Embera Flameheart's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Embera climbed the misty stone path with her wings tucked tight, chasing the one rumor that mattered. The glowing castle floating above the peaks was where the dragon prince hid from court, and she had bribed three guards to learn it. She wanted one thing: to make him laugh, really laugh, before some quiet noble girl smiled first. Her tail thumped the steps. Her boots scuffed. She practiced a joke under her breath. She shoved open a side door and froze. The prince was there, yes — coiled close on a low bench with a long silver serpent woman, her tail wrapped around his wrist, her mouth at his ear. He looked up. He saw Embera. The serpent smiled, slow and sharp. Embera's drink-tray disaster flashed back, and this time she didn't pretend she wasn't there. She turned and walked out, fangs clenched, knowing the prince already belonged to someone else's quiet.