Shadows of Eternal Flame: A Forbidden Dragon Romance
20 parts Complete MatureSome people find their destiny in a blaze of glory. I found mine in the musty corner of a university library at 11:47 PM on a Tuesday, which pretty much summed up my entire life.
"Just one more shelf," I muttered, hefting another stack of returns onto the cart. My lower back screamed in protest-a reminder that twenty-five was apparently the age when your body started filing formal complaints about everything. "Then I can go home, eat leftover Thai food, and pretend I have a social life."
The basement archives of Ashford University Library smelled like old paper, dust, and broken dreams. Okay, maybe that last part was just me projecting. But after three years of working here, cataloging books that nobody read, living in a studio apartment with a radiator that clanked like a dying robot, and watching my college friends get engaged while I couldn't even get a second date... yeah, I was allowed a little melodrama.
My fingers traced the spine of a leather-bound volume that definitely didn't belong in the returns pile. Too old. Too ornate. The cover was deep crimson-not the faded red of age, but vivid, like fresh blood under moonlight. Gold filigree spiraled across it in patterns that seemed to shift when I wasn't looking directly at them.
"What the hell?" I breathed, pulling it free. The book was heavy, substantial in a way that modern books never were. No title on the spine. No library stamp or catalog number. Just those hypnotic gold patterns that made my eyes water if I stared too long.