Watch DRAGONBOUND: Born in Chains - Full EP (ENGSUB), an epic fantasy short drama featuring an ancient Dragon King, cursed destiny, forbidden love, reincarnation, and a timeless promise that defies fate.
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Welcome to our world of addictive short dramas and emotional storytelling.
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Welcome to our world of addictive short dramas and emotional storytelling.
Here you’ll find viral micro dramas, romantic love stories, revenge series, dramatic plot twists, and binge-worthy vertical dramas designed for mobile viewers.
From billionaire romance and toxic relationships to heartbreak, betrayal, and unexpected endings — every episode is crafted to keep you hooked.
New short drama episodes uploaded regularly.
Watch anytime, anywhere, and enjoy cinematic storytelling in minutes.
Subscribe now for daily short dramas, trending micro drama series, and emotional love stories.
#ShortDrama #MicroDrama #VerticalDrama #MiniSeries #RomanceDrama #RevengeDrama
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Short filmTranscript
00:00In my past life, I was the Princess of Araris with the rarest dragon-taming gif on the continent,
00:05and my stepmother's lowest slave.
00:07For fun, she threw me into the fighting pits daily,
00:11forced me to break the most savage dragons alive.
00:14Every morning, my stepsister Lysara wouldn't mount her dragon carriage without stepping on my spine first.
00:20Ten years in the dark.
00:21Dorian, my betrothed, was the only thing keeping me alive.
00:25He promised he'd take me away from all of it.
00:27But then Valkar, the northern power, crushed Araris.
00:31Lysara and I were both taken as slaves.
00:34Dorian betrayed our kingdom, opened the gates himself.
00:37The conquerors rewarded Dorian with a title, and let him choose one captive to take.
00:43He chose Lysara.
00:44As he walked away, shielding her with his body like she was made of glass,
00:49he looked back at me and said,
00:51Wait for me. I'll come back for you, I swear it.
00:53Because he'd taken the one person the Valkari most wanted to humiliate,
00:57they turned all their fury on me.
00:58They bound my limbs, whips, branding irons, iron pincers.
01:03I fought to stay alive, because Dorian said he'd come back.
01:06I waited, day after day, until the moment they broke me for good, his name was still on my lips.
01:12He never came.
01:13Where was he?
01:14In the temple, lighting prayer candles with my stepsister,
01:17asking the old gods to bless her with peace and joy.
01:19My soul drifted above that temple.
01:21I watched them rut before the altar like animals.
01:24Rage swelled inside me, vast enough to swallow the sky if I ever got another chance.
01:30Every last one of them would pay in blood.
01:32Then I opened my eyes.
01:34I was back.
01:34The day of the choosing.
01:36A Valkari soldier kicked the cellar door open, looking for slaves to play with.
01:40Those blood-crusted war chiefs spotted Lysara immediately.
01:44One of them reached out and ripped her dress apart, screamed.
01:46But the next second, her eyes lit up, like she'd found a lifeline.
01:50She turned her pitiful gaze to Dorian, standing on the Valkyra side.
01:56Lysara, save me!
01:58I'm so scared!
01:59Take me with you!
02:00This life, the same scene, Dorian bent down and gathered Lysara into his arms.
02:05Gentle, tender, like she might shatter.
02:08The two of them huddled together.
02:10Dorian spared one glance at me, about to be dragged away, and said almost the same words as before.
02:16Wait for me.
02:17I'll come back for you.
02:18I swear it.
02:19I didn't cry this time.
02:20Just let out a quiet snuff.
02:22Good.
02:22Everything on track.
02:24Running on the same rails as before.
02:26Keep your dog, Lysara.
02:28The man at my feet will be king of this continent.
02:30Dorian took Lysara, the one every man in that room wanted, and left me and the wolves wed.
02:35I'd face torment a hundred times worse than the other slaves.
02:39Several Valkyra soldiers sized me up, eyes crawling over me like I was livestock at auction.
02:44Dorian ruined our fun.
02:46His bride can pay the debt.
02:47One of them grinned.
02:48She's not as pale and soft as that other one, but the face is even prettier.
02:53Think she'll cry for her betrothed to save her once we start.
02:56They roared with laughter, kicked me to the ground, grabbed a fistful of my hair and started
03:01dragging me toward the door.
03:03Pain shot through my scalp.
03:04I deliberately slowed myself down, dragging my weight, waiting for an opening.
03:08Just as they were about to haul me outside, a prince's attendant descended the stairs.
03:13Any of you dance?
03:15The first prince wants a few pretty ones to entertain the feast.
03:18Just like last time, Theros had sent for dancing girls.
03:21My chance.
03:22I grabbed the attendant's sleeve and tilted up this face, the one men had coveted since I was a child.
03:27My lord, I dance.
03:30I train the princess herself.
03:31Beauty is sometimes the sharpest blade for revenge.
03:34The attendant's gaze caught on my face, held there, exactly as I'd calculated.
03:39He turned to the soldiers.
03:41This one'll do.
03:42Send her to the prince.
03:43Using my memories of the last life, I'd pried loose the first stone of fate.
03:48Now, for the second, I needed something extraordinary to make an impression on him.
03:52They brought me upstairs, into a side chamber of the palace.
03:56A dozen beautiful girls sat huddled together, weeping without sound, all chosen as dancers.
04:01Our kingdom's wound still raw, and already we had to dance for the enemy's prince and his war chiefs.
04:06To be pawed at.
04:08Used.
04:08I was the only one not crying.
04:10Last life, I endured all of that and worse, and still waited like a fool for Dorian to save me.
04:16This time, I'd claw my way to the top on my own, and everyone who'd hurt me would pay.
04:21One by one, I knew what Theros was obsessed with.
04:24The queen he'd stolen from Sirena.
04:26He was so terrified she'd flee, that he kept guards on her every breath.
04:30Because in my last life, after those animals had their way with me,
04:34left me half dead on the ground while everyone watched with cold eyes,
04:37it was that Siren queen who stepped forward, who shouted them down, who saved my life.
04:41I sat before the obsidian mirror and painted my face.
04:44Deliberately styled myself to echo her.
04:47The same Sireni-style liner.
04:49Silver powder swept in a delicate arc.
04:51I styled my hair into an elegant updo.
04:54I changed into a new outfit.
04:56A prince like Theros had seen countless women and dances.
04:59To win in a single blow, I couldn't play by the rules.
05:02I sought out Theros' attendant myself.
05:04Gave him a slow, alluring smile.
05:06My lord, ordinary dancing is so...
05:09Del.
05:10I have something special.
05:11Something that'll make you look good in front of the prince.
05:14All I need from you is one thing.
05:16I paused.
05:17Bring me a dragon.
05:18The attendant studied me for a long moment.
05:20Then a slow grin spread across his face.
05:23You really are nothing like those Aryan women.
05:26Those eyes of yours.
05:27Like a wolf in the wild.
05:28No outright refusal.
05:30That meant a chance.
05:31I pressed harder.
05:32When the prince favors me, I won't forget who helped me get there.
05:35His grin sharpened.
05:37Fine.
05:38But if you fail, I'll throw you into the pit myself.
05:42The pit.
05:42Deepest level beneath the palace.
05:44Where they kept the most savage war dragons.
05:47No one survived a night down there.
05:48Not a flicker of fear on my face.
05:50I won't fail.
05:51His tall blazed with firelight and music.
05:54Valkari war chiefs sprawled across long benches.
05:57Eyes hungry on the dancing girls.
05:59Black iron candle a jibs.
06:01Concord banners draped the walls.
06:03Smothering the palace's white stone and gold leaf like scars.
06:05I was the last to enter.
06:07I did not dance.
06:07The doors swung wide.
06:09I walked in holding an iron chain.
06:11On the other end, a war dragon in full fury.
06:13Two men tall.
06:14Firelight slid across black scales.
06:16Sulfur colored smoke leaked from the corners of its jaws.
06:20Every goblet in the room froze midair.
06:22Including those of the princes seated on the high platform at the far end of the hall.
06:25I swept my gaze across the room.
06:27In the most insignificant corner, I spotted Dorian and his precious Lysera.
06:31The once proud princess had shed every shred of dignity.
06:35She knelt beside him like a servant, lifting a wine cup to his lips.
06:39The instant Dorian saw me, disbelief flooded his face.
06:42A silent accusation.
06:43How are you here?
06:44Right.
06:45I should have been passed around until I broke.
06:47No business being in a prince's feast hall.
06:49A flash of dark hatred crossed Lysana's face.
06:51But I'd already looked away.
06:53I walked to the center of the hall and unshackled the dragon.
06:56The room sucked in a collective breath.
06:57Someone knocked over a goblet in panic.
06:59Others reached for blade hiss.
07:01The dragon roared.
07:03Banners on the vault ceiling shithered and lunched at me.
07:07Its open jaws wide enough to bite a man in half.
07:10I didn't step back.
07:11I parted my lips and let out a low dragon tongue call.
07:16Barely a whisper.
07:17A resonance that seemed to rise from deep beneath the earth.
07:20The moment dragon tongue left my throat, my consciousness cracked open like glass.
07:25I felt it.
07:26Its rage.
07:27Its terror.
07:27Its loneliness.
07:28Like something locked in darkness so long it had forgotten what color light was.
07:32I know.
07:33Me too.
07:34That had the dragon stopped.
07:35Its pupils contracted to slip.
07:37The massive skull lowered, inch by inch, until the ridge of its brow pressed against my open palm.
07:42A thin line of warm blood slipped from my nose, tracing over my lips.
07:46I didn't wipe it.
07:47I stood straight.
07:48Theros' gaze nailed itself to me.
07:50He spoke, slow and deliberate.
07:52What is your name?
07:53Cold satisfaction settled behind my ribs.
07:55My chance for vengeance.
07:57Not just personal, but for a kingdom drowned in blood.
07:59I lifted my veiled face, revealing those eyes I'd carefully painted to echo the Cyrenee Queen at his side.
08:05Sarah.
08:05Theros' breathing tightened.
08:07His gaze didn't move.
08:08Tonight, you'll stay and serve.
08:10A lazy, low voice cut him off.
08:13A red carinagium drop hanging from one pointed ear.
08:16Sharp canons barely visible behind a careless grin.
08:18A face carved from angles and danger.
08:21Why don't you let me have this one, brother?
08:22There it was.
08:23The real catch had taken the bait.
08:25In my last life, Kale was a prince no one took seriously.
08:29But his methods were ruthless.
08:30His combat skill unmatched.
08:32Even Theros had to give him room.
08:34He was the real prize I was fishing for tonight.
08:37Theros' expression darkened.
08:38Still deliberating.
08:40Kale vaulted off the high platform in one fluid motion.
08:43Landing in front of me.
08:45He drew the dragon bone whip and pressed its tip beneath my chin.
08:49Forcing my head up.
08:50Forcing me to meet that face.
08:52All ackles, no mercy.
08:53I want her.
08:54His tone as casual as breathing.
08:56It's just a slave girl, brother.
08:58Surely not worth souring things between us.
09:01The cold whip tip pressed against my jaw.
09:03I couldn't stop my body from going roged.
09:05Kale locked his fingers around my wrist.
09:07Iron grip.
09:08No room to pull free.
09:09And dragged me back up to his seat on the platform.
09:11Dorian stared at me.
09:12Multiple times.
09:14I didn't return a single glance.
09:15Night deepened.
09:16The wine flowed thicker.
09:18Valkari war drums pounded to a chrismendo.
09:20War chiefs tore off their fur-edged cloaks and chased the dancing girls.
09:25The girls scattered like prey.
09:27Their sobs tangling with the men's laughter.
09:30Echoing through the halls of a palace that used to be ours.
09:33I twisted my hands together in my lap.
09:36Wouldn't let them shake.
09:37One day, I'll get them out.
09:39Aerolaris is gone.
09:41But we can build something new.
09:43Kale took his time with his wine.
09:45His fingers tapped the rim of his silver cup.
09:47Unaconscious habit.
09:49The only tell that he wasn't truly relaxed.
09:51Afraid?
09:52Still calculating the right answer to please him.
09:55When he scooped me into his arms and stood.
09:57Therese's voice dropped from the platform.
09:58Dark and cold.
09:59Leaving so soon, little brother?
10:01Taking her to do what needs doing.
10:03Kale carried me through the corridors.
10:05Back to his chambers in the east wing.
10:07Those iron arms released.
10:09He tossed me onto the bed and disappeared into the bathing room.
10:12I stared at the carved stone ceiling above me.
10:14Thinking about what happened next in my last life.
10:17Kale had raised a rebellion.
10:18And lost.
10:19Died at Dragon Thorn Pass.
10:22He wasn't what he pretended to be.
10:23The reckless drunk.
10:24The woman-ire who couldn't be bothered.
10:26He was hiding his claws.
10:28Manufacturing weaknesses on purpose.
10:29The bathing room door opened.
10:31Kale walked out.
10:32A black linen robe draped loosely over his figure.
10:35Open.
10:35Honey-tuned skin long.
10:37Pouthing underneath.
10:37Water droplets rolled down the deep blue war tattoos on his chest.
10:41Disappearing below his waistline.
10:43He looked down at me.
10:44Amber eyes deep and unreadable.
10:46An unfamiliar predatory energy rolled off him in waves.
10:49I left the door unlocked, little dragon traper.
10:51He tilted his head slightly.
10:53Either you're very brave or very stupid.
10:55Which one should I hope for?
10:57I held his gaze.
10:58Kept my voice steady.
10:59Your highness.
11:00I have a name.
11:01It's Syrah.
11:01Those amber eyes flickered.
11:03Light and shadow shifting.
11:04And what does Syrah want to say to me?
11:06I spoke calmly.
11:07I want to help you take the throne.
11:08The entire dominion.
11:10All of it.
11:11Kale laughed.
11:12Canines glinting.
11:13Do you have any idea what you just said to me?
11:15I didn't flinch.
11:16Met that terrifying gaze head on.
11:18Even smiled.
11:18I want to make a deal.
11:19I want to make a deal, your highness.
11:20I help you become the most powerful man on this continent.
11:23And in return, you let me go.
11:25He bared his teeth in something between a grin and a snore.
11:27You're a slave.
11:29What could you possibly offer me?
11:30My trump cod.
11:31Not a chance I'd reveal it.
11:32Just tell me.
11:33Do we have a deal or not?
11:35Kale laced his hands behind his head.
11:37A few heartbeats of silence.
11:39How much do you even know about me?
11:41To dare make a deal.
11:42I didn't know much about him.
11:43But I knew what was coming.
11:44His amber eyes shifted.
11:45Something turbulent beneath the surface.
11:47I'm not the High King's son.
11:48Cold.
11:49Perfectly flat.
11:50What?
11:50He and Theroply flat.
11:51No blood relation.
11:52Shock flickered across my face.
11:53I buried it fast.
11:54Kale seemed to have expected it.
11:56A dry skull.
11:57The High King found me on a battlefield when I was three.
12:00The Oracle prophesied I'd one day unite the continent.
12:02So he kept me.
12:03Like a dog you raised because a priest told you it might bite your enemies.
12:06No one in Valkar wants me alive.
12:08I'm a threat with no power, no blood right, no allies.
12:11He lifted his gaze, staring straight into mine.
12:14So, do you still want to make a deal with a dead man walking?
12:17I walked toward him, slowly, held his stare and drew the obsidian danger from beside him.
12:22At this distance, if I was fast enough, I could put it through his heart.
12:26But I only dragged the blade across my own aurum.
12:29Blood welled up, dark and warm, as I swore.
12:31I will help you take the throne, and you will keep your promise to me.
12:34He seemed genuinely stunned.
12:36He leaned back into the dragonhide chair.
12:39Candlelight gilded that striking face.
12:41The red carnamine at his ear swayed, catching light in a way that was equal parts dangerous
12:44and hypnotic.
12:45Our faces were almost touching now.
12:47What do you actually want?
12:48To leave.
12:49That's all?
12:50You don't want me to fight your battles for you?
12:52If I could use his blade.
12:53Why wouldn't I?
12:54Yes.
12:54I want that too.
12:55Kale grinned.
12:56All rogue.
12:57Seal it.
12:57His finger tapped his lips.
12:59I don't trust words.
13:00I trust teeth.
13:01I drew a breath.
13:02Stepped forward.
13:03Pressed my mouth to his.
13:04His arm coiled around my waist, deepening the kiss.
13:07He didn't let go until I was breathless.
13:08Lips swollen red.
13:09His eyes darkened.
13:10Thumb tracing my lower lip.
13:11I don't take unwilling women.
13:13You want to leave.
13:13I'll have someone walk you back to the cells.
13:15But once I've touched you, you're mine.
13:18Under the weight of his waiting gaze, I kissed him again.
13:20Then bit down gently on his throat.
13:22Right over the pulse.
13:23I'm willing.
13:24Only if he was completely captivated would the rest of my plan hold.
13:27My body for his protection.
13:28A fair trade.
13:29Nothing more.
13:30He pinned me against the desk, pressing into the small of my back.
13:33Teeth closed on the bare skin at the nape of my neck.
13:36I couldn't see Kale's expression, but instinct screamed danger.
13:39The body above me was a predator.
13:41One twitch from tearing out my throat.
13:43His fingers traced along my neck.
13:45I don't care why you came to me.
13:46His lips brushed my ear.
13:48A low laugh.
13:51Sarah, surprise me.
13:52As for your dear betrothed, Lizara, I know what you want.
13:55Starting tomorrow, she serves you.
13:57I woke the next morning.
13:59Kale was already gone.
14:00Torn clothes scattered across the floor.
14:02Bite marks and bruises covered my body.
14:04The mark on the back of my neck still throbbed, but infinitely better than last time.
14:09Last life.
14:10After they were done with me, I burned with fever for days.
14:13No one cared whether a slave lived or died.
14:15I begged the guards to find Dorian.
14:17They told me Lysala was sick too.
14:19Dorian couldn't come just yet.
14:21Three days, I held on.
14:23Dorian finally showed up.
14:24He looked at my ashy face and frowned.
14:26You're stronger than this, Sarah.
14:28When did you get so fragile?
14:29Lysala's been sick for days too.
14:31I can't be in two places.
14:32Darian, please take me with you.
14:36They'll kill me.
14:37My hands shaking, I pulled open my collar, showed him the damage.
14:41Darian turned his face away.
14:42Brow knotted tight.
14:43The kingdom is gone.
14:45Where would I even take you?
14:46Besides, if I take you, what happens to Lysara?
14:49Every word out of his mouth was aid-peeling skin from bone.
14:52My lips wouldn't stop trembling.
14:54In his heart, I would never matter as much as Lysala.
14:57I just kept lying to myself.
14:59Needed a reason to keep breathing.
15:00Kale had left a Valkar hand-lived to attend me.
15:03Maren saw the marks covering my body.
15:05A faint blush crept across her cheeks.
15:07My lady, the bite mark on your neck.
15:09In Valkar, it means you belong to the prince.
15:11No one in this palace will dare touch you now.
15:13Belong to him.
15:14No.
15:15This was just a shield.
15:17Maren lifted a garment.
15:19This is from the second prince for you, my lady.
15:22And these as well.
15:23She opened a wooden box.
15:24Inside, ruby eardrops and several dragonbone hairpins.
15:28I glanced down at the dress.
15:30If Aeroleus hadn't fallen, a dragon slave from the prince's estate would never touch fabric like this.
15:35In the last life, at the estate, one of Lysara's young dragons died suddenly.
15:38She ran to father in tears, swore she'd seen me shove poisonous herbs into the hatchling's mouth.
15:43I never did.
15:45She'd poisoned it herself, because the creature only bonded with me, not her.
15:50Stepmother made me kneel, had servants slap me across the face until they nearly took my hand.
15:55I couldn't defend myself.
15:57Father stood there, silent.
15:59Lysara locked me in with the most vicious man-eating dragon for three days.
16:04Doran didn't visit once.
16:06Much later, he told me.
16:08Why would she lie, Sera?
16:10She has no reason to hurt you.
16:12Now I finally understood.
16:13He'd already fallen for the innocent, kind-hearted Lysara by then.
16:17That's why he was blind to every poisonous thing she did.
16:20Maren informed me that Lysara had been standing outside since before dawn awaiting my orders.
16:25Only then did I remember.
16:26Last night, Kale had given Lysara to me.
16:28Starting today, she was my slave.
16:30They dragged her before me.
16:32Eyes full of venom.
16:33Lysara opened her mouth and struck first.
16:36Up late, bedwarmer?
16:37The prince must have kept you busy last night.
16:40I let out our family's laugh.
16:41You clawed your way out of the cells on Dorian's back.
16:44Though I suppose that's the only kind of riding you're good at.
16:46Oh, I forgot.
16:48You're not a princess anymore.
16:49Just a slave.
16:50Blood rushed to Lysara's face.
16:52Don't you dare compare us.
16:54Your precious Dorian worshipped me from the moment he first laid eyes on me.
16:58Did you really think he loved you?
16:59He was yours in name, but his heart was mine from the very first day.
17:02He chose me over you.
17:04His own bride-to-be.
17:05I told him not to touch me.
17:06And he sleeps on the floor every night without a single word of complaint.
17:08That's love, sister dear.
17:10Something you've never had from him.
17:11I listened to every word.
17:13Felt nothing.
17:14The place in my chest where this used to hurt had gone numb, scar tissue too thick to cut.
17:18Dorian had sacrificed his inconvenient fiancé to finally have the Lysama he'd traved for years.
17:23Probably felt like the most natural thing in the world to him.
17:25Just letting the current carry him where he already wanted to go.
17:28I assigned Lysara to the outer courtyard.
17:30Rough labor.
17:31Laundry.
17:32Hauling water.
17:33Emptying chamber pots.
17:34Those hands of hers, long, pale, delicate.
17:37Once used only pluck a gilded harp.
17:38Back when Eralus still stood, she'd soak them nightly in moonbloom essence mixed with dragonfat cream.
17:43I knew this intimately.
17:45Because the person who rose before dawn every morning to collect moonbloom dew for her was me.
17:50Rain or snow.
17:51Never missed a day.
17:53One midsummer the heat was brutal.
17:55The flowers wouldn't open.
17:56No dew to harvesters.
17:58That spoiled princess had us held under the water in the cooling pools pinned down until we were half drowned
18:03and barely conscious.
18:04Only then did she wave her hand and let us go.
18:06So making her scrub floors.
18:09Watching those hands crack and callous.
18:11That was worse than killing her.
18:12I inspected the clothes she'd washed.
18:14Stains still there.
18:16Might as well not have touched them.
18:18I turned to Maran.
18:20Send it back.
18:21Tell her to wash it again.
18:22Until it's clean.
18:23By evening, Lasana's hands were swollen red and raw from a full day at the washboard.
18:28She came in to attend my bath.
18:30The moment my back was turned, she snatched up a basil of scalding water and urged it at me.
18:34Maran's foot shot out and kicked her arm aside.
18:36The boiling water poured down over Lasana instead.
18:38Lysara shrieked.
18:40Eyes burning crimson.
18:41Locked on me.
18:42You're nothing but a whore who spread her legs for a crown.
18:45If I'd been the one in that hall with the dragon, I'd be in his bed, not you!
18:49I smiled.
18:50As if she hadn't done the same in my last life.
18:53After I died, my soul lingered in this world for a while.
18:56And during that time, I saw some very interesting things.
19:00I saw Dorian humiliated in public by a Valkari officer.
19:03That same night, Lycia slipped into Tharys' chambers, offered herself willingly.
19:07But Tharys only ever truly wanted his Syrian queen.
19:09Lycia tried every trick, every seduction.
19:12Used and discarded every time.
19:13But she lapped it up.
19:14Wore the title of the first prince's bed weight like a badge of honor.
19:17Dorian died on the battlefield not long after.
19:19While he bled out on some nameless field, Lasana was in Tharys' bed begging for his attention.
19:23This time around, I knew Dorian's ending, and I had no intention of saving him.
19:27A few days later, Lasara poisoned my wine.
19:30But Maren, who'd been watching her like a hawk, caught it.
19:32Maren dragged Lasara before me, forced her to her knees.
19:35I looked down at her with cold indifference.
19:37What did you put in the wine?
19:39Lasara's expression steeled for a suckle second.
19:41Then her teeth clenched.
19:42I don't know what you're talking about!
19:44You touch me, and Dorian won't let it go!
19:46Still denying it, I kept my voice flat.
19:49Then drink it.
19:49Her jaw locked shut.
19:51Wouldn't open.
19:51My lady, shall I pour it down her throat?
19:53With the second prince behind you, no one will dare say a word.
19:56No.
19:57Letting her die that easily would be too kind.
19:59Something I only learned after dying the first time.
20:02On the night of the winter solstice, Dorian had actually planned to come for me.
20:05But Lasana found out.
20:07She clung to him.
20:08Insisted he take her to the temple to pray.
20:10Then she went behind his back and tipped off the Valkagi.
20:12Told them I was planning to escape.
20:14Asked them to discipline me properly.
20:15Break me into obedience.
20:17My death was Lasara's doing.
20:18Directly.
20:19No rush.
20:20Everyone who owes me will repay slowly.
20:22She won't drink.
20:23Hang her up.
20:24She can come down when she's ready to swallow.
20:26The hatred in Lasana's eyes could have stripped bone.
20:28She'd been the highest princess in the land.
20:30I'd been the thing beneath her foot.
20:32A living stepstool for her dragon carriage.
20:34Now the positions were reversed.
20:36She had no choice but to kneel before me and beg.
20:38They were about to string her up when Dorian crashed through the door.
20:41Shoving past the guards.
20:42Dorian, save me!
20:43She's trying to kill me!
20:44Lasara threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
20:46She's been torturing me every single day!
20:49Look at my hands!
20:50Dorian looked at her swole fingers, took them gently into his palms.
20:53His face twisted with pain.
20:55He turned on me, fury blazing.
20:57Sarah, when did you become so vicious?
21:00Laughable.
21:01I hadn't forced Lasara to kneel as my stepping stone.
21:05Hadn't made her rise before dawn to pick flowers.
21:08One stem short.
21:09One lash earned.
21:10And this was vicious?
21:11As if her becoming a slave had nothing to do with his treason?
21:14When I didn't react, his anger curdled to something uglier.
21:17She's kind!
21:18She's innocent!
21:19She's never hurt anyone!
21:20You've always been harder than her, stronger than her!
21:22You don't need to destroy someone lesser just to feel powerful!
21:24His voice rose to a near shout, practically a command.
21:28Sarah...
21:30Kneel!
21:31Apologize to Lasara, now!
21:33Those words coming from Dorian's mouth, not surprising at all.
21:36In Lasira's presence, he was a trained dog.
21:38Would shove his own fiancé into hell just to earn one smile from her.
21:42My laugh came out cold.
21:43You're asking someone who wants her dead?
21:45To apologize?
21:46Shock.
21:46Then his face turned to iron.
21:48Lasara curled into his to iron.
21:50Don't push me, Sarah.
21:51Don't make me regret ever standing by you.
21:53Eyes brimming, tears perfectly balanced on the edge of falling.
21:56It's fine.
21:57I'm just a slave now.
21:58I shouldn't be alive.
22:00Let me die.
22:00Don't stop me.
22:01That pushed Dorian over the edge.
22:03His hand swung toward my face all those years.
22:06When he was injured in training, I scoured an entire mountain for herbs to make his salves.
22:10When stepmother stripped his knighthood, I gave up my own inheritance to buy back his future.
22:14And now, for the woman in his arm, he would hit me.
22:16You're nothing but a whore warming a prince's bed.
22:19Lasara is worth ten of you.
22:21She's clean.
22:22She's pure.
22:23His hand never reached my face.
22:24The second prince's woman is not yours to touch.
22:27Dorian's head snapped to the side.
22:29His chest heaved.
22:30I pointed at the cup.
22:31She poisoned it.
22:32She tried to kill me.
22:33His neck went stiff.
22:34Where's your proof?
22:34Lasara wouldn't bother killing someone like you.
22:36You want to shield her that badly?
22:38Then take the punishment for her.
22:40My voice.
22:40Ice on stone.
22:41Past or present.
22:42His choice was always Lasala.
22:44I ordered his mouth gagged.
22:45Thirty flashes.
22:46Each one harder than the last, tearing across his back.
22:48His eyes burned with hatred and something harder to name.
22:51Fixed on me the entire time.
22:52He probably regretted ever knowing me.
22:54The feeling was mutual.
22:56After the whipping, Lasara made a show of cradling him.
22:58Dabbing the cold sweat from his forehead with trembling fingertips.
23:01That crumb of kindness was enough to devastate him.
23:04His devotion doubled.
23:05He watched her hand on his brow like it was something holy.
23:08I'm fine.
23:09How could I let the princess dirty her hands for someone like me?
23:12Lycera helped him to his feet, biting her lip in a performance of barely contained tears.
23:16Then she turned her head toward me, eyes cold as a blade's edge.
23:19Don't get too comfortable, Sarah.
23:21Everything you have, I will take it from you.
23:24So, she was planning to kick Dorian aside and climb to a higher branch.
23:27Dorian, oblivious, leaned into her, still moved to his core.
23:31I smiled.
23:32Let's see what show these two put on next.
23:34That night, Kale didn't come.
23:36I lay alone in the dark.
23:37Faintly, through the stone walls.
23:39A woman's voice.
23:41Half scream, half sob.
23:42It went on and on, bleeding through the silence.
23:45I found Maren in the morning.
23:46Last night, did you hear a woman screaming?
23:49Maren's expression didn't change.
23:50Like this was routine.
23:52That's Queen Elevin, the Siren Queen.
23:54Why does she sound like that?
23:55The first prince has certain tastes.
23:57He enjoys breaking people.
23:58Queen Elevin was taken from Sirene by force.
24:00In all these years, no one has ever seen her smile.
24:03The first prince says,
24:04Taming a woman is like taming a wild dragon.
24:06You burn out their will until they stop fighting.
24:09Maren's voice dropped lower.
24:10In bed is especially brutal.
24:12And he likes to invite his men in to watch.
24:13To make her subneered.
24:14Elowen saved my life once.
24:16I couldn't look away.
24:17That night, Kale returned.
24:19The bed ground beneath us.
24:21Skin against burning skin.
24:22Kale gripped my hips.
24:24Dissatisfied, pressing harder.
24:25The pain pulled me back from my thoughts.
24:27Straight into those amber eyes.
24:29Deep as a wolf's in the dark.
24:30What are you thinking about?
24:31Kale's teeth on my shoulder.
24:33Voice low and rough.
24:35Northern men.
24:35All wildness.
24:36He liked to bite.
24:37Liked to leave marks all over me.
24:39My voice came out just as soft.
24:41Just as raw.
24:42I want to save Queen Elowen.
24:43Sweat traced down his jaw.
24:45He shifted me in his arms until I faced him.
24:47The blue war marks I'd traced a dozen times by now.
24:50Those beast pale eyes lowered, fixed on my face.
24:53Why?
24:54You're not that selfless, little dragon trapper.
24:56Have you met her before?
24:57His gaze rested on me.
24:59Unhurried.
24:59Teeth grazing my neck.
25:01Like it was a passing thought.
25:02Nothing more.
25:03I kept my voice steady.
25:04She's the one thing Faris truly cares about.
25:07If she disappears, imagine the look on his face.
25:11Clever.
25:11But my brother keeps her under lock and key.
25:13Even I can't get near her.
25:14What's your plan?
25:15I shifted.
25:16Straddled him.
25:16This kills two birds, your highness.
25:19I reached the palace high tower and was stopped at the stairs.
25:22Theris forbade anyone from approaching Queen Elowen without permission.
25:26Fortunately, I recognized the attendant.
25:28I'd already bought his favor.
25:30He escorted me past the guards.
25:32Queen Elevon sat in plain white, playing a harp.
25:35Silver hair draped over her shoulders.
25:37Her face distant as frost on glass.
25:40She finished her piece.
25:41Only then did her ice blue eyes settle on me.
25:44That's how we first met.
25:45You're the one who tamed the dragon that night.
25:47Why are you here?
25:48Her slender fingers plucked two more strings.
25:51I'm as much a prisoner as you are.
25:53I can't help you.
25:54As if placing distance between us.
25:56So I gave her the gentlest smile I could.
25:58I don't need help.
25:59I only want to keep you company.
26:00Over the next several days, that's all I did.
26:02Sat with her.
26:03She rarely spoke to me, just played her harp, lost in herself.
26:07The guards were wary at first.
26:08But after a few days, they stopped watching.
26:11But the good times didn't last long.
26:12One day I arrived to find Theros had just stormed out.
26:16Elowen lay crumbled on the floor.
26:17Her gown torn.
26:19Fresh wounds mapped across bare skin.
26:21I moved before I could think.
26:23I wrapped my robe around her body.
26:25I turned to the handmaid.
26:27Fetch the healing salve.
26:28Now.
26:29Elowen trembled beneath my hands.
26:31I kept my voice low, soft enough that only she could hear.
26:34Don't be afraid.
26:35I'll find a way to get you out.
26:37She went still.
26:38Then looked away.
26:39As if she'd heard nothing.
26:40I took the salve from the handmaid and began applying it.
26:43Carefully.
26:44Gently.
26:45I found old marks lay beneath her torn white cloth.
26:47All Theros' work.
26:49I accompanied Elowen behind the curtain to change clothes.
26:52Theros' planted handmaid moved to follow.
26:54I fixed her with a sharp look.
26:56This time, I would not let them follow.
26:58It's three steps behind a curtain.
26:59Unless she sprouted wings, she's not anywhere.
27:02She stopped.
27:03Finally alone.
27:05Elowen's ice-blue eyes rested on me.
27:07I feel as though I've seen you before.
27:10Then, calm as still water.
27:12I can feel it in you.
27:13The hum.
27:13You're one of the dragon bond.
27:15I didn't deny it.
27:16Do you believe some people live more than once?
27:18I waited her answer.
27:19I had a dream.
27:20In that dream, things ended badly for you.
27:22I couldn't stop thinking about it.
27:24Elowen was quiet for a long moment.
27:26I believe you.
27:28But Theros watches me like a hawk.
27:30I nodded.
27:31I'll tell her everything.
27:32I've tried before.
27:33They caught me every time.
27:35I kept my tone warm.
27:37In a few months, a merchant caravan will pass through the city.
27:40You slip in with them and disappear.
27:42They come from a dozen different lands.
27:43Theros won't know which direction to chase.
27:45Before that, someone needs to take his attention off you.
27:49And I have the perfect person in my mind.
27:51The plan was finally beginning to take shape.
27:53Days later, Theros' most trised war dragon fell ill.
27:57Ashwing, the great grey-winged beast, lay collapsed in the dragon vault.
28:01Eyes shut.
28:01Wouldn't eat.
28:02Wouldn't move.
28:03Dragon sleep.
28:04Every dragon master in the palace stood over it.
28:06Useless.
28:06I found Theros' head dragon master myself.
28:09I can wake it.
28:10Skepticism in every line of his face.
28:12That's the first prince's ashwing.
28:13Worth more than this entire wing of the palace.
28:15If it dies under your hands, you die with it.
28:17Let her through.
28:18If anything goes wrong, I'll answer for it.
28:20I drew out the dragon bone needles, hollow, thin as a strand of hair.
28:23Inserted them into three blood-runs-close points along the dragon's neck.
28:27Pressed my palm flat against the cold scales and pushed my own life force in.
28:31A violent backlash tore up my spine.
28:33My vision blurred for one second.
28:35Then, Ashwing's eyes opened.
28:36Gold vertical pupils.
28:38It let out a low rumber and rose to its feet.
28:40The dragon master went still, staring.
28:43Dragon's sleep required two treatments.
28:45First to wake.
28:46Second to stabilize.
28:47Today was only step one.
28:48Deliberate on my part.
28:49The bait needed to stay fresh.
28:51Word of Theris's healed dragon spread fast.
28:54Dorian found me.
28:55Half commanding.
28:56Sarah, you're already the second prince's concord.
28:59You don't need more attention.
29:00Give the credit to Lysara.
29:01Tell them she's the one who healed the dragon.
29:03Lysara trailed behind him.
29:04That pitiful mask firmly in place.
29:06We're sisters, Sarah.
29:08Blood is blood.
29:09Shouldn't we help each other?
29:10For you, this is just a cherry on top.
29:12For me, it could get me out of slavery.
29:14She wanted reach for my hand, eyes glistening on cue.
29:17Sarah, you'll say yes, won't you?
29:19The dragon healing, their begging, all part of my plan.
29:22But Dorian's tone, that entitled, commanding certainty, still scraped like broken glass in my throat.
29:28I was his sister, so naturally I should suffer.
29:31Hand over every advantage, especially to the woman who killed me.
29:34Sarah!
29:34Dorian's voice sharpened.
29:36Lysara is begging you.
29:37It's just a small favor, and you won't even do it?
29:40I looked at them both, not a trace of warmth on my face.
29:43You want me to give her the credit?
29:44Fine.
29:45She can have it.
29:46Just don't come crying to me after.
29:47Stealing credit from me wasn't going to come cheap.
29:49I wasn't the helpless girl from before, waiting for someone else to save her.
29:53The very next day, Tharos held court in the throne hall to publicly reward the dragon's healer.
29:58The dragon master who'd been in the vault had seen my face, but never learned my name or status.
30:04That gave Lysara her opening.
30:07Yesterday, who was it that healed my ashwing?
30:09Tharos' voice fell across the room.
30:11Lysara rose gracefully, glided forward, savoring every eye on her, and knelt before him.
30:17That sweet, delicate voice.
30:18It was me, your highness.
30:20I healed your dragon.
30:22Theros was clearly drawn in.
30:24Those narrow eyes appreased her.
30:26I've seen you before.
30:26The last princess of Auroras.
30:28I didn't know you had such talents.
30:32Lysara had rehearsed this, smooth and measured.
30:35I've always loved dragons.
30:36I studied under the royal dragon masters back in Eris.
30:39She never finished.
30:41A panicked attendant burst through the hall doors.
30:44Your highness, the ashwing is corralcing.
30:46Foaming at the mouth won't stop thrashing.
30:47Tharos' expression blackened.
30:50Lysara, still kneeling before him, had already started shaking.
30:54How did you treat it?
30:55Why isn't it healed?
30:56If my dragon doesn't recover by tonight, you'll be buried alongside it.
31:01Lysara's knees buckled.
31:03Her face drained white.
31:04It wasn't me.
31:06Someone else did it.
31:07It has nothing to do with me.
31:08Panic shattered her composure.
31:10She pointed at me.
31:11Features contorted.
31:12It was you!
31:13You're the one who treated it yesterday!
31:14You should be the one to die with it!
31:16Theros studied me with fresh interest, one brow arched.
31:19You?
31:20The one who tamed the dragon in the great hall?
31:23The one my brother took from me?
31:25Something nauseating stirred in the depths of his gaze, and right on cue, Dorian stepped
31:31forward.
31:31Not to protect me.
31:34Never me.
31:35Lysara.
31:36Your highness, you Mr. Stand-in.
31:37Sarah is the one who knows dragons.
31:39She treated the ashwing yesterday.
31:43It has nothing to do with Lysara.
31:45A fine rain drifted through the courtyard arch into the hall, settling on my skin, cold
31:50seeping down to the bone.
31:52As long as his Lysara was safe.
31:56Dorian would shove me toward death again and again.
31:59Theros walked up to me, lifted a strand of my hair between his fingers.
32:02Little slave, if you can't heal my dragon, you'll stay and warm my bed instead.
32:07Consider it compensation.
32:08Compensation.支持
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