SHADOW

Marked in Gold and Shadow

So cold. It was so cold.

Wrapped in a wet sheet, Sha stared at the brute of a man standing before her while he stared right back. When her skin began to glow and the runes spread across her arm, she froze in place.

Did the Dragon Emperor curse me?

How had her wonderful afternoon in the pool and this beautiful room turned into such a nightmare? Just when her life had finally begun to improve after that wretched ship and all the misery before it.

Sha closed her eyes and imagined a million ways to escape.

Could she kick him in the face ninja-style now that he was slouched over in front of her?

No... maybe she should smash him with the headless statue beside her chair. It looked solid enough. Metal, probably.

He kept rambling about black dragons and spies.

"You are delirious," she snapped. "I am no spy, and I am certainly no dragon. If I were, I would have jumped that fence and flown away already."

Honestly, she was surprised he had not ripped her head off after she slapped him in a fit of fury. But strangely enough, he seemed more fascinated by the glowing designs on her skin than enraged by her behavior.

"I am just Sha, a farmer's girl. I was adopted by Count Ambrosio for his political interests, nothing more. I have no magic and no special skills."

I wish I did, she added silently in her mind.

And where was Sonya now when she needed her most?

Once again, she was alone in this world. Her parents were far away—not that they had ever truly cared enough to contact her or find out what happened to her. They vanished as they always did.

Ever since her grandmother passed away, nobody had really cared about her.

A tear slid down Sha's cheek, but she did not wipe it away. Maybe the Emperor would pity her if he saw how miserable she looked. Maybe he would finally understand that she was no spy.

A weeping black dragon, she thought bitterly.

"How dare you zone out while I am speaking to you?" the Emperor roared. "Perhaps I should throw you into the dungeons and be done with it."

Sha still did not understand why he had not done that from the beginning.

This man was far different from what she had imagined.

She had expected the Emperor to be elegant, sophisticated, and vain. At court she had seen nobles dressed in ridiculous luxury, dripping with gold and sneering at her and Sonya the moment they arrived.

But this man wore simple white linen garments, far more modest than she would ever expect from an emperor.

Still, he was definitely the same man from all the statues around the city.

If anything, he was even more imposing in person.

There was a strange power radiating from him. Magic. Light.

No wonder people believed him to be some kind of demigod—a divine golden dragon.

Sha still could not truly imagine a man transforming into a dragon. She had only read about such things in books. Dragons across the sea were rare, and most magic had nearly vanished from the world.

She knew vampires and monsters supposedly lurked in the shadows, and some nobles behaved like monsters too, but she had never actually seen one.

That night long ago, when she found claw marks on her windowsill and glowing eyes watching the school from the darkness of the forest, had been the closest encounter she had ever had with something unnatural.

The Emperor was still talking, but Sha barely heard him anymore.

She was exhausted.

Her vision blurred, and her body felt soft and heavy like melting marshmallow.

Oddly enough, the more the glowing runes spread across her skin, the calmer and sleepier she became.

Was the Emperor draining her life away?

It felt so good that she almost did not care.

Fight, Sha. Damn it, fight, a voice whispered inside her mind.

But it was too late.

Her head fell forward as darkness swallowed her whole.

Strong arms caught her before she hit the floor.

She could smell oranges, mint, and the fresh breeze of the sea wrapping around her like a warm embrace.