The air in the city's oldest library had always felt like a warm blanket to Evelyn, but today, it was different. It felt heavy, thick with the scent of ancient parchment and a strange, metallic tang that tasted like an approaching storm. Evelyn, a twenty-four-year-old graphic designer whose only thrill in life was finding rare books, found herself drawn to a dusty corner she had never noticed before.
Deep within the shadows of the mahogany shelves, a book sat alone. Its cover wasn't leather or cloth; it felt like cold, polished stone. A silver dragon, intricately embossed, seemed to coil around its spine. As soon as Evelyn's fingers brushed the dragon's scales, a violent surge of azure light erupted from the pages.
"What on earth—" she tried to pull her hand away, but the book was like a vacuum, sucking her very soul into its depths. Her vision fractured into a thousand shards of blue light. The muffled sounds of the city—the honking cars, the distant chatter—were replaced by a deafening, rhythmic thrumming, like the beating of a gigantic heart.
When Evelyn finally gasped for air and forced her eyes open, the familiar rows of wooden bookshelves were gone.
She wasn't in her beloved library anymore. She was lying on a cold, obsidian altar in the center of a hall so vast it could have housed a skyscraper. The towering walls were carved with gargantuan dragons, their eyes glowing with a faint, eerie luminescence that seemed to track her every move. The floor was polished black marble, reflecting the starless, violet sky visible through the roofless ceiling.
Evelyn scrambled to sit up, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Panic flared as she looked down at herself. Her favorite jeans and oversized t-shirt had vanished. In their place, she wore a flowing, crimson silk gown that pooled around her like spilled blood. It was adorned with jagged diamonds and pearls that felt surprisingly heavy.
"Where am I? Is this... a dream?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"Finally... the sacred sacrifice has arrived. The stars did not lie."
A deep, bone-chilling voice echoed through the hollow hall, vibrating in Evelyn's very marrow. She whirled around, her breath hitching in her throat.
Standing at the far end of the altar was a man of terrifying, otherworldly beauty. He was clad in midnight-black royal armor that seemed to absorb the dim light. A silver crown, shaped like curved dragon horns, rested atop his snow-white hair, which cascaded down his shoulders like a frozen waterfall.
But it was his eyes that froze the blood in her veins. They weren't human. They were a predatory, glowing crimson, burning with an ancient, untamed power that made Evelyn feel like a small deer facing a mountain lion.
"Who are you? How... how did I get here?" Evelyn stammered, clutching the cold silk of her dress. Her mind raced. Was she drugged? Was this some elaborate prank? But the coldness of the stone beneath her was too real, and the scent of winter frost and old magic coming from the man was too overwhelming to be a trick.
The man took a step forward, the rhythmic click of his boots echoing like a death knell in the silent hall. With every step, the air around him seemed to crackle with invisible energy. Before Evelyn could even think of running, he was there, looming over her. He reached out, his gloved fingers gripping her chin with a firm, icy touch, forcing her to look into those burning red depths.
"I am Caelum, the Sovereign of the Dragon Empire," he leaned in, his gaze piercing through her soul. "And you? You are the tribute sent by the heavens to break the curse that has plagued my bloodline for a thousand years. As of tonight, you are my contracted bride."
Evelyn's world spun. "Bride? I don't even know you! I'm from London! I have a job, a cat, a life! This has to be a mistake—"
"There are no mistakes in the Dragon King's court," Caelum whispered against her ear. His voice was like velvet over gravel. "You were summoned by the Dragon's Breath. You belong to this world now. You belong to me."
He released her chin, but the coldness remained on her skin. "Listen carefully, little human. You have two choices. You can either remain in this palace as my Queen and fulfill the contract to save my people, or you can be cast from the heights of this mountain into the abyss below. The choice is yours, Evelyn."
Evelyn looked past him, through the massive archway of the hall. Beyond the balcony, she saw floating islands, glowing forests, and creatures with wings larger than airplanes soaring through the clouds. This wasn't her world. This was a nightmare of magic and monsters.
As Caelum turned to leave, a flicker of something monstrous—the massive, translucent shadow of wings—flared behind him, spanning the width of the hall for a split second before vanishing.
Evelyn collapsed back onto the altar, her hands shaking. She was no longer just a graphic designer. She was a captive to a king who wasn't entirely human, in a world that shouldn't exist. And the "contract" he mentioned sounded less like a marriage and more like a death sentence.
I have to get out of here, she thought, her eyes darting toward the shadows. I have to find that book. I have to go home.
But as the heavy iron doors of the hall slammed shut, vibrating with a pulse of dark magic, Evelyn realized that the Dragon King's grip was far tighter than she could ever imagine. The game had begun, and she was the only pawn on the board.
Evelyn's breath came in ragged gasps as she scrambled off the altar. Her legs felt like lead, trembling under the weight of the heavy silk gown. She needed to find a way out, any way out. Her eyes darted to the towering arched windows that lined the northern wall. If she could just reach them, maybe she could see a path, a village, or even a highway—anything that resembled the world she knew.
She stumbled toward the nearest balcony, her bare feet slapping against the freezing marble floor. As she stepped out into the night air, the sheer scale of her new reality hit her like a physical blow.
She wasn't just in a palace; she was in a fortress carved into the very peak of a mountain that pierced the clouds. Below her lay a sprawling kingdom illuminated by glowing blue flora and rivers of molten silver. Dragons—actual, living dragons of ivory and gold—soared through the canyons below, their roars echoing like distant thunder. Above, two moons hung in a violet sky, one a pale crescent and the other a bloated, blood-red orb.
"This can't be real," she whimpered, clutching the stone railing. "I was just at the corner of Baker Street. I had a deadline for a logo design tomorrow..."
Suddenly, a soft, clicking sound came from the shadows of the balcony. Evelyn froze. Out of the darkness crawled a small, lizard-like creature with translucent skin and large, intelligent amber eyes. It tilted its head, watching her.
"The King does not like runners," the creature hissed, its voice sounding like dry leaves rustling.
Evelyn shrieked, backing away. "You… you can talk?"
"I am Pip, the Keeper of the Silence," the creature replied, flicking its forked tongue. "And you are the Bride of the Curse. You should go back inside, little human. The mountain winds have a habit of pushing those who do not belong."
Before Evelyn could respond, the heavy iron doors of the hall slammed shut behind her with a deafening boom. The blue torches inside flickered out, leaving her in the eerie glow of the twin moons. She was trapped between a talking monster and a Dragon King who claimed to own her soul.
Evelyn sank to her knees, the cold wind whipping her hair across her face. She realized then that her old life hadn't just been left behind—it had been erased. The contract was signed in blood and magic, and the first night in the Dragon Empire had only just begun.
Evelyn sank to her knees, the freezing mountain wind whipping her hair across her face like frantic silk. She realized then that her old life hadn't just been left behind—it had been erased. The contract was signed in blood and magic, and her first night in the Dragon Empire had only just begun.
Suddenly, the small creature, Pip, hissed and scurried into a crack in the stone wall. The air around Evelyn didn't just turn cold; it turned heavy, as if the oxygen itself was being squeezed out of the atmosphere.
A shadow, darker than the midnight sky, stretched across the balcony, swallowing the moonlight.
"The abyss is tempting, isn't it, Evelyn?"
The voice was right behind her ear, vibrating through her spine. She didn't even hear him approach. Caelum was standing so close she could feel the unnatural heat radiating from his armored chest.
"But you won't jump," he whispered, his hand coming to rest on the stone railing, effectively pinning her against the edge. In the crimson depths of his eyes, she saw something flicker—a flash of a beastly, golden slit-pupil that wasn't human.
"Why not?" she gasped, her voice barely a thread.....????..