Beneath his Shadow

I was never meant to wear a crown.
But I learned early that power doesn't belong to the worthy-it belongs to the one clever enough to take it.

I seduced a dying emperor. Smiled through the hatred of his empress. Let the nobles whisper and sharpen their knives. I've survived courts, kings, and monsters dressed as men.

So when I heard the rumors-of a dragon who lived beyond the horizon, shrouded in magic and myth-I didn't flinch. I saw an opportunity. A throne older than the empire itself. A creature who could be mine.

But Lucien is not a monster.
And I am not a heroine.

I came to manipulate him.
Instead, I found a truth buried beneath the lies of my bloodline.
A desire I couldn't fake.
A bond I couldn't break.

They fear him. They should fear me.

Because I was made for this-
To walk beside a dragon, not beneath a man.