Cold iron sliced through his soul before he even opened his eyes."Wake up, you worthless trash," Soren rasped out loud, but the throat that formed the words felt small, raw, and full of dry blood.He forced his eyelids open. Above him was a small square of dark grey sky framed by tall walls of solid blue ice. Below him was a pile of frozen bodies. Pale faces, stiff arms, and wide, sightless eyes stared up at the freezing sky."Where am I?" Soren spat a red lump onto the snow beside him. He lifted his hands to his face. They were thin, covered in red scars, and shaking wildly from the cold. "This is not my body. This is not my castle."Memory hit his mind like a heavy hammer. He was Soren Flameheart, a thirty-five-year-old hidden prince who had lived his whole life in secrecy, only to be executed in the dark by his own trusted knights. Death should have taken him to the void. Instead, memories that did not belong to him rushed into his brain."Soren Gray," he said aloud, testing the w

Smoke carried the smell of burning flesh across the frozen sky long before the village came into view."Faster," Soren urged, digging his heels into the rough scales of the frost drake."Hiss!" The beast let out a sharp cry, its heavy white wings beating hard against the howling blizzard as it glided low over the snow-covered valley.The cold wind sliced through Soren's thin rags, but he barely felt it. His eyes were fixed on the valley floor below. Where a peaceful mountain village had stood just hours ago, only black ruins and towering pillars of fire remained."Get us down there," Soren commanded, his voice tight.The drake banked hard to the left, dropping down through the thick smoke and landing with a heavy thud on the icy main path of the village. Snow, ash, and black soot blew into the air around them.Soren jumped off the beast's back before it had even stopped moving. He wiped ash from his eyes and looked around. Wooden cabins were crushed into burning piles. Storage huts we

Surrounded by two hundred blades, trust is the only armor that matters."Can you handle a line of heavy infantry?" Kaelen asked, her blue eyes scanning the ridge as dark armored figures began sliding down the snowy slopes."I can handle my side," Soren replied, pulling his stolen broadsword high. "You just make sure no one cuts off my back.""Do not die on me, commoner," she muttered, her twin ice daggers flashing in the dim light. "I still need you to explain how you know my father's crest.""Then stay close," Soren commanded.A loud whistle pierced the air, followed by the savage barking of heavy war hounds. Four massive, iron-plated beasts tore through the snow drifts, their jaws dripping with foam, leading a squad of six heavy knights into the village square."Hounds first!" Kaelen called out, darting forward with terrifying speed. She spun past the first beast, her left dagger carving a deep line across its neck."Wait, Kaelen! Do not overextend!" Soren yelled.Instead of retreat

Knowledge is the only shield that never breaks under torture."Lock the pit doors," Varek barked from his high throne, his loud voice shaking the dust from the cavern ceiling. "Bring that boy to my private quarters right now. If anyone speaks a word about what happened here today, I will cut their tongue out."Ten minutes later, Soren sat on a heavy wooden chair inside Varek's dim command tent. Iron chains bound his wrists, but he did not struggle. Across the heavy oak table stood Varek, testing the edge of a curved iron dagger against his leather belt. Kaelen stood near the tent entrance, her arms crossed over her chest, watching every movement with tight vigilance."Every tamer who ever tried to eat a beast core directly blew up into meat scrap," Varek said, leaning over the table until his rough beard almost touched Soren's face. "I saw a high clan lord try it ten years ago. His blood boiled and his chest burst open like an overcooked sausage. So speak up, slave. How is your heart

To save a dying soul, you must first burn your own."Soren!" Kaelen screamed, her fingers digging desperately into the slick ice as the bridge cracked beneath them."Stay back!" Soren shouted, his voice barely cutting through the deafening roar of falling ice and wild magic.The wooden wagon disintegrated into splinters beneath his feet. Slabs of blue ice measuring thirty feet wide groaned, tipped sideways, and plunged down into the foggy bottomless chasm. Below them, remaining Iron Clan guards tumbled into the white abyss with terrifying cries, their heavy armor dragging them into the mist."Kid, grab my hand!" Varek roared from a remaining stone ledge, reaching out his thick, scarred arm as the gap widened. "Jump now!""I cannot leave the egg!" Soren called back, his eyes locked on the falling black sphere floating in mid-air right over the center of the chasm.The shattered containment unit was gone, and the raw ancient magic leaking out of the black dragon egg was surging out of c