The Dragon who called me king

The Failure's Cage

The ringing in my ears was louder than the screams of the fleeing students. Black smoke rolled across the shattered stone stage, smelling of sulfur and burnt copper. Guard mages immediately swarmed the arena, their heavy bronze staves crackling with defensive wards. I stood completely frozen next to the lifeless form of the ancient black dragon. Its blood was still pooling around my leather boots, warm and unnaturally bright.

For a brief moment, the heavy smog parted. That was when I saw it. Headmaster Vance stood on his high platform, looking down at me. The smooth skin around his jawline did not look human. It shifted like liquid glass, revealing a patch of thick green scales beneath the flesh. He blinked, and his pupils stretched into thin vertical slits before his face snapped back to normal. He masked his features so fast that I would have thought it was a trick of the light if my heart was not pounding so hard.

The pity he usually showed to the lower class students was entirely gone. His eyes held a cold promise of death.

"Step away from the altar, boy!" a sharp voice barked through the noise.

Commandant Vespera Cole marched through the haze. Her heavy steel plate armor clinked with every step, and her hand gripped the hilt of a glowing broadsword. Behind her, a dozen armored guards formed a tight wall, their weapons pointed directly at my throat.

I stumbled backward, my hands slick with dragon blood. Suddenly, a wave of liquid heat exploded inside my ribs. I gasped, pressing my palm against my tunic. Beneath the rough fabric, the newly burned royal emblem glowed red hot against my skin. It felt like a branding iron was pressing deeper into my flesh.

"Be completely still, child, or they will discover us," a deep, vibrating echo hummed inside my head.

I nearly tripped over a piece of broken glass. The voice did not come from the hall. It vibrated inside my own mind, sounding exactly like the great beast that lay dead on the floor.

"Are you alive?" I thought back, my mind racing with pure panic.

"My flesh is gone," the spirit rumbled, its energy feeling incredibly faint. "But my consciousness has bonded with your royal ancestry. I am hiding deep inside your inner core. Do not look at the Headmaster. He possesses the sight to perceive my residual energy if you focus on him."

I quickly dropped my gaze to the floor, forcing myself to take long, uneven breaths. If Vance discovered that the dragon's soul was resting inside the son of a traitor, I would not survive past sunset.

"Look at me when I speak to you," Commandant Cole commanded. She grabbed my shoulder with a fierce grip, forcing me to stand straight. Her icy eyes scanned my bloody hands before moving up to my face. "The creature spoke to you before the assassin took its life. Tell me what it said."

The entire room seemed to go dead silent. Even the wealthy nobles in the upper balconies stopped running to listen. Nearby, Lyra Voss stood perfectly still. Her sapphire sky cutter dragon hissed on her shoulder, its blue wings twitching with nervous energy. Her family had destroyed mine, and her sharp stare told me she wanted nothing more than to finish the job.

I had to play the part of the weak, useless peasant they all expected me to be.

"It did not say anything," I stammered, letting my voice shake as tears welled in my eyes. "It just growled at me. I thought it was going to eat me alive. Please, I just want to go back to my village."

Commandant Cole let out a low snort of disgust. She released my shoulder with a rough push that sent me sliding across the wet stone. "A coward, just like his pathetic father. The boy is telling the truth. He is far too weak to be part of a grand conspiracy."

From the high podium, Headmaster Vance raised a single pale hand. The guard mages instantly lowered their staves.

"The Ashford boy is an insignificance," Vance announced, his voice smooth and comforting once more. "An unknown terrorist has breached our perimeter and destroyed a rare relic. This is a direct assault on our sovereignty. Lock down the entire campus. No initiate leaves their quarters."

He looked down at me one last time, his eyes boring into my soul. "As for Kael Ashford, since no dragon chose him, he has no place in the elite ranks. Send him to the Discard Dorms with the other failures. Let the mud reclaim him."

Ten minutes later, two guards dragged me down into the damp underbelly of the academy. The Discard Dorms were located deep within the dark cellars, far away from the beautiful spires of the nobility. The air smelled of rot, old stone, and wet earth. My assigned room was nothing more than a tiny cell with a single creaking bunk bed.

I collapsed onto the thin mattress, finally alone. I pulled my shirt open to examine my chest. The skin was blistered, but etched perfectly into my flesh was a glowing mark of a dragon coiled around a fractured crown.

"The true royal bloodline," I whispered.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Zane Porter stepped inside, holding a secret letter. It read, "Your father is alive. Trust nobody."