CURSE OF THE DRAGON FLAMES

CHAPTER 2 - SACRIFICIAL FATE

HAZEL’S POV

I woke up to the feel of the bare floor against my skin.

As I slowly tried to open my eyes, pain shot through them as the harsh light from the window burned into them. Then my head began to throb so badly that I could hardly bear it.

When my eyes finally flew open, all I could see was an empty room with a steel bucket sitting in one corner — probably meant to serve as a latrine. The walls were rough cobblestone, cold and lifeless.

Then the memories came flooding back.

The men dragging me from the house.

My mother crying her eyes out.

My father trying to fight for me.

And that huge man with broad shoulders who stabbed my arm with an injection.

I could still feel the pain from it.

Why were they doing this?

What could they possibly want from a girl like me? I hadn’t committed any crime to deserve being dragged away from my parents like a stolen cow reclaimed from a thief.

When I tried to move, something held me in place.

Chains.

I looked down at my legs and saw two heavy chains bolted into the concrete floor.

Anger exploded inside me.

“What do you want from me?” I shouted at the top of my voice. “What did I do to offend anyone?”

My voice echoed through the empty room before silence swallowed it again.

I sighed heavily as frustration surged through my veins. Different thoughts raced through my mind, but none of them gave me answers.

How had I suddenly gone from being a beloved daughter to a prisoner trapped inside a cold cell?

As my thoughts spiraled, I heard footsteps approaching.

I straightened immediately as the doorknob turned.

Two guards walked in — one of them I recognized from the abduction the previous night, while the other was unfamiliar. Behind them came a maid who looked to be in her late thirties.

She carried a tray of food and water, placing it carefully before me.

“You should eat quickly,” she said, a hint of kindness in her voice. “You’ll be taken from here in an hour. You’ll need your strength for the journey.”

“What if I don’t want to eat this crap?” I snapped angrily.

“If you don’t, that’s your business,” she replied, slightly irritated. “But I advise you to eat if you don’t want to collapse on the way.”

She pushed the bowl of watery soup toward me.

The sight of it made me want to throw up.

“Loosen me,” I demanded. “Or do you expect me to eat like a dog?”

The maid glanced toward the guards.

“Loosen her so she can eat.”

One of the guards crouched beside me and pulled out a bunch of keys. A moment later, the chains fell away from my legs.

Relief washed over me instantly. The weight of the chains had been driving me insane.

Without another word, they turned and left the room, slamming the door behind them. I heard the lock click into place before their footsteps faded down the corridor.

I angrily shoved the tray away.

I wasn’t hungry anyway, and the food looked disgusting.

I don’t know how long I sat there before I heard footsteps again.

The lock turned, and the door swung open.

The guards entered once more, and the maid tossed a cloak toward me.

“Put it on.”

I quickly wrapped it around myself. The cold was unbearable, and from the look of things, snow had already begun to fall outside.

The maid picked up the untouched tray and stared at it briefly before looking at me.

Thankfully, she said nothing.

I was in no mood for conversation.

“Follow me,” one of the guards ordered.

We walked through long stone hallways before finally stepping outside.

The cold breeze hit my skin immediately despite the cloak wrapped around me.

That was when I saw them.

Two other girls around my age, both dressed in cloaks just like mine.

So I wasn’t the only one.

They led me and one of the girls into a carriage while the other girl was taken to a separate one.

Soon, the carriages began to move.

“Hi,” the girl beside me said softly. “What’s your name?”

“Hazel,” I answered, surprised by her boldness. “What’s yours?”

“Adriel,” she replied, forcing a small smile.

Silence settled between us for a moment before I finally asked the question that had been tormenting me ever since I woke up in that cell.

“Do you know why they took us?”

I heard her breathing become uneven.

She stared at me for a few seconds before speaking.

“Every hundred years, three eighteen-year-old virgins chosen by the priestess are sent to the Dragon Realm as sacrifices.”

Fear wrapped icy fingers around my heart.

“What?” I whispered. “Why?”

“When I was younger, I found a book in my father’s library,” she explained quietly. “I think it was called The Inferno: The Curse of the Dragon. It said that dragon heirs are born with a curse called the Inferno. It manifests between the ages of twenty and twenty-five.”

She swallowed hard before continuing.

“The Inferno drives them mad with fire. If it isn’t controlled quickly, they burn down entire villages. That’s how the sacrifices began. People believe the sacrifice of three female virgins is the only cure.”

I stared at her in horror.

“That’s impossible…”

“I don’t know how it started,” she admitted. “Or how they discovered it worked. But I think that’s why they need us.”

My entire body trembled.

“Are you sure?”

“After I read the book, I asked my mother and—”

The carriage suddenly came to a halt before she could finish.

“We’ve arrived, girls,” one of the guards announced as the door opened. “Get down.”

The moment we stepped out, I froze.

Huge mountains towered before us, with long stairways carved directly into the rock.

The guards immediately began climbing.

“Follow us,” one of them ordered.

We obeyed.

The third girl — whose name I still didn’t know — walked calmly beside us like someone who had already accepted her death.

By the time we reached the top, my legs burned with pain, and my feet had turned swollen and red from the climb.

At the edge of the mountain stood the royal family and the priestess.

Then I saw them.

My parents.

My mother looked pale and exhausted, her eyes red from crying. My father stood beside her, equally broken despite his attempt to remain strong.

My chest tightened painfully.

Soon, we were led past the crowd toward the priestess.

My mother tried to reach me, but the guards blocked her path.

The priestess began chanting incantations under her breath before finally turning toward us.

Then she took out a knife.

One by one, she sliced our palms open.

The sting of the blade was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

She poured a thick liquid onto our wounds, and strange patterns immediately formed across our skin.

Mine was different.

A dragon surrounded by fire.

The other girls only bore the symbol of fire.

Once the ritual ended, we were granted ten minutes to say goodbye to our families.

The second the guards stepped aside, my parents rushed toward me.

“Oh, my dear…” my mother sobbed as she pulled me tightly into her arms.

I felt her tears soak into my clothes.

My father joined the embrace moments later. Though he wasn’t crying, the grief in his eyes shattered me.

Nearby, Adriel clung to her own mother, who was also in tears.

I wanted to cry too.

But the tears refused to come.

Far too soon, the ten minutes ended.

We were escorted toward the boat that would take us from Aldridge to the Dragon Realm.

Before stepping aboard, I turned back one last time.

My mother had completely broken down in tears while my father struggled to comfort her.

My heart ached so badly I could hardly breathe.

But there was nothing I could do.

Taking one final shaky breath, I stepped onto the boat.

And into the unknown.

Not knowing what awaited me…

Only hoping for the best.