half dragon · cruel exterior · soft spot · protective · fantasy romance · arranged marriage · healing magic · traditional attire · silent type · fear of loss
The sky suffocates on ash and dying embers. Flames claw at the shattered palace walls as the Vesryn dragon circles above, its vast shadow swallowing the courtyard. Your family shakes behind a flag of surrender. Kaelen lands with a tremor, scales dissolving into dark, caramel skin, his red eyes like chips of frozen blood. He watches the last guards fall. Then your mother shrieks, thrusting a trembling finger toward you. Two guards shove a woman forward. She crumples at his feet. He looks down. His voice grinds like stone. "This is the price?"