POV: ELARA
I couldn't breathe.
Tomorrow, Kael would take me to the Dragon's Heart. Tomorrow, I'd either prove I was a real dragon tamer or die burning from the inside out.
And if I died, he'd destroy Veridia. Kill thousands of innocent people because their queen had lied.
My hands shook as I stumbled through the citadel corridors. I needed to get back to my room. Needed to think. Needed to—
A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways into darkness.
I opened my mouth to scream, but another hand covered it.
"Quiet, little human." The voice was smooth and dangerous. "We need to talk."
I was pulled into a shadowy alcove. The hand released me and I spun around, ready to fight or run or—
Theron Nightshade stood there, blocking my escape.
Kael's best friend. His second-in-command. The Fae warrior who'd watched me with suspicious eyes since I arrived.
"What do you want?" My voice came out braver than I felt.
"Answers." His violet eyes gleamed in the darkness. "The kind you didn't give Kael."
"I told him everything."
"Did you?" He stepped closer. Even without trying, he moved like a predator—silent and deadly. "You told him you're a fake princess. That you were sent here to manipulate him. That you carry dragon tamer blood you don't understand."
"Yes. All of that."
"But you didn't tell him why." Theron tilted his head. "Why you really came here. What you're really afraid of. What you're really running from."
My heart hammered. "I don't know what you mean."
"Liar." The word was soft but sharp. "I've lived five hundred years, little human. I can smell lies like most people smell flowers. And you?" He leaned in close. "You reek of secrets."
I tried to push past him. He didn't move. Might as well have tried pushing a stone wall.
"Let me go," I said. "I need to prepare for tomorrow. The Dragon's Heart test—"
"Will kill you." He said it casually, like discussing the weather. "Most humans last about ten seconds before the magic burns them hollow. Even Fae struggle. You think you'll survive?"
"I have to." My voice cracked. "If I don't, Kael will—"
"Destroy your kingdom. Yes, I heard." Theron studied my face. "Interesting that you care. Most people would be planning escape, not worrying about strangers back home."
"They're not strangers. They're innocent people who don't deserve to die for Isolde's schemes."
"Innocent?" His laugh was cold. "Your people cursed us five hundred years ago. A human princess came here, just like you. Beautiful and charming and full of lies. Kael trusted her. Loved her, even. And she repaid that love by stabbing him with dragonbane and speaking words that cursed our entire kingdom."
I'd heard about the curse, but not the details. "What kind of curse?"
"The kind that slowly kills everything." Pain flickered across Theron's face. "Our magic is fading. Dragons are born weaker. Fae are losing their immortality. Witches can barely cast spells anymore. Every year, we grow closer to extinction. All because one human woman betrayed the Dragon King."
"That wasn't me," I whispered. "I would never—"
"Wouldn't you?" He grabbed my wrist, holding up my marked hand. "This magic growing inside you—do you even know what it means? Dragon tamers don't just calm dragons. They control them. Command them. Make them slaves to human will."
"No." I jerked my hand back. "That's not what I'm doing. I don't want to control anyone."
"What you want doesn't matter." His voice turned harsh. "It's what you *are*. And what you are is dangerous. If you really have tamer blood, you're a weapon. The question is—who's going to use you? Kael? Isolde? Or someone else we haven't seen yet?"
"I'm not a weapon." Tears burned my eyes. "I'm just a girl who got caught in something bigger than herself. I didn't ask for any of this."
"Neither did we." Theron's expression softened slightly. "Neither did the children who died when the curse first hit. Neither did the mothers who watched their babies fade. Neither did the warriors who aged and died when they should have lived forever."
Guilt crashed through me. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what happened to your people. But I wasn't even born yet. I can't fix the past."
"No. But you might destroy the future." He crossed his arms. "That's why I'm here. To warn you."
"Warn me about what?"
"About what happens if you fail tomorrow." His violet eyes locked onto mine. "Kael thinks he'll just kill you and move on. But he's wrong. The Dragon's Heart doesn't just test tamers. It reveals truth. And if you go in there carrying lies—even lies you don't know about—it will expose everything."
My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
"I mean there's more to your story than you realize." Theron leaned against the wall. "Isolde didn't just randomly pick a commoner baby to swap with the princess. She chose specifically. She had a reason."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I've been investigating since you arrived." He pulled a folded paper from his pocket. "I have contacts in the human kingdoms. They sent me this."
He handed me the paper. My hands shook as I unfolded it.
It was a birth record. Old and faded, but readable.
*Child born to Anna Ashford, daughter of the last dragon tamer bloodline. Father unknown. Child shows signs of magical marking. Dangerous. Must be monitored.*
Anna Ashford. My real mother.
"Daughter of the last dragon tamer bloodline," I whispered. "But I thought the tamers died out two hundred years ago."
"Most did." Theron watched my face carefully. "But one survived. One woman who went into hiding among humans. She had a daughter—your mother. And your mother had you. The last living descendant of the most powerful dragon tamers who ever lived."
The paper crumpled in my shaking hands. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because your mother died protecting you." His voice gentled. "She was hunted by humans who feared tamer magic. And by dragons who wanted revenge for past betrayals. She gave you to Isolde to keep you safe. Made her promise to hide you where no one would look—in plain sight as a fake princess."
"That's not protection." Anger burned through my shock. "That's using me. Isolde knew what I was. Knew I had this power. And she sent me here anyway, knowing Kael would—"
"Knowing Kael would either unlock your power or kill you." Theron nodded. "Either way, she wins. If you die, the last tamer dies with you. No one can ever unite dragons and humans again. If you live and awaken fully, she controls the most powerful weapon in existence."
"I'm not a weapon!" The words came out as a shout.
"Then what are you?" He stepped closer. "Because tomorrow, the Dragon's Heart will answer that question. And whatever it reveals—whatever truth it burns out of you—will change everything."
"I just want to survive," I said desperately. "I just want to live."
"Living isn't enough." Theron's expression turned serious. "You need to choose a side. Kael's people are dying. Your people think dragons are monsters. And somewhere in the middle is a truth that could save everyone or destroy them all. The Dragon's Heart will force you to face that truth."
"What if I don't like what I find?"
"Then you'll burn." He said it simply. "The Heart doesn't accept doubt or fear or lies. It demands absolute truth. If you go in there still torn between worlds, still unsure who you are, it will rip you apart."
Terror flooded through me. "Then what do I do?"
"Decide." He turned to leave, then paused. "Decide who you are, Elara Ashford. Fake princess? Real tamer? Human girl? Dragon's weapon? You can't be all of them. The Heart will demand you choose."
"And if I choose wrong?"
"There is no wrong choice." His smile was sad. "Only honest ones. The Heart respects truth, even painful truth. It's the lies that kill."
He started walking away, disappearing into the shadows.
"Wait!" I called after him. "Why are you helping me? You hate humans."
His voice echoed back. "I don't hate humans. I hate betrayal. And something tells me you're not a betrayer. Not really. You're just scared and lost and trying to survive."
"How do you know?"
"Because I see you with the dragons. The way you touch them without fear. The way they respond to you like you're something precious." He paused. "Dragons don't lie, little human. They know what you are even if you don't."
Then he was gone, leaving me alone in the darkness with a crumpled birth record and a heart full of fear.
I looked down at my marked hand. The golden scales glowed softly.
Tomorrow, I'd face the Dragon's Heart. Tomorrow, I'd either become what I was meant to be or die trying.
But Theron was right about one thing—I needed to decide who I was. Needed to choose.
I closed my eyes and thought about everything I'd learned. About Kael, who'd been betrayed but still showed mercy. About the Northern Kingdom, which wasn't full of monsters but survivors. About my mother, who'd died protecting dragon eggs from human hunters.
About the connection I felt every time I touched dragon scales. The way power sang in my blood. The way this place felt more like home than Veridia ever had.
Maybe I'd been asking the wrong question.
Not "what am I?"
But "what do I want to be?"
I was heading back toward my tower room when I heard voices. Low and urgent, coming from a nearby corridor.
I should have kept walking. Should have minded my own business.
But one voice sounded familiar.
Cassian.
My childhood friend. The boy who'd tried to kill Kael. He was supposed to be locked in the dungeons.
So why was he free and talking to someone in the middle of the night?
I crept closer, staying in the shadows.
"—everything is ready," Cassian was saying. "Tomorrow during the Heart test, while everyone's distracted."
"And you're certain she'll die?" The other voice was female, cold, unfamiliar.
"The Dragon's Heart kills humans. Always has. She won't survive five seconds."
"Good. With the fake dead and the real princess arriving next week, the plan can finally proceed."
My blood turned to ice.
Real princess. Seraphine.
"What about the Dragon King?" Cassian asked.
"He'll be devastated, vulnerable. Perfect timing for Seraphine to arrive and activate the mate bond. He'll be so desperate for his fated mate that he won't see the trap until it's too late."
"And then?"
The woman's laugh was cruel. "Then we finish what was started five hundred years ago. The curse will complete. Dragons will die. And humans will rule again."
I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from gasping.
This wasn't just about me. This was bigger. Darker. A conspiracy that had been building for centuries.
And tomorrow, while I was fighting for my life in the Dragon's Heart, they were planning something terrible.
I had to warn Kael. Had to tell someone. Had to—
A hand clamped over my mouth from behind.
"Well, well," a voice whispered in my ear. "What do we have here? A little spy?"
I was dragged backward into darkness. I couldn't scream. Couldn't fight. Couldn't—
Something sharp pricked my neck.
Poison. Or sleeping herbs. Or—
The world spun. My legs gave out.
The last thing I heard before unconsciousness took me was Cassian's voice, sad and resigned:
"I'm sorry, Elara. But this is the only way to save you from them."
Then nothing but darkness.