Chapter 10 - The Dragon’s Dawn
The wedding of the Dragon Emperor and the peasant queen was unlike anything the continent had ever witnessed in its nine-century history.
There were no golden chariots piled with looted wealth, no forced taxes levied upon the starving provinces to pay for lavish feasts. Instead, the capital opened its gates to thousands of commoners, farmers, and merchants from every corner of the realm. Long wooden tables lined the grand avenues, laden with bread, roasted meats, and fresh fruit—plenty for everyone, enough to ensure that no child would go to sleep hungry that night.
High above the city, soaring on wings that caught the first brilliant rays of the morning sun, the great dragon looped through the cloudless blue sky, letting out a joyful roar that echoed across the mountains and valleys like rolling thunder.
In the courtyard of the inner palace, standing upon the grand marble balcony overlooking the cheering masses, Aeva wore no heavy, suffocating crown of iron and jewels. Instead, her dark hair was woven with silver leaves from the volcanic garden, and her simple white tunic was adorned only by the glowing golden mark on her collarbone, shining as bright as the morning sun.
Beside her stood Vaelen. He had discarded his dark imperial mantle entirely, wearing a simple tunic that matched hers. As the roaring cheers of the crowd washed over the courtyard, he turned and took her hand.
"Are you happy?" Vaelen asked softly, a rare, genuine smile breaking across his face.
Aeva looked out over the boundless sea of cheering faces—at the commoners dancing in the streets, at the children laughing near the fountains, at the bright, open horizon stretching out beyond the palace walls. She felt the steady, powerful thrum of the dragon’s heartbeat echoing through the stone beneath her boots and the warm, eternal pulse of the mark against her chest.
"I used to count bones in a dark pit and wonder if tomorrow would bring enough flour for supper," Aeva said, her eyes shining with unshed tears of absolute peace. "Now... I think we have enough."
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Vaelen pulled her close, his arm wrapping securely around her waist as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
Below them, the empire roared its approval. Above them, the dragon soared into the endless light. And for the first time in nine hundred years, the ruler of the world was finally, truly at home.
