Chapter 3

The moment the Draconic Reverse Scale fell into Lila's hands, the crystals in the Healing Chamber lit up again.

The crimson scale pressed against her chest and slowly melted into her skin. Her previously weak dragon breath quickly stabilized, and even her pale face regained a healthy flush.

I leaned against the wall outside the door, the wound on my chest still bleeding.

I stared at the scale, my voice hoarse. "That's mine."

Helen stepped out of the Healing Chamber, blocking my view.

"Lila needs it."

"The Draconic Reverse Scale is bound to its master," I said. "Taking it by force will trigger a backlash."

"Do you really think you're in a position to argue right now?" Helen said coldly. "Something happened at the altar. The whole family is waiting for your explanation."

I froze.

A sudden, deafening roar echoed above the ancestral estate.

Black flames burst through the roof, shooting straight into the clouds. There was no trace of crimson gold in the fire; it looked like a giant dragon crawling out of the abyss, its jaws open to swallow half the altar.

The alarms blared again.

Servants ran through the corridors in a panic. The elders and guards rushed toward the family altar. Dragged by two maids, I was brought along.

The altar was built on the east side of the estate. It was where House Morgan worshipped the Dragon God and verified their bloodlines. Whenever The Dragon Gate was about to open, the family would hold a ceremony here to confirm the chosen candidate.

Right now, the altar was nothing but scorched earth.

The stone pillars dedicated to the Dragon God were shattered, and the ground was covered in deep cracks. Black dragon flames still burned among the ruins, radiating a terrifying aura.

I looked at the flames, the color draining from my face.

"That's not my dragon breath."

I cultivated crimson-gold dragon flames, which carried the unique, radiant light of my bloodline. The black fire before me was cold and violent, clearly the result of magic spiraling out of control.

But right in the center of the altar, stuck into the ground, was my practice dagger.

The hilt was still wrapped in the red cord I used every day.

"Claire is here!"

The crowd parted.

Ethan arrived with the guards of The Sky Court. He wore silver-white armor, his cape bearing the blue crest of the Court, followed by a dozen guards armed with spears.

Seeing him, I immediately stepped forward.

"Ethan, listen to me. I didn't start this fire. Someone took my dagger and set this up—"

"It was my sister."

Lila walked over, supported by Helen. The Draconic Reverse Scale on her chest was hidden beneath her collar, revealing only a faint red glow.

She looked at the altar, tears pooling in her eyes.

"When I woke up, I saw my sister standing in front of the altar. She said I stole Ethan from her, and that if she just destroyed the altar..."

"I never said that."

"But your weapon is right there," one of the elders snapped immediately. "Who else but you can freely enter and exit the altar?"

"The altar's seal isn't something my power could break."

I tried to raise my hand to cast a spell, to prove the true source of the black flames. But the moment I gathered my dragon breath, a sharp pain pierced my chest. The utter emptiness of my depleted life essence made my vision go dark.

The flame in my palm flickered for a second before dying out completely.

The crowd instantly erupted into murmurs.

"She can't even prove it." 

"She even gave her Heart-scale to Lila. Who knows if she was planning to betray the family all along?" 

"There's only one spot for The Dragon Gate. Of course she wouldn't want her sister to go."

I looked around at those familiar faces.

Not a single person from the Healing Chamber spoke up for me.

I looked back at Lila. "You took my Draconic Reverse Scale, didn't you?"

Lila instinctively covered her chest, putting on a terrified expression.

"Sister, why are you framing me like this?"

Helen shielded her. "Claire, it's pretty clear what happened here. You attacked the altar to fight for The Dragon Gate qualification, and you hurt your own sister. Go with the Court guards. Face your trial."

"Mother... you believe her too?"

"I believe the evidence."

Ethan finally walked up to me.

We were only a few steps apart, but it felt like an entire city of ice lay between us.

"Ethan." I stared right at him. "Did you see me destroy the altar with your own eyes?"

Ethan didn't answer.

He unhooked a pair of black shackles from his waist.

Arcane-sealing Shackles. They were tools used specifically by The Sky Court to imprison high-tier spellcasters. Once locked, the dragon breath inside the body would be completely sealed.

I took a step back. "You're arresting me yourself?"

"It's an order from The Sky Court."

"An order? Or Lila's order?"

Ethan's fingers tightened slightly.

The next second, the shackles snapped around my wrists. Black Ancient Draconic runes lit up along the metal rings. The remaining dragon breath in my body instantly went dead, and even The Dragon's Mark on my palm dimmed under the suppression.

Low whispers spread through the crowd.

I looked down at the engagement mark we once shared.

The mark connected me and Ethan, a tradition that had existed for a thousand years. Legend had it that dragon ancestors swore an oath by their bloodline—once an engagement was formed, it could never fade unless both parties mutually dissolved it.

I raised my shackled hands, my fingertips grazing the mark.

"Ethan. Our engagement is over."

Ethan's face changed. "Claire, don't do anything crazy."

"A thousand-year engagement couldn't protect me, and it sure won't save me now."

I bit my fingertip and smeared my blood over the mark.

A blinding red light erupted.

The golden lines connecting us shattered inch by inch, turning into countless specks of light that fell to the ground. The mark on Ethan's chest cracked at the exact same moment. He staggered back half a step as if taking a heavy blow, but he didn't reach out to stop me.

The guards of The Sky Court escorted me out of the ancestral estate.

The Arcane Prison was built deep beneath the Court, surrounded entirely by magic-sealing stones. There was no day or night in the cells, only the constant, eerie flickering of blue crystal lamps on the walls.

The trial came quickly.

The Court's scribe read the charges: Attacking the altar of House Morgan, sabotaging The Dragon Gate ceremony, attempting to murder Lila, and forging dragon flames as the eldest daughter of the family.

I stood in the center of the tribunal, my hands still bound by the shackles.

"I demand a test of the residual magic at the altar," I said. "Those black flames do not match my bloodline."

The scribe flipped through the file indifferently. "Your dagger and blood were found in the altar's wreckage."

"Someone planted them there."

"Do you have any other proof?"

I fell silent.

I had no magic. I couldn't summon back my stolen Draconic Reverse Scale, nor could I open the family's secret vault. The only one who knew the truth was Lila, standing right there in the gallery.

Lila lowered her eyes, looking like the ultimate, heartbroken victim.

In the end, the tribunal declared me guilty of all charges, sentencing me to imprisonment until The Dragon Gate closed.

And the countdown to the opening of The Dragon Gate was down to its final night.

Outside the Court, bells began to chime one after another.

Wearing my stolen Draconic Reverse Scale, Lila would enter The Dragon Gate as an impostor, becoming the Crimson Dragon Priestess that The Sky Court was about to anoint.

I dragged my heavily injured body back to the depths of my cell. I sat down against the freezing stone wall, listening to the Court's celebratory bells echoing in the distance, ringing one after another.

Just as the ninth bell toll faded, a crimson rift suddenly tore open the sky above the prison.

The magic-sealing stones shook violently, and a blinding red light poured down from the rift.

A massive Dragon Gate, blazing with crimson fire, slowly descended upon the roof of my cell.

All my chains shattered at once.

A majestic, divine voice pierced through both the Court and the dark prison:

"The Dragon Gate is open. Do you still possess the strength to break your chains?"