The Dragon Lords' arrogance angered the Celestials, cursing them with barrenness. Only a Golden Dragon hatched from the abyssal Heartstone Egg could break the curse—but it required a maiden's heartblood for a century. I, Emma, Siren Princess, was betrothed to the Dragon Prince after my birth omens. In my past life, I nourished the Egg with my lifeblood for a hundred years. When the Golden Dragon finally hatched, my husband brought home a Lamia enchantress. He forced me to weave sea-silk for her, then slaughtered my people to fuel his palace lights. Dying, my blood-tears hardened into crimson pearls— Then I awoke on my wedding day. There stood Caelus, clasping the Lamia's hand. "She alone holds my heart," he declared, as the Heartstone Egg pulsed faintly for her. They thought they'd chosen wisely. They never questioned why the heavens had marked my birth... 1 "Caelus, my son, today is your wedding day. From this moment, Emma is your princess." The old Dragon King’s booming laughter echoed through the grand hall, but I could only stare, numb, at the ceremonial gown I wore. This was… this was the day I married Caelus. I was back. "I'll not marry this woman!" Caelus snarled, shoving my hand away. Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell, a sharp, searing pain shooting up from my knee. The assembled guests gasped. The union of the Dragon Prince and the Siren Princess was a destiny forged at birth; what was the meaning of this public humiliation? The Dragon King’s brow furrowed. "Insolence! On this auspicious day, what is the meaning of this tantrum?" I lowered my gaze, hiding the icy chill in my eyes. A dragon’s legacy was paramount. The Heartstone Eggs were exceedingly rare, and a dragon could only ever sire a single heir. The current king doted on Caelus, treating him as a priceless treasure. And my birth, which had sent ripples of pure essence through the oceans and filled the air with celestial music, had sealed my fate in the King’s eyes. He had waited impatiently for me to come of age to bind our destinies. In the life I remembered, I had endured the pain, carving out my own heart’s blood again and again to feed that stone until a small Golden Dragon emerged. I had hatched him, and I had raised him. Though he did not come from my womb, I had considered him my own son. I thought that life, that duty, would be my forever. Until the day Caelus brought home the Lamia, and everything changed. "Father, I will not marry her!" Caelus’s voice, sharp and defiant, ripped me from my reverie. The King’s face hardened. "My son, on any other matter, I would indulge you. But not this! Emma is the most powerful maiden in all the oceans. With her essence to aid you, you are certain to sire the strongest of heirs!" Caelus lifted his chin, his pride a palpable force. "What does it have to do with her? Father, why do you insist on giving credit to an outsider? My child will be quickened by my essence, bound to my blood. My lineage is noble; of course I will produce the strongest Golden Dragon!" Not wishing to openly clash with his son, the King reined in his anger. "But without a consort to nurture the egg, it will become a dead stone! Caelus, this is no time for games. Marry her. Let her help you hatch the egg. If you wish to take other women after, we can discuss it then." "I understand, Father. But I have already chosen my princess," Caelus declared. "And she is a thousand times better than this Siren!" A murmur rippled through the crowd. "Is the prince joking? The Siren princess’s birth was a divine portent. How could any other be her equal?" "Perhaps he is merely spiting her? A lover’s quarrel?" "But what if it's true? If not for the King’s favor, would the Sirens hold their current station? I've never trusted them..." Caelus’s posture straightened, fueled by the whispers. "I will bring her here now, and we will be wed!" He transformed, a streak of incandescent silver, and shot away. I heard him whisper as he left, a vow carried on the currents: "Sylvie, wait for me. This time, no one will stand between us!" I was left abandoned at the altar. The hall erupted. "What now? Is the ceremony off?" "The Siren princess has been forsaken!" "But they always seemed so close… could there be more to this story?" The whispers grew louder, and the King’s face grew darker. Unable to unleash his fury on his beloved son, he turned it on me. "Emma! My son has always been a dutiful boy. What did you do to wrong him?" Seeing his accusatory glare, a bitter laugh escaped my lips. "I was about to ask you the same. Is this the honor of the Dragon Lords? My people may not be as mighty as yours, but we are not to be trifled with!" 2 "Father, this is the woman I truly love! I will marry her!" Just as the tension reached its peak, Caelus returned, his voice urgent. He was holding the hand of a woman of ethereal, fragile beauty. It was her. Sylvie, the Lamia he had cherished in our past life. Then, he had been the newly crowned king, returning from a tour of his domain with her in tow. He’d claimed she was a poor, adrift soul, deserving of pity. I’d felt a prickle of unease but had thought nothing more of it. Soon, Caelus doted on her, and my own son, Roric, clung to her side, leaving me to drown in the endless affairs of the court. I tried to speak to Caelus, but he cut me off with impatience. "I never knew you were so prone to jealousy! Sylvie has a pure heart, unlike you and your cunning manipulations. Besides," he’d sneered, "isn’t this what you Sirens wanted all along? A way to claw your way into the dragon’s court?" So that’s what he saw. My love was nothing but ambition. Later, I accidentally uncovered the Lamia's dark secret. Horrified, I ran to tell Caelus, only to find him overseeing the mass slaughter of my people. It was because Sylvie had complained that the deep sea was too dark, that the glow-orbs weren't bright enough. She'd heard tales of the warm, bright lanterns of the surface world and yearned for them. To win her smile, Caelus had my people butchered, their bodies rendered into a luminous oil—Siren's Light—to make the Dragon Palace blaze day and night. He imprisoned me, forcing me to watch. I wept, and my tears of blood fell to the floor, hardening into crimson pearls with a soft clatter. And Roric, the Golden Dragon I had nurtured with my own lifeblood, eagerly gathered them up. He presented them to Sylvie like a prize. "Lady Sylvie," he’d chirped, "your wedding gown was missing some beautiful blood-pearls, wasn't it?" Caelus embraced her from behind, his voice a possessive murmur. "My love, in a moment, we’ll have this Siren princess flayed. We'll see if she burns any differently from the others." My tears ran dry. In my final moments, the sound that tore from my throat was not the beautiful, haunting song of my people. It was a shriek of pure, hopeless despair. The death cry of a Siren. And the very oceans trembled with it. I blinked, the memory receding. The crowd around me was in an uproar. "This Lamia... she cannot possibly compare to the Siren princess!" "The Prince's whims have a limit! The fate of the entire Dragon lineage is at stake!" The King, his pride wounded, spoke with a voice of thunder. "Caelus! If you fancy this serpent, you may keep her as a pet later. Do not disrupt the vital proceedings!" "Father, I am doing this for our lineage! I have seen it! The egg holds a Golden Dragon! And this Siren will only taint his perfection!" Caelus’s words silenced the entire hall. The King had spoken of a prophecy, that a Golden Dragon could break their curse. But one had never been successfully hatched. A legend claimed one had been born a millennium ago, only to perish mysteriously. Since then, the Dragons had been cursed by the Celestials, their power fading with each generation. Caelus, a Silver Dragon, was the best their bloodline had produced in centuries. 3 "Caelus, how do you know this?" the King asked. His disbelief was clear, but his tone had softened. Caelus swelled with pride, describing the Golden Dragon of our past life in vivid detail. Golden scales, five-clawed talons, a being of immense, innate power. His account was so precise that the King was almost convinced, believing his son had been blessed with the gift of foresight. "And this egg has nothing to do with Emma!" Caelus declared. "Even with a different consort, his noble blood remains unchanged!" As if remembering something, he produced the Heartstone Egg from a fold in his robes. "Words are wind. I have proof!" All eyes turned, eager to see the vessel of their salvation. But it was just as I remembered—a plain, unremarkable stone. Caelus tapped the egg lightly. It trembled, wobbling as if searching for something. "What is this? The egg can choose its mother?" the King murmured in astonishment. Caelus smiled triumphantly and placed the egg in Sylvie's hands. Instantly, the dull stone began to emit a soft, golden light. "It must be a Golden Dragon! Why else would it glow?" "A miracle! The Dragon Lords will rise again!" Some of the older dragons were already weeping with joy. The hall was electric with hope. Only I stood motionless, a silent, cold observer in the midst of their celebration. The King’s face was split by a massive grin. "My son, you are truly magnificent!" "Father, now do you see? Now will you let me marry Sylvie?" Caelus pressed, his joy barely contained.
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