Chapter 1

I was born a princess of the Dragon Realm, destined for greatness.

In my past life, I married an amethyst dragon, Damien. Our union should have produced heirs worthy of legend. Instead, I bore him a Wingless One, the ultimate shame.

He didn't hesitate. One swing of his blade, and our child's cries were silenced forever. Then he dragged me, still bleeding from childbirth, to the Dragon's Maw. Threw me into the molten lava, my screams echoing as the flames consumed my flesh.

Meanwhile, my half-sister Isadora, a mere Bronze Dragon, married another Bronze, equally unremarkable. Yet somehow, she gave birth to an Amethyst Dragon.

She became our new Dragon Queen. I became carrion.

But death wasn't my end.

I opened my eyes on the day of the Choosing Ceremony. Damien stood before me. Then, with cold calculation in his eyes, he turned away. He chose Isadora.

He remembers too.

A smile curved my lips. Let him play his game. Because I know the truth now, a truth that will shatter everything.

How could a dragon who needs dark magic to maintain his wing color possibly father a dragon of true noble bloodline?

...

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew I was back.

Back to the worst day of my life, or my last life, I guess.

The Sky Throne Hall stretched endlessly before me. Thousands of dragons packed the space. The air buzzed with excitement and whispers. My father's voice boomed across the hall, formal and kingly.

"...and so we gather for the sacred Mating Ceremony, held once every five hundred years..."

I wasn't listening. I couldn't. My mind was screaming.

The baby. Damien throwing my baby down the stone steps.

I dug my nails into my palms. No. Don't think about it.

The lava cave. The heat. The smell of my own skin burning...

"Stop," I whispered to myself.

A woman next to me gave me a strange look. I forced a smile and looked away.

"Damien Thornwing." My father's voice cut through my thoughts. "Step forward."

My stomach dropped.

There he was. Tall, impossibly handsome, with those sharp purple eyes that every woman in the hall was staring at. The most eligible bachelor in Draconia.

The man who'd killed my child.

Damien walked to the center of the hall.

"Damien Thornwing," my father continued, his white-platinum wings spreading slightly in approval. "You are the finest of your generation. The highest bloodline among the young. You are worthy of my daughter's hand."

"I have decided," Father announced, "to grant you the honor of marrying Princess Seraphina."

The hall erupted in applause.

And Damien looked at me.

Just for a second. Just long enough for me to see it, that flicker of contempt in his eyes.

My blood turned to ice.

He remembers. He's reborn too.

"Your Majesty," Damien said, bowing low. "I am honored beyond measure."

The hall quieted, waiting for him to accept.

"However," he continued, straightening, "I must respectfully decline."

You could have heard a pin drop.

Father's wings snapped open, sending a gust of wind across the hall. "What did you say?"

"I cannot marry Princess Seraphina." Damien's voice was calm, "Instead, I humbly request permission to marry your second daughter, Princess Isadora."