My husband was a Gold dragon. So was I. Yet I gave birth to a small Ice Blue dragon.

Then came the news: my younger half-sister had borne a Gold dragon for his younger brother. Her fame spread like wildfire.

Drakon Vexis, the Crown Prince, flew into a fury. He slaughtered my child. He threw me into the frozen dungeons, where I was tortured and starved until I breathed my last.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of my coming-of-age ceremony—the day the dragon court chose its brides.

Without hesitation, Drakon chose my sister.

I knew then. He had been reborn too.

"Has the Crown Prince lost his mind?"

King Theron's furious roar crashed into my skull. Fragments of memory flashed before my eyes—pain, darkness, the small, still body of my child—and then I snapped awake, my body drenched in cold sweat.

I stared at my surroundings. The familiar dragon-carved pillars. The crimson carpet. The courtiers in their jeweled robes.

I was alive. How was this possible?

"Do you know that Lady Seraphina is a Gold dragon?" the King thundered. "Only she is worthy of you!"

"Royal Gold? A lie wrapped in scales!"

The voice dripped with contempt. I turned my head slowly.

Drakon Vexis, Crown Prince of the Scarlet Sun Kingdom, stood a few paces away. His eyes burned with hatred as he glared at me. Then he swept his robes aside and dropped to his knees before his father.

"Father, I love Lady Vania Ashford. I will take her as my princess. My mate. My bride."

His voice was iron.

My body swayed. Thoughts clicked into place like shattered shards of a mirror.

Not only had the gods returned me to this day. Drakon had returned too.

Among dragonkin, bloodline was everything. I was the only trueborn daughter of my house, a rare Gold dragon. From the day I was born, I was destined to marry the Dragon King.

At eighteen, I became his wife.

But two years passed without a child. Healer after healer examined me. There was nothing wrong with me. That meant the problem was him.

I could not bear to tell Drakon the truth.So I went home and begged my mother to teach me a forbidden magic—one that consumed my own life to conceive a child.I performed the rite in secret, bleeding myself dry, all to give him the child he could never father.

And I succeeded. I gave birth to an Ice Blue dragon hatchling.

Drakon was furious. I had given him the lowest, most base dragon imaginable.

He accused me of adultery. He summoned every Ice Blue dragon in the kingdom and forced my newborn to undergo blood tests against each one.

I had nothing to hide. But my child suffered.

Finally, I cast the truth-seeking flame. The child's soul sang in answer to Drakon's. The magic did not lie. The child was his.

That very day, news arrived from the dragon palace. My younger half-sister Vania had given birth to a Royal Gold hatchling for Prince Lysander, the King's third son. Her fame spread like wildfire. Drakon lost his claim to the throne.

In his fury, he killed my child. He threw me into a cold cell. I was tortured and starved until my body gave out.

Now I stood here, young and whole, while Drakon sneered at me.

My whole body trembled. The fear and grief crashed over me like tidal waves. My legs nearly gave way.

"Lady Seraphina..." King Theron looked at me with awkward pity.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I had mastered my face.

"I agree," I said quietly.

But in this life, he would never have children. That spell required pure dragon blood—and I was the only one who had it.

Drakon snorted. His eyes raked over me with pure disgust. "Of course you wouldn't dare object."

Beside him, Vania could barely hide her joy. The poor fool thought fortune had fallen into her lap. She shot me a triumphant smile.

I shook my head slightly.

Fortune or nightmare? She would find out soon enough.

Drakon claimed my half-sister as his bride. That left me to marry the third prince, Lysander Veylan.

I remembered him well. A gentle, patient man. In my past life, Vania had despised him for being merely a minor prince. She tormented him with every cruel scheme she could devise, and he endured it all with quiet grace. After she bore him a golden hatchling—a child that was not his—he dismissed his entire harem and gave her all his devotion.

Now she had willingly thrown him away for Drakon's crown.

Blind fool.

The Choosing Ceremony ended. King Theron, feeling guilty, sent me generous gifts of gold and dragon jewels.

When I returned home, my mother Mira was furious. She called Drakon an ungrateful wretch. My father Torin said nothing, but I saw the calculation in his eyes.

That same day, my father raised Vania's mother Leora to the status of lawful wife. Vania became a trueborn daughter overnight.

She found me in the garden, her chin lifted so high her eyes were nearly at the ceiling.

"Oh, dear sister," she cooed, "are you so heartbroken that you cannot speak?"

I looked at the half-eaten plate of pastries in my lap and the scattered nut shells on the ground. I had no idea how she mistook contentment for grief.

The best revenge was still to come. I did not bother to argue with her.

On the day of our weddings, Vania and I left the house together. Drakon had sent ten wagons of gold and silk for her. Chest after chest of jewels and ornaments. He strutted like a peacock, certain that Vania would bear him a pure golden heir.

As I passed him, he leaned close to my ear. His voice dripped with venom.

"Seraphina, you counterfeit. You will only ever spawn inferior filth."

Inferior filth. The child I had bled myself dry to create. The child he had murdered.

I said nothing. I had endured worse in my past life. His insults no longer cut.

Seeing that I would not react, he turned to Vania and made grand promises for all to hear.

"Vania, you are my destined princess. I will make you the most honored woman in all dragonkin."

Vania blushed and murmured that she did not care about such things. She only wanted to stay by his side.

As Drakon walked away, he stopped and shot me a vicious glare. Then he noticed something. He halted and raised his voice deliberately.

"Where is my dear third brother? Has he come to reject his bride?"

I was the only Gold dragon of my house. The family's hope. If the Crown Prince had publicly humiliated me, and then the third prince rejected me as well, my family's honor would be destroyed. The elders' faces darkened with anger.

Vania smiled sweetly and pretended to scold him. "My prince, do not say such things. My sister is the only Gold dragon in our house."

She knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to see if Drakon still cared for me at all. Of course, what she truly wanted was to test his feelings.

She got her answer. Drakon's face twisted with disgust.

"Royal Gold? She is not fit to lick the scales of a mud eel."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. For a Gold dragon to be compared to a mud eel was unthinkable. But no one dared speak against the Crown Prince.

Murmurs spread. And still the third prince had not arrived. Would he truly reject her?

"Brother, you go too far."

A cold voice cut through the whispers. Prince Lysander walked toward me, his silver robes swirling. His expression was icy.

Drakon laughed. "Third brother, you took so long. I thought you had changed your mind."

"Changed my mind?" Lysander stopped before me and took my hand. "To marry Lady Seraphina is the greatest honor of my life."

He turned to his servants, who carried chest after chest of wedding gifts. The display matched Drakon's. He looked into my eyes and spoke softly.

"I am sorry I am late. I was preparing gifts for you. Please forgive me, my princess."

Warmth spread through my chest. I shook my head. There was nothing to forgive.

Drakon watched us with barely contained fury. His jaw tightened.

"How touching," he spat. "My brother is truly devoted."

By tradition, Drakon was the Crown Prince, so he and Vania entered the palace first. Lysander and I followed behind.

He held my hand the entire journey. His palm was warm, and his touch brought me a quiet sense of safety. I stole glances at him from time to time.

His face was handsome, his posture tall and straight. Dark brows like forged blades carried a cold edge. His deep eyes, like frozen pools, held a certain regal authority.

Suddenly, his gaze met mine. I looked away quickly, my ears growing warm. The hand holding mine tightened slightly.

Inside the palace, we parted ways to go to our separate chambers.

Drakon, who had been laughing and whispering with Vania the whole way, suddenly stopped.

He turned to Lysander, mockery dripping from every word.

"Third brother, let me give you some friendly advice. Watch your filthy princess carefully. Do not let her pollute the dragon royal bloodline."

Vania tugged his sleeve with feigned innocence. "My prince, do not speak of my sister that way. She would never do anything shameful."

Her eyes held no trace of reproach. Only calculation.

The two of them performed their little duet perfectly. Quite the married couple.

Lysander gripped my hand tighter. His voice was cold steel.

"Brother, you should worry about your own little Ice Blue bride."

Vania's face went pale. Her status was her deepest wound. She glared at me with pure venom.

I lifted my lips in a small smile. "I wish the Crown Prince and my sister every happiness. May you soon give birth to a Royal Gold heir."

"I have pure blood," Drakon boasted, pulling Vania into his arms. "Of course I will father a golden dragon."

A cripple with no ability to father children.

Where did his confidence come from?

I let Lysander lead me away. There was no point in fighting now.

The best was yet to come.

When we reached our chambers, Lysander's expression grew troubled. His lips pressed into a thin line. His eyes burned with determination.

"From this day forward, I will protect you," he said.

I laughed softly. "I believe you. But we have made an enemy of the Crown Prince. Neither of us will have an easy life from now on. Unless..."

He looked at me, confused.

I let a mischievous gleam enter my eyes. I leaned up and kissed him.

Unless we give birth to a golden dragon first. And send Drakon to his grave.

One month passed. There was no news from their chambers. But I began to feel unwell in the mornings.

The healer confirmed it. I was with child.

King Theron was overjoyed. He sent lavish gifts and issued a royal decree: whoever produced a golden heir would abdicate the throne to them immediately.

The same decree as in my past life.

But this time, I would be the mother.

The news reached Drakon within hours. He stormed into our chambers, his face twisted with rage.

"What do you have to be proud of, Seraphina? You will only give birth to some lowly Ice Blue dragon. Nothing worth boasting about!"

Ice Blue dragon.

The words cut deeper than he knew.

Beneath my wide sleeves, my hands curled into fists. In my past life, I had performed the Blood Rite for him. I had bled myself dry to give him a child. And he had murdered that child.

I closed my eyes and buried my hatred deep in my heart.

The vengeance for my child's death and my own suffering. I will have it.

Lysander stepped between us. "No matter what rank our child is," he said quietly, "it is my child. I will protect both mother and child with my life."

Warmth spread through my heart, like a gentle ray of sunlight slipping into a dark room.

Drakon's face turned purple. He spun on his heel and stormed out.

Another month passed. Still no news from Drakon's chambers. The King grew impatient. He summoned the royal healer and marched to the Crown Prince's quarters.

I took Lysander's hand. "Let us go."

I could not wait to see Drakon's face when he learned the truth about himself.