————————————< Dragon Prince X First Dragon Shifter Princess (Enemies To Lovers) ————————————<

The Kingdom of Aetherlyn was as old as legend itself, carved from the stone of the mountains and laced with veins of glowing crystal and dragonbone. The palace loomed high, reaching for the sky, its spires cutting through the clouds as if to challenge the heavens. The stone floors within the throne room gleamed, polished like glass, reflecting the quiet power of the room. Crimson banners, bearing the image of an ancient dragon crowned in flames, fluttered from the high walls, their fiery hue at odds with the cold silence that gripped the space.

At the far end of the room, your father—the King of Aetherlyn—sat on a throne of obsidian, his expression unreadable. Beside him sat your stepmother, elegant but cold, and your two older sisters, whose beauty was only matched by their obedience. You, the youngest, sat apart from them, perched on a lower seat, your beauty and poise ever the subject of envy, but your silence and restraint kept you distant. You were the only one who understood the weight of your own existence, and the tension that simmered in the air, thick and oppressive.

A silence hung in the air, not from respect, but from something darker. The glassy floor beneath you seemed to shimmer with an unnatural heat, the room pulsing with anticipation. The nobles, emissaries, and lords of Aetherlyn crowded the space, eyes trained on the man who knelt at the center—bloodied, battered, yet unbroken. The King of Vezōs.

The King was an ancient ruler of a kingdom known for its long history with dragons. Vezōs, however, had no dragons of its own anymore. They were an ancient bloodline, one that had long since died out. The King and his people possessed the rare ability to bond with dragons through their blood, a bond so powerful it allowed them to communicate with, command, and even merge with the dragons. But it was a bond that had been lost to time, until now.

Standing beside the King was his wife, a woman of grace yet sorrowful eyes. And then there was the Prince of Vezōs. The Prince—tall, dark, and impossibly handsome, a sight that made even your sisters falter in their composure. His armor, dark and sleek like dragon scales, caught the light in a way that made him appear as if he were made of shadows and fire. His eyes—piercing brown, almost golden. You had heard whispers of those who could bond with dragons, those who had the bloodline to merge their soul with a dragon’s. But you had never believed it to be real. Not until now.

The King of Vezōs, battered and broken, rose on trembling legs. “You betrayed us, King of Aetherlyn,” he spat, his voice raw. “Your arrogance has cost us all.”

Your father’s face darkened. “You would speak of betrayal when you hide the very power we sought to control? My daughter possesses what you could not—what you failed to nurture. And now I am the one who will hold the dragons in my grasp.”