Chapter 3

I turned my head.

It was the black Jiao.

He hadn't yet become a true dragon, and yet even as I released my pressure, his expression remained perfectly composed.

At the same time, his form of address reminded everyone present exactly who I was.

Watching Aldric force down his rage, I withdrew my power and offered him a thin smile. "Let's go."

"Wait."

Aldric stepped forward, blocking the path, completely ignoring Lysara who was nearly collapsing beside him. His eyes fixed on us with undisguised displeasure.

"What could you possibly have to say to this low-born black serpent??"

He was the man I had chosen—my future husband. Naturally, we had more to discuss than I could count.

But I only spared Aldric a cold glance:

"If you're so idle, perhaps you should spend your time preparing for the Storm Trial in five days."

Five days from now, the Storm Altar Trial would commence.

Every Lesser Dragonkin who aspired to become a true dragon could ascend the altar. Withstand the Nine Divine Thunders, and you would be transformed in a single moment.

But the force of the Divine Thunders was terrifying beyond measure. The slightest misstep, and the challenger would be annihilated on the spot.

Because of this, the vast majority of Lesser Dragonkin chose to undergo the trial in stages, across multiple attempts.

In my previous life, with my Soulstone and protection, Aldric had become the first being in ten thousand years to pass all nine Divine Thunders in a single attempt. His name had resounded throughout the divine realms.

And now, he displayed a confidence wholly disproportionate to his actual abilities.

"A few bolts of lightning—nothing more. None of the Lesser Dragonkin this time are a match for me."

He paused, then added: "In five days, just sit tight and wait for me to come claim you as my bride."

A flash of bitter jealousy slid through Lysara's eyes.

But I merely watched them with cold detachment, then turned and walked away beside Kael.

Only when Aldric's voice had faded entirely behind us did I stop.

"Kael. Fenric told you everything?"

He raised his head to look at me. In those pitch-black eyes, something close to obsession was burning.

The next moment, he pressed his right hand to his chest and bowed his head with solemn gravity.

"Princess Seraphina."

"I swear upon my soul—if I ever betray you in this life, let me be cast into demonhood, never to know peace."

A soul oath.

Once forged, the gods would shred the soul of anyone who broke it. No one made such a vow lightly—unless he were willing to die for you.

My heartbeat stumbled.

I reached up and unclasped the Phoenix Sigil from my neck—the token a Phoenix Princess bestows upon her husband. Then I leaned forward and fastened it against his chest.

"I believe you."

He looked down at the sigil. His throat bobbed once. When he raised his eyes again, they blazed with an intensity that startled me.

I turned and continued walking.

Before I even reached the door of my quarters, Finch came rushing out.

"Princess! They're cutting down your Ash Tree!"

My head snapped up.

I hurried into the inner courtyard—and froze.

The Ash Tree had been severed at its roots.

The trunk lay on the ground, its leaves still green.

My mother had given me this tree when I left the Phoenix Clan. She told me that as long as I could see the Ash Tree, I was home.

One hundred years.

I had spent a hundred years nurturing it with my own hands, watering it day after day, coaxing it into a towering giant.

And destroying it had taken only a moment.

Aldric stood beside the shattered stump, fragments of leaves still clinging to the hem of his robes.

"What gave you the right to cut down my tree?" My voice shook with fury.

"It's just a tree. It's done." Aldric's face was pure contempt.

"Lysara likes Bloodvine. From today on, only Bloodvine will be planted here."

"This is my home." I laughed coldly. "I'll plant whatever I damn well please. Who are you to dictate what grows in my space?"

He glared at me with venom. "What's yours is mine! I was simply making arrangements ahead of time! Seraphina, if you keep up this arrogance, then even if you got on your knees and begged, I would never consider marrying you!"

After saying this, he searched my face for a flicker of panic or softening.

He found nothing.

His tone immediately shifted, smoothing itself out: "Of course, as long as you behave, I'll live with you after the wedding—and you'll bear the first pure-blooded heir for the dragon clan! That's the highest honor there is!"

I finally lost all patience.

I clenched my fist, gathered my power, and in the next instant he went staggering out of my quarters.

"Aldric, stop dreaming. My husband will never be you!"

He didn't believe me, of course.

In the instant before the door closed, the triumphant smile on his face was identical to the one from my past life:

"If not me, who? Father said he'd be arranging a wedding!"

He didn't know.

The wedding King Fenric had mentioned was indeed his.

Only…the bride would be a Magpie.

Five days later. The Storm Altar.

Everyone participating in the trial had gathered here.

And this time, Lysara had come along as well. Actually, a Magpie of negligible power had no business being a spectator.

Every gaze in attendance flickered between us.

Aldric spotted me from across the grounds and strode over immediately. "Seraphina, you've prepared to shield me, I assume."

"Lysara will be at my side today. And afterward, I'll take good care of you too."

I said nothing. He didn't seem to care, his gaze sweeping over the nervous candidates with unconcealed disdain.

But the next second, his expression shifted from arrogance to fury.

He marched toward Kael, chest heaving.

"The Phoenix Sigil—why is it on you?!"