Chapter 1
In my past life, my twin Phaedra and I were both married off to the Dragon Clan on the same day.
I was given to the eldest son Magnus, while she went to the second son Drakon.
A year later, Phaedra gave birth to a small white dragon with scales like fresh snow. Meanwhile, I delivered nine children—all of them deformed monsters, bearing not a trace of dragon lineage.
Dragon King Typhon, a tyrant obsessed with bloodline purity and beauty, immediately stripped his eldest son of the inheritance rights and decided to pass the throne to his second son, Drakon.
Consumed by rage and humiliation, my husband Magnus descended into madness.
He ordered my nine children dragged into the Shadow Abyss and thrown into boiling blood pools as sacrificial offerings. Then he bound me tightly to the frozen altar pillar.
As the crimson winds howled from the blood pool, he mercilessly cut open my chest and carved out my nine-tailed heart while I was still breathing. I drew my last breath drowning in endless despair and blood.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back in the Dragon Clan's towering hall—at the mate selection ceremony that had sealed our fates.
In my daze, Magnus walked straight past me. His eyes brimmed with disgust as he unhesitatingly reached for Phaedra's hand instead. The same woman who had birthed that perfect white dragon in my past life.
But the fool had no idea my children's deformities had nothing to do with me—they came from his own cursed, rotting bloodline.
"Magnus, Drakon, these are the two princesses offered by the Fox Clan. Choose your brides."
It wasn't until Dragon King Typhon's thunderous voice echoed through the hall that I fully grasped I'd truly clawed my way back from that blood pool.
In my previous life, the Dragon Clan had forced these political marriages to strengthen their thinning bloodline.
Phaedra and I had been packaged and delivered like premium livestock. Back then, Magnus claimed me as his right as the eldest son, leaving Phaedra to Drakon.
That choice had determined our destinies: she became the revered queen, while I was torn apart alive in endless darkness.
This lifetime, my only thought was to stay far away from Magnus.
But before I could make a move, he practically fled from me like I carried the plague.
As he brushed past, the revulsion and wariness in his eyes were painfully obvious. Then he decisively took Phaedra's hand.
I understood immediately.
Magnus had been reborn too.
Instinctively, I grabbed Phaedra's wrist and shook my head subtly. If Phaedra refused, the king could safely send her home.
But Phaedra violently shook me off, even leaving red scratches on the back of my hand.
"Oh Vespera, is that worry I see? Or can't you stand that the noble Magnus chose me?" She lowered her voice, dripping with arrogance and triumph.
The Dragon Clan followed ancient inheritance laws: the throne always belonged to the eldest son. Phaedra was clearly blinded by the illusory glory of becoming "future queen," willingly walking into the beast's jaws.
Fine. If she wanted to throw herself into the fire, who was I to stop her?
I withdrew my gaze and stepped back.
According to the marriage treaty, I should naturally go to Drakon. But he shook his head.
"Father, Magnus picked the pureblooded one, so I have to settle for this defective product?" Drakon cast a disgusted glance my way. "I refuse to marry some lowborn half-breed."
I smiled faintly. Not only was I considered one of the most beautiful in the Fox Clan, I also carried the supreme bloodline of the nine-tailed foxes. Yet this blind fool dismissed me as defective goods.
But for me? This was my ticket out.
I quietly took a deep breath, suppressing the phantom pain from the blood pool still lingering in my chest.
As long as I could be legitimately sent back, I could find myself a handsome male in the Elven Vale. Who the hell wanted to rot in this godforsaken place anyway?
Just as I was secretly planning my exit strategy, lazy footsteps echoed from the dark archway behind the throne and a tall figure stepped into the light.
He wore a fierce white bone dragon mask, revealing only his sharp jawline. Dark horns curved dangerously backward from his head.
"Brother," the man spoke slowly, his voice low and rough, "aren't you forgetting that your dear brother still hasn't taken a wife?"
Brother? Could this be Typhon's brother, Torvin?
Legends about him had long become taboo. Rumors claimed he was bloodthirsty and unruly, exiled to the Shadow Abyss years ago for grave crimes. The entire continent believed he'd become nothing but bones at the bottom of that pit.
And in my previous life, he definitely hadn't appeared at the ceremony.
Torvin walked straight toward us, his shadowed eyes instantly locking onto me.
"Such a tantalizing beauty and you're only offering her to the nephews? Brother, why not let me have some fun with her instead?"
Typhon's brow furrowed as he muttered a low "you bastard."
But surprisingly, he didn't fly into a rage. He simply waved dismissively, as if shooing away an annoyance, and tossed me to Torvin.
At that moment, Magnus, holding Phaedra's hand, let out a cold laugh.
"Better watch yourself, Uncle. Don't let that pretty face fool you. The blood running through her veins... it's filthy demon fox blood that even the Fox Clan finds revolting."
Before he finished speaking, Torvin's scorching hand clamped around my wrist and yanked me into his arms.
He held me prisoner with one hand, turning his head toward Magnus. The lazy pretense instantly vanished, replaced by bone-chilling killing intent that made the torches flicker and die.
"Who I fuck is none of your goddamn business, boy."
Ignoring Magnus's ashen face, he swept me up in one motion and strode out of the hall amid countless shocked stares.
By the time I came to my senses, I found myself inside a sinister black stone fortress at the edge of the capital.
As the heavy door of the bridal chamber clicked shut with a lock, my entire body tensed. I expected this devil eager for "entertainment" to pounce at any moment.
But to my surprise, Torvin showed no intention of removing his bone mask.
What he did next completely froze me in place.
Torvin walked straight to the obsidian bed and pulled out a massive dragon bone chain, dropping it with a clang across the middle of the mattress. The bone chain split the spacious bed clean in half.
"You sleep on that side, I'll sleep on this side. Cross the line at your own risk." His voice was gravelly as he lay down fully clothed.
I knelt on the other side, clutching a velvet blanket, staring at that pale dragon bone chain in complete bewilderment.
Dragons were inherently lustful creatures. In my past life, Magnus had been like a beast perpetually in heat. Even when I was pregnant, he'd still pin me down brutally in the dead of night to satisfy his carnal urges.
I'd been prepared for a fight to the death with this devil, but now...
Looking at the motionless man on the other side of the chain, at his broad back and those hands rumored to have torn apart countless abyss monsters, an absurd thought flashed through my mind:
Could it be that this legendary terrifying prince was actually... impotent?
