Chapter 30 — The Dragon He Brought Her
The hunt lasted three days.
It was tradition — a gathering of kings from the old realms, each one tasked with tracking a creature worthy of their crown. Some hunted for glory. Some for power. The Dragon King hunted for something else.
He hunted for her.
---
Lyra waited in the palace garden, her glow quiet, her heart steady. She had watched him leave without ceremony, his cloak trailing behind him, his eyes unreadable. He hadn't promised to return with anything.
But she knew he would.
Not because he was king.
Because he was hers.
---
On the third night, the sky split open with thunder.
Not from storm.
From wings.
Lyra ran to the cliffs, the wind tugging at her braid, her breath catching as a shadow descended — vast, graceful, shimmering with scales the color of dusk.
A dragon.
Not wild.
Not broken.
Magnificent.
Its wings folded gently as it landed, eyes glowing with ancient calm.
And behind it, the Dragon King.
Dust on his cloak. A cut on his cheek. But his gaze was steady.
He walked to her, silent.
Then knelt.
"I didn't slay it," he said. "I found it. Alone. Guarded. Waiting."
Lyra stepped closer, her voice trembling. "Why bring it to me?"
He looked up at her — really looked — and said:
> "Because it bowed to no one.
> Until it saw you."
Her breath caught.
The dragon lowered its head.
Lyra reached out, gently, and touched its snout.
It pulsed beneath her fingers — not with fire, but with recognition.
She turned to him, eyes wide. "It's not a gift."
"No," he said. "It's a companion. Like me."
She smiled — soft, radiant.
And as the wind curled around them, the dragon unfurled its wings and roared once — not in challenge.
In welcome.
---
Later that night, Lyra wrote in her journal:
> *He didn't bring me a crown.
> He brought me a creature that saw me.
>
> And in doing so,
> He showed me how he sees me too.*