Each step I took send me further and further away from the Dragon’s Embrace, the only city and place I had ever known. I should feel worried and anxious, with a tight rope pressing against my chest. What I had was elation, my cheeks flushing from excitement as my feet moved just a little faster than I was used to. Not a huge issue, with my emotions bolstering me up, filling my muscles with strength I didn’t have before.

I knew I would pay for this in the future, especially since I moved quicker than I usually did. My feet were light as I dexterously moved through the rocky terrain, the cave still stretching before me—but I could see the exit coming ahead soon enough.

My heart beat faster in my chest, the anticipation almost electrifying. I could nearly taste it, as the wind coming from outside brought the scent of fresh vegetation with it. Even the sound of birds chirping and the wail of insects was echoing as well, making a symphony with the sound of a river reverberating from afar.

All of those were new, something I hadn’t been able to listen much beforehand. I moved a little faster, the desire to get out of the cave suddenly bursting out of me.

How long had I spent within the belly of the mountain, just trying to find a way to get out? Too long. Hours upon hours of staring upon the rocks, tinted green from the glowing mosses planted across them. Or at least it felt that long, anyway. Without any sort of timekeeping device, I was unable to know exactly how much time had passed, and was left to the mercy of feelings and my gut. Luckily, I somehow never get lost in the caves anyway, thanks to Maria’s instructions being so clear in my mind.

Knowing which crossing to go left, or right, or any direction for any of the intersection was wonderful. If Maria hadn’t helped… I shuddered at the thought, at the possibility of getting further and further lost.

Never managing to reach outside, despite taking such great risk. That would be the worst possible outcome, if I thought about it further.

I hastened my movement, the feeling of being chased suddenly so real behind me. As if something—someone was behind me, chasing unrelentingly until I dropped from tiredness. My heart hammered as I moved faster, sweat pooling below my clothes. I didn’t want to be here whenever my parents would send for the guards—If I was still around when they were sent out? well, I was sure they would catch me very easily. I knew they would be busy with the Bonding Ceremony for another few hours, but the more distance I could put between us, the better.

When I finally burst out of the cave—I couldn’t help but wince slightly at the heat of the sunlight, my left hand automatically covering my eyes, so the sun wouldn’t get in and stab my pupils. With this kind of brightness, the hours must still be around noon instead of the afternoon I expected.

The crunch of dead leaves sounded so loud as I stepped forward, my eyes having adjusted themselves, and I could finally see where I was. Green and brown dominated the landscape, the almost deafening cries of insects filling my ears. Birds cried out in glee, the source unseen, and yet the warbles continued on. Multiple roaring echoed from afar, so faint I almost couldn’t make them out—but I could, and my heart thumped heavily in my chest. Was that a predator? That was something I never had to contend when inside the city. My palms sweated as I gripped my bag’s strap tighter, tilting my head slightly so I could know where that came from.

It took a few moments, until the roar repeated itself. A longer and lonely one, as if whatever called wished for someone to hear. Whatever making the sound, it came from the right, away from the different kind of roar that was coming from the left. This one was steady, a constant rumble and droning sound that I could easily hear if I just close my eyes and listen.

Had to be a river.

That made me check my water bottle—which I took a swig from as well, since my throat already felt parched by now. I have already gone through half of it, which meant I needed to refill it sometime soon. And well, with the river’s there…

Maybe I should go to it first? That seemed to be reasonable—and it should help me reach the lake Maria told me to go. Going straight to the lake would be ideal, as Maria’s words echoed in my head—

“The lake will be close to the mountain, that’s where you want to go. Beautiful scenery and absolutely open space… someplace you don’t ever see while cooped inside the mountain.”

I had nodded and listened well, each of her words easily transcribing themselves into my mind. How I reached there was left up to me, so… I looked around again, grimacing as I noticed I was unable to see as far as I wished I could. Dense vines and foliage had grown all over the trees and vegetation, making nearly everything I saw was more green upon another. Trees towered high as well, a few of the moss-streaked barks curling and twisted upon one another to reach the sky, its leaves so high I was barely able to see the shadows, through the little sunlight that managed to cut through the foliage.

I breathed, taking great care to draw them as deep as possible—just to let myself be immersed into the forest. To taste the humidity in the air. To scent all the greens—so different from the mosses and small plants cultivated back in the city. So vibrant and fresh, and especially thick in the air.

No matter what would happen in the future, I couldn’t help but be glad I took this path. If I had never tried to walk out… These sights were something I would have never seen. Fear, of course, still nipped at me. At least this place was still under canopies, reminding me how I was while in the city—protected under the mountain itself.

I basked in place for a few moments longer, just… trying to keep everything inside my mind. I didn’t want to forget these sight anytime soon, as I doubted I would ever come back here—not unless I wanted to be captured back by the guards.

Wait.

Tilting my head, I tried to listen for any dragon bellowing—but luckily there were nothing. So my parents hadn’t found out yet, and there were no hunting parties for today. At any other day, I was sure that they would either come back or finally started hunting from around this hour.

Glad for my own smart choice of picking today for my grand escape—even if I knew that there weren’t really any other possible time, I slowly started to take some steps to the left. It was time to try my best following the sound of the river, and go wherever it wanted.

The trees continued to be especially dense, even as I walked closer and closer to the river. The roar of the water echoed relentlessly, never ending in its quest to reach the end. I had to shake off the few insects that had decided me to be a delicious food of theirs too, their buzzing incessantly screaming near my ears despite my waving hands.

I snarled, wishing I had something I could use to ward them off—but I didn’t bring any of the insect repellant incense with me, thinking they wouldn’t be useful and that I was better off with a few more dried food inside my bag. Now I wished I had brought some.

No matter. Despite it all, I couldn’t help but enjoy the slight breeze going across the forest, rustling each of the foliage into a cry, a reminder how alive this forest was—even though I didn’t see anything else right now. No monsters or more dangerous animals that had built some sort of territory within the forest and deciding I would be a delicious snack.

They were probably scared off by the existence of the Dragon Gods in the mountain, and despite the fact I had run away from them… I still prayed, rubbing and rotating my dragon bracelet.

“O Dragon Gods, please accept my gratitude for bestowing us your blessing and protection…”

I shuddered as a moment of warmth passed right through my fingers and wrist right into my body—all from wherever I touched my bracelet. My body swayed momentarily, as I had ended up standing in place while saying my prayers. When I looked down at my hand… the bracelet seemingly glinted under the afternoon’s sun, the green and gold beads glowed red for less than a second.

A blink and the glimmer I swore was there was gone now, beyond how they were dyed orange-red from the sunlight.

Was that merely a trick of mind? But the heat burning my body felt incredibly real, the warmth making my head felt as if I was feverish—I let out a soft whimper, leaning close against one of the tall trees within the forest. The mossy bark felt cool against my skin, a certain texture that I sorely missed despite the fact I had left Dragon's Embrace just yesterday.

But I kept my head upright, ignoring the way warmth pulsed within my body. I turned my head away from what it could possibly be, the uncomfortable throb within my lower stomach telling me what it most likely was—and I didn’t want to do anything with it.

Ever since I had reached of age, my body started to react strangely to the magic within the mountain, from what the Dragon Gods and the Emissaries had exuded. What was happening to my body right now reminded me of that, a slow, unrelenting sensation coming from within me to go all over myself.

Pleasantly buzzing my mind. Pleasurable, even.

I walked, knowing the burn would continue becoming bigger even if I did nothing. There were no need for extra fuels, for my own breathing and movement, the little ways my skin brushed against one another and even the cloth were enough.

Just one foot after another. Just keep moving forward, unrelenting and with sincere refusal to stop. I tried, again and again, even as my body burned like a furnace, even as my mind was starting to be pushed into the swamp of heat and warmth that was so familiar.

Not dwelling on it was the better option, so I kept on that. Believing that eventually it would all make sense, and no matter how much I walked forward… there were nothing to help. The fire continued its way to spread inside me, dragging me further and further into a certain type of thoughts, an encouragement, so I would keep thinking of them.

Even the little flashes of imagination made my mouth dry, the way the Emissaries were always in shape—their lithe body, the antler-like horns that harkened those of the true Dragons, with scales forming all over their skin. I had never touched them, any of them—but I was almost certain they would feel the same. Even while watching from afar, the way the scales reflected any sort of light…

Always beautiful. Rainbow lights would cascade from the reflections, turning every simple movement into a show, and both the Dragon Gods and Emissaries always knew the right way to do it.

Even the memories were enough to make me shudder in place, a soft whimper dragged out of my throat as I couldn’t help but stop. Embers smoldered in the pit of my stomach, my lips drying out as desire started to build and build incessantly, dragging my imagination with it. Reminding me of how soft scales pressed against my skin, how it would cool myself slightly, the texture of them making me groan—

Roars.

So loud, even the surrounding trees were shaken, and I jumped in surprise, immediately trying to look up because the sounds were familiar. Something I had heard hundreds, or even thousands, of times. Day after day, even if not at this time—Dragons’ roars.

They were calling for a hunt—and as hunting horns were blown, I knew they weren’t doing it to find a prey to grab for the Bonding Ceremony’s dinner, no. There were only one reason why they would go in a group now, each of them scattering to whichever direction they wished.

I could lie to myself, but I knew that would be a useless matter. They were looking for me. While I was glad that I managed to delay their search for a few hours by now—I wasn’t too far from the mountain just yet.

So I needed to move faster, and the first thing to do was to go where Maria had told me to go. The lake would be safe, after all. Enough water for me to cook if I wished to, although it would be better for me to use the river for refilling my water bottle than the still water of the lake. And then more food than I would ever expect.

I didn’t think I have the tool for that, but Maria had assured me that magic would be answer enough. So, despite the burning fire in my gut, all I could do was hope that they wouldn’t be able to grab me in the end.

Running wasn’t my forte, and it was only my prowess with magic that allowed me to run as fast as I could, barely taking a rest as I nearly flew over the terrain. My heart thumped like those ceremonial drums in my chest, even as my blood rushed like mad and screamed in my ears. Sweats had fully soaked through my clothing, my breathing coming in gasps as I tried my best to calm myself down.

Because I had reached the end of the forest, the trees were becoming sparser ahead—in exchange for green plains and tall grasses. I panted, grasping the closest branch near me, feeling the rough bark against my palms. The scratch and roughness helped me to stay present, a feeling of stability allowing me to let my trembling legs rest.

The river still roared on my side, because I had decided that it would be my best landmark to reach the lake without worry, and as I lifted my head further up—my back creaked in protest, even as I ignored the slight pain coming from there. Then I could see it down below, the place I had been told to go.

The lake was there. Wide and still, reflecting the orange sky almost perfectly, with the beautiful red of the setting sun. Wind picked up the moment I was looking, rippling its surface, reminding me that was merely a reflection and not a copy of what’s up there. Even the constant noises that had been my companion through my run were no longer there—as if they knew they had to be silent around the lake.

I stood, eyes wide as I drank the landscape—this was it. The reason why I even wanted to go out in the first place, beyond being forced to marry someone I didn’t want to. More breeze was passing through, helping my body to cool down further as I stayed still, uncertain whether I should move forward or staying beneath the canopies of the trees.

I wanted to go there though, to the lake’s side, to feel the cool water against my skin. While I had already started to feel less overheated, just relaxing a moment under the lake sounds incredible. So I peeked around, looking toward the clear sky, even if the sun had almost set by now, and if the night had fallen… well, I doubted I could stand the coldness then. So I better hurry.

This time I didn’t run, walking as fast as I could while looking around the lake—and noticing how there weren’t really any other creatures here. Not even some herbivores shuffling around the grass, or some creature or another drinking deep from the lake. As far as I remember in my books, watering holes were supposed to be where most animals gathered, right? So where were they?

A slight chill passed through my spine, a momentary fear squeezing my insides.

But I walked forward anyway, the desire to go forward, to go right toward the lakeside—where I would be open and vulnerable—were so strong that I was unable to even give any sort of fight. It was never in consideration in the first place.

I smiled, happiness swelling from within me as I followed the recommendation as well as my own wishes. I had no need to ask for permission, and things were just… going to be better. After all, tomorrow I would continue on to the closest city, and then I probably would have to find a way to increase my funds again… I furrowed my eyebrows slightly, noticing and understanding that there were many things I still have to do in the coming days.

Surely, it was the fact it needed such an effort that meant it was truly precious, though—if I didn’t want that, I would never have gone here in the first place.

For now, I finally arrived near to the lake, shivering slightly from the strong wind I didn’t expect. I couldn’t help but grin, kneeling right next to the water and about to feel how cold it would be—

Massive roars sounded from everywhere. Cracks of timbers, the cry of many trees, toppled just like that as a whirlwind of activity happened all around me—coupled with massive wind, making my hair fly everywhere as I gasped, trying to protect my face with my hands almost immediately.

I had jumped up, standing and shaking as the sound of something heavy slamming down onto the ground could be heard, and even repeated multiple times.

My stomach was flipping like mad, an uncomfortable realization forming inside my mind as I found those sounds familiar. Something I had listened for hundreds, or even thousands of times or more.

“Miss Whitehall.” A voice had sharply cracked down, silencing everything else. Even the wind had momentarily stopped, making her—for I was certain who this person was—voice to echo across the place, not a single rustle of grasses, or scrape of scales against one another or a shuffling claw. “You have completely broken the laws decreed by the Dragon Gods.”

I let my hands fell to my side, my eyes narrowing as I saw her—the Hunting Captain, Isolde Stormbinder. The woman stood tall, her overcoat hung nicely over her shoulders as she, too, glared at me—and the Dragon God who had bound themselves with her merely hang back, an amused look dancing within their eyes.

Everyone else were looking at me, and my body prickled from the attention—I hated this already, even as the way the Dragon Gods looked at me that felt like—

I shuddered in place, my mind stuttering for a moment, as if I was unable to find the next words. All I could hold onto was the golden eyes, their glow burning themselves within my thoughts. All the Dragon Gods had them, so alike the one within Maria’s eyes when she talked with me, when she had suddenly become incredibly assertive.

The molten gold melted my mind, and I swayed in place, barely able to parse what else the Captain had said. I could see her smirk as she walked a little closer, the God behind her continuing… whatever they were doing.

My mind was splayed open, slowly being painted gold under that gaze—All my attention narrowed down onto them, a focus I was unable to spread despite my wishes. Anything else I could do was forgotten, leaving me with only one ability. And that was to look deep into the vibrant eyes, and standing there. There were nothing else inside my mind, all empty except for the glow.

Only when the Dragon God had looked away deliberately, which was of course, the moment Isolde had grabbed my arm—I was snapped out of whatever trance I was in.

I jerked automatically, trying to tug myself out of her grasp, but she was solid. Her fingers refused to move, and I stopped my struggle soon after—glaring instead into Isolde’s eyes, even though I had to tilt my head slightly upward to look into the steely gray she had. This was a deliberate decision, even though it was something I had chosen in a snap. Their eyes were safer, and despite the slight warmth still promising to melt my mind if I so choose to think about those golden eyes—I decided that it was better to not let that happen.

“Let me go, Isolde.” My words were sharper than I usually did, not even a drip of respect within them. “You don’t understand why I picked this choice.”

She sneered almost immediately in answer, flickers of anger burning behind her eyes. “Oh, is the young Whitehall think she’s too good for a little matchmaking, is that why you throw this tantrum? You don’t even know how hard others have to work.” She shook her head, already about to drag me close to her dragon—

Which meant of course I dug myself to my current place, refusing to even budge if possible—which wouldn’t be, if Isolde wished. She was far stronger than I, considering the fact she was part of the Hunting Squadron and the Captain beside.

“I’m not coming back, no matter what you do.”

She stopped, luckily. Allowing me to stay standing, even as everyone else’s stare becoming even worse, a prickle that made my chest feel tight.

“Oh? Are you going to add more to your sentence? Go on now, even an Emissary somehow isn’t enough for you, hm? You would have been happy, and you just refused all that…” She shook her head, and let out another sigh of disappointment.

I snarled, and did another tug that went nowhere. “I just want to be myself! Is that so hard to understand? I thought you are smart, Isolde.”

Maybe that was an unwise move, as the people who had been watching us as if we were merely a piece of entertainment, all gasped at once. I had crossed some sort of line, even if a little peek behind Isolde showed the Dragon God to not be unhappy with what was happening. I could swear they were happy with what was happening—but Isolde’s incoherent roar forced me to focus back.

Her nails dug into my arms, painfully and had to almost breaking skin. The grey eyes weren’t cold now, not anymore. They had turned molten, a volcano of wrath winding up behind them.

“Shut the fuck up, Whitehall.” Her words were so incredibly cold, despite the fire brimming within her gaze. “I thought I’ll give you some dignity, in an effort to recognize your name. But if you insist on trampling it so much… well, I’ll be more than happy to put you down, Lyssa.”

I always preferred others to use my name, instead of my family name. But the way she said it—

Unfortunately, I was given no time to even fight, and as her magic intertwined with mine—they were cold, a piercing wind deliberately roughening my insides—I found my eyes falling shut, unable to keep themselves open as the magic dragged my mind down.

“Emissary Caralth is waiting for you back home, little one.”

That was the last thing I heard, a whisper in the back of my mind and not Isolde’s voice—and yet, darkness drowned me anyway.