Chapter 3

The Black Citadel

The storm started before sunrise.

By noon, the world had disappeared beneath snow.

The wagon pushed slowly through the mountain pass, its wheels groaning against thick ice while freezing wind clawed through every crack in the wood. Visibility barely stretched beyond a few feet ahead.

Perfect weather for dying, Evelynn thought bitterly.

One of the horses screamed suddenly as another violent gust slammed into the caravan.

“Keep moving!” a guard shouted.

Nobody wanted to stop here.

Not this close to dragon territory.

Evelynn pulled the rough wool blanket tighter around herself and glanced through the iron bars covering the wagon window.

Nothing but white.

White sky.

White mountains.

White death.

And somewhere beyond it—

Black Citadel.

The closer they traveled north, the quieter everyone became.

Even the soldiers had stopped talking.

No jokes.

No complaints.

Just tense silence and the constant sound of rattling armor.

Fear had settled into the wagon like a living thing.

Evelynn noticed it most whenever distant roars echoed through the mountains.

Every single time, the horses panicked.

And every single time, the soldiers looked up nervously.

Like prey.

The storm finally began thinning near dusk.

Gray outlines slowly emerged through the snowfall.

Mountains.

Cliffs.

Massive stone walls.

Evelynn’s breath caught.

At first she thought the mountain itself was moving.

Then she realized—

it was a statue.

A colossal dragon carved directly into the black cliffside.

Its wings stretched across the mountain face, half buried beneath centuries of snow and ice. The sheer size of it made Evelynn feel microscopic.

Its stone eyes stared downward toward the road.

Watching.

Judging.

The wagon rolled beneath the shadow of the dragon’s wings.

One of the younger guards quietly muttered a prayer.

Nobody mocked him for it.

Then Evelynn finally saw the city.

Black Citadel.

It rose from the mountains like something built by nightmares.

Dark towers pierced through swirling snow clouds. Endless black walls wrapped around the city like iron chains, lined with enormous braziers burning strange golden fire.

Not orange.

Gold.

Dragonfire.

Even from this far away, Evelynn could feel the heat radiating through the storm.

Above the city, massive shapes moved through the sky.

Dragons.

Real dragons.

Her stomach dropped.

No story had ever truly prepared her for how enormous they were.

One of them passed overhead, its wings blotting out half the sky.

The sound alone shook the mountains.

The horses nearly collapsed in panic.

“Eyes down,” one guard whispered harshly.

Evelynn ignored him.

She couldn’t look away.

The dragon circled high above the city before vanishing into the storm clouds again.

For the first time in her life, she truly understood something:

Humans would never win a war against creatures like this.

Never.

The massive gates of Black Citadel slowly opened as the caravan approached.

The sound echoed like thunder.

Inside, the city looked nothing like Evelynn expected.

She had imagined chaos.

Savagery.

Monsters roaming the streets.

Instead—

it was terrifyingly orderly.

The streets were clean despite the snow. Black stone buildings towered overhead, lit by glowing golden lanterns. People moved quickly and quietly beneath the storm, avoiding eye contact with the royal convoy.

Most looked human at first glance.

Until Evelynn noticed the details.

Golden eyes.

Scaled skin beneath collars.

Sharp nails.

A woman passing the wagon had faint black markings climbing her throat like hidden scales.

Not human.

Not fully.

Every instinct in Evelynn’s body screamed danger.

The wagon stopped suddenly.

“We’re here.”

Evelynn looked up.

Her breath caught again.

The palace stood at the very center of the city atop a cliff of black stone.

Huge.

Ancient.

Monstrous.

Dark towers disappeared into the snowfall above. Massive dragon statues lined the staircase leading upward, each one larger than houses.

The palace didn’t feel built.

It felt carved.

Like someone had ripped an entire fortress out of the mountain itself.

Two towering doors slowly opened.

Warm air rushed outward.

And with it—

the faint scent of smoke.

Dragonfire.

The guards pulled Evelynn from the wagon.

Her legs nearly gave out from the cold.

“Move.”

She climbed the palace stairs in silence while armored dragon guards watched from both sides.

None of them looked friendly.

Several openly stared at her like she was livestock.

One guard muttered something in a language she didn’t understand.

The others laughed quietly.

Wonderful.

Inside, the palace was strangely dark.

Not abandoned.

Just dim.

Golden flames burned along the walls, casting restless shadows across enormous stone pillars carved with dragons and ancient battles.

Everything echoed.

Footsteps.

Armor.

Breathing.

Even silence.

Evelynn suddenly became very aware of how small she was.

The guards led her deeper into the palace until massive doors appeared ahead.

Unlike the others, these doors were scorched black around the edges.

Burn marks climbed across the stone floor nearby.

Like fire had exploded outward repeatedly.

The soldiers stopped walking.

One of them swallowed hard.

Another refused to meet the doors directly.

Fear again.

Not fear of dragons.

Fear of someone specific.

A palace servant approached quietly.

Tall.

Silver-eyed.

Definitely not human.

“The king awaits.”

Even the soldiers stiffened at those words.

The servant opened the doors.

Heat slammed into Evelynn immediately.

Not normal warmth.

Heavy heat.

Suffocating heat.

Like standing too close to a furnace.

The throne room was enormous.

Dark stone stretched endlessly beneath towering ceilings lost in shadow. Golden dragonfire burned from giant braziers around the hall, filling the air with flickering light and smoke.

At the far end of the room—

someone sat on the throne.

Evelynn froze.

The man looked almost lazy at first glance.

One arm rested against the black throne carved from dragon bone. Long dark clothing draped over him carelessly. Black hair fell slightly across his forehead.

But the moment she saw his eyes—

her pulse stopped.

Gold.

Not normal gold.

Predatory gold.

The kind animals had right before killing something.

The throne room felt suddenly smaller.

The guards immediately lowered their heads.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

The man on the throne looked at Evelynn quietly.

Just looked.

No greeting.

No expression.

His gaze slid over her slowly, almost disinterested.

And yet Evelynn felt it everywhere.

Like standing in front of something ancient and starving.

This was the Dragon King?

He looked younger than she expected.

Not old.

Not monstrous.

Worse.

Because he looked human enough to be dangerous.

The silence stretched painfully long.

Then finally—

his voice filled the hall.

“Human.”

Low.

Cold.

Deep enough to vibrate through stone.

Evelynn forced herself not to look away.

“I have a name.”

Several guards inhaled sharply.

Apparently speaking back to the Dragon King qualified as suicide.

But the man on the throne only stared at her.

For one terrifying second, Evelynn thought she saw amusement flicker in his eyes.

Then—

something changed.

The air shifted violently.

The king suddenly went completely still.

His gaze locked onto her throat.

No—

not her throat.

The silver necklace beneath her coat.

Her mother’s necklace.

The golden flames throughout the throne room exploded upward at once.

Guards stumbled backward.

One servant screamed.

Heat crashed through the hall so violently Evelynn nearly lost her balance.

The Dragon King rose slowly from the throne.

And for the first time—

fear truly hit her.

Because his eyes no longer looked human.

Vertical pupils.

Sharp.

Burning gold.

The air around him trembled with heat.

Black scales began appearing beneath the skin of his neck like cracks spreading through stone.

Every instinct in Evelynn’s body screamed:

Run.

Now.

But she couldn’t move.

The king stared directly at her.

At the necklace.

At her.

Something dangerously close to rage twisted across his face.

And then—

the entire throne room erupted in dragonfire.