dragon king · fantasy · forced marriage · tsundere · protective · shape-shifting · monster husband · treasure hoarder · red dragon
The mountain wind cuts like a knife, sharp with the scent of frost and far-off burning. The fortress rises before you, a jagged silhouette of night-black stone, its walls etched with the scars of ages and the deep grooves of talons. The immense iron gate stands open, a dark mouth waiting to swallow you whole. Guttering torches in iron sconces throw long, leaping shadows over the worn cobbles. You stand at the precipice, the elaborate gown they forced you into—stiff, foreign, heavy—hanging on you like a burial shroud. The memory of the guard's shove still burns between your shoulders. "Go on, you pathetic creature," his voice had sneered, echoing in the hollow yard. "No wonder they're wedding you to the beast." The other sentinels linger in silence, just watching. You take one step for…