Pryce folded his spare shirt and tucked it into his worn traveling bag. His fingers brushed against the dragon pendant—his mother’s necklace—and a wave of homesickness washed over him. He pulled it out, watching the red fluid shimmer in the morning light filtering through the Azure Suite’s windows.
“Leaving so soon?”
Princess Seren stood in the doorway. She walked into the room, her movements as graceful as always.
“I have to,” Pryce said, letting the pendant fall back against his chest. “My family—”
“Your family is precisely why you should stay.” Seren unrolled several ancient scrolls across the table, their edges curling like dried leaves. The parchment crackled as she smoothed it flat. “Look at these.”
Pryce leaned over the maps, inhaling their ancient perfume. They showed Crystal Shores, but unlike any charts he’d seen before. Strange markings crisscrossed beneath the village, forming intricate patterns.
“Dragon-magic ore,” Seren said. “Rare minerals with incredible power, lying right beneath your home.” She looked up. “The Seadrake Corsairs know it’s there. They seek these deposits to forge weapons against us.”
“Seadrake Corsairs?” Pryce remembered Finnegan’s tales of massive serpentine creatures that could drag entire ships into the depths.
“Pirates who’ve learned to control seadrakes,” Seren said, her voice dropping. “They’ve been raiding coastal villages for generations, growing bolder each year. With these minerals, they could forge weapons capable of cutting through dragon scales like paper.” She straightened, her scales catching the light. “Your village would be defenseless against them.”
She moved to the door and spoke quietly to someone outside. A servant entered carrying a leather pouch that clinked heavily.
“A small token of our commitment to Crystal Shores,” Seren said as the servant placed the pouch on the table. “There’s more where this came from.”
Pryce thought of his father’s fishing nets coming up empty day after day, of the worry lines creasing his mother’s forehead as she stretched their meager coins to feed the family.
“Here,” Seren said, drawing his attention back to the scrolls. “These runes detail the ore’s properties.” She stood close beside him, her arm brushing his as she pointed to the ancient writing.
Their hands touched as they both reached for the same section of parchment. Seren didn’t pull away.
“You have a rare gift, Pryce,” she said softly. “Like your mother’s bloodline . . .”
She turned toward him, and before Pryce could react, she pressed her lips gently against his. The kiss lasted only a moment, soft as a feather’s touch, but it left him stunned, his heart racing.
“Am I interrupting?” Master Kestrel’s voice cut through the moment.
Pryce stepped back quickly, his face warm. Seren remained composed.
“We were just discussing the Seadrake Corsair situation,” she said.
Kestrel stepped into the room. “Indeed. Our scouts report they’re gathering forces. If they acquire the ore beneath Crystal Shores, their weapons would be unstoppable.” He fixed his gaze on Pryce. “The time for training at Dragon’s Fang Island is now. Today.”
Pryce looked between them, then down at the maps showing his vulnerable village. He touched his mother’s pendant again, feeling its warmth against his palm.
“I’ll stay,” he said finally. “For Crystal Shores.”
Seren’s triumphant smile was brief but unmistakable as she exchanged glances with Kestrel. The servant bowed and gathered up the pouch of gold.
“See that this reaches the Harper-Green family in Crystal Shores,” Seren said.
As the servant departed, his footsteps fading down the corridor, Pryce felt like he’d just stepped into something he shouldn’t have. But with Seren’s kiss still tingling on his lips and the thought of his family’s safety, he pushed his doubts aside.
He was doing this for Crystal Shores. What could possibly go wrong?
In the distance, a dragon’s roar echoed off the cliffs, as if answering his unspoken question.
