,” Lurio remarked, gazing at Aurum. He then turned to Cora and declared, “Aren’t you lucky to be chosen as its dragonrider, despite not bearing the dragonrider blood? This is a great privilege, Cora.”

She didn’t comment and simply accepted the parchment Wizard Lurio handed her. “Devon’s followers managed to get five dragon eggs. This is not good. King Ezekiel will bring Crown Prince Leviticus here, along with the dragons and the remaining eggs. And—” Cora gasped but halted as she read the last instructions.

“I guess you really don’t have a choice in this, Cora. It’s our king’s command. You must not delay it further and ready yourself. Our golden dragon here will be a great target if it’s still not bonded to its dragonrider. They didn’t manage to take the hatched dragons because they had already formed a dragon bond with their chosen dragonriders,” Lurio pointed out.

Cora bit her inner cheek as she turned to Aurum, whose eyes were shining brightly while staring back at her. It flapped its wings and circled around on her table.

“I’ll leave you now so you can gather yourself and get ready for the bond. I’ll go fetch them from Zion,” Lurio commented and Cora watched him leave her tent.

Cora knew she needed to ready herself and open her heart to Aurum for their dragon bond to succeed. She was about to focus on this when an unexpected visitor arrived at the Ebodia camp. As soon as the royal guards informed her of his arrival, Cora quickly went out to greet him.

“Duke Apollo, this is so sudden!” she exclaimed.

“I guess my cousin is very busy and forgot to mention that I’d be coming. I got bored, so I sent him word that I’d drop by to join the Global Summit for a few days,” Apollo replied with a wide grin.

Cora felt a lump in her throat because this man was too vexing and clingy. “Since they’re setting up my tent, how about a hot tea inside yours, Lady Cora?” Apollo suggested with a wink. Cora knew that if she suggested having tea elsewhere, Apollo would voice his suspicions about why she didn’t want him in her tent.

Not in the mood to argue with him right now, Cora tried to hide her irritation as she led Duke Apollo to her tent. Aurum in his invisible form was bound to cause some mischief. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.

As soon as they entered the tent, Cora glanced around, not seeing Aurum but knowing he was there. Apollo, ever curious, started to poke around, examining everything with an exaggerated interest.

“So, this is where you stay, Lady Cora?” Apollo said, lifting a small trinket from her table and inspecting it closely. “Quite cozy.”

Cora forced a smile, nervously glancing around. “Yes, it is. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Well, the revelation of the dragons’ existence would soon be known, but Cora preferred that it be brought to light by their king, especially given Apollo’s inquisitive nature. He tended to ask too many questions and talk too much, so it was better for King Ezekiel to be the one to discuss the dragons with him.

Apollo moved to sit on a chair, but just as he was about to sit, it slid away from him. He stumbled, barely catching himself. “What the—?”

Cora covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. She knew it was Aurum’s doing. Apollo frowned and moved to sit again, this time with more determination. As he settled down, the chair wobbled slightly before staying put. He gave Cora a suspicious look.

“Your furniture seems to have a mind of its own,” he remarked.

“Oh, it’s just old,” Cora said, waving a hand dismissively. “Nothing to worry about.”

Apollo relaxed a bit, but then his hat flew off his head and landed neatly on a high shelf. He jumped up, looking around wildly. “Did you see that?”

Cora couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. “Oh, Duke Apollo, you must be imagining things.”

Apollo’s face turned red with frustration. “I’m not imagining things! Something strange is happening here!”

Just then, Aurum decided to reveal himself partially, letting only his head become visible right next to Apollo. The Duke turned and came face to face with the dragon’s mischievous grin. He yelped and jumped back, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“What is that?!” Apollo shouted, pointing at Aurum, who was now fully visible and looking quite pleased with himself.

Apollo’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Aurum, the golden dragon, shimmering into view before him. “Is that a dragon?” he exclaimed, his voice tinged with both astonishment and curiosity. He took a cautious step, inspecting it closely.

It seemed like what she wanted wouldn’t happen. It appeared that she was destined to be stuck with Apollo to discuss Aurum’s existence. However, Cora thought that maybe it was for the best. After all, she needed someone to talk to about Aurum, and despite Apollo being a pain in the ass, he understood her better than anyone else.

Cora tried to keep a straight face. “Oh, that’s just Aurum. He’s very friendly, really.”

Aurum snorted a small puff of smoke, which made Apollo stumble back further. “Friendly?! That creature just tried to prank me!”

Cora couldn’t help but laugh. “He’s just playing around, Duke Apollo. He has a good sense of humor.”

Apollo straightened his clothes and tried to regain his composure. “Well, I suppose I should have expected some… peculiarities. Being around dragons and all.”

“Indeed,” Cora said, smiling. “You’ll get used to it.”

Aurum made a satisfied rumble, and Cora gave him a quick, grateful pat. Duke Apollo, still a bit flustered, decided to take a seat as he fell into a deep stupor. “I believe I need to have at least some briefings right, Lady Cora? I mean, why do you have a golden dragon here?! Did Ezekiel lay eggs in his dragon form and hatch them? Can male dragons even lay eggs?!”

Cora didn’t know how to react, but Duke Apollo was definitely entertaining! She chuckled softly, shaking her head. “Duke Apollo, kind Ezekiel will burn you alive if he happens to hear you right now,” she began, preparing herself for what would likely be a lengthy explanation.