The Red Dragon and His Goddess

(STORY IS BEING UPDATED - 04/23/2025)

"What is your name?" he asked, his voice a deep, commanding thunder that rolled across the great hall.

I stood before the Red Dragon in all his ruthless glory. Towering. Fearsome. Every breath he took seemed to shake the walls-but I refused to tremble.

I said nothing.

The guards moved in, seizing me by the neck, forcing me to bow. "BOW, YOU FILTHY WOMAN! ANSWER!" one of them roared. Still, I remained defiant. And strangely... they let go.

The crowd hushed. Celebration faded to silence. I could hear the click of his boots as he stepped down from his throne.

Draya's whisper brushed my ear. "Answer him..."

"You dare defy me?" he growled, his eyes flashing gold with something ancient and untamed.

I straightened my spine, though my voice caught in my throat. Still, I forced the words out. "I will not give you my name. You don't deserve to know it."

Gasps rippled through the room.

A hand, rough and merciless, wrapped around my throat. The Red Dragon's.

"Why don't you tremble in my presence?" he hissed.

I laughed-a bold, reckless sound. "Because I don't bow to men like you. I never will. Go ahead, choke me if you must. That seems to be what you're best at."

He laughed then. Low and dark. A sound that promised danger-and something far worse.

"I have my ways of making you surrender," he said, his lips curling into a wicked smirk.

And in that moment, I knew-I wasn't facing a man. I was staring into the eyes of something far more dangerous.