The powerless dragon princess of Ravenmoor

ELIORA POV

"Dad, I'm already eighteen and my power flow is still blocked. That's unfair."

"Remind me to unlock it when you're twenty."

"If I had a coin for every time you've tricked me, I'd have a lot of coins."

"Go get ready, Eliora. The dragon is growing impatient and tired of waiting."

My only wish is to be like other kids. I want the power I didn't ask for but was bestowed upon me anyway. Even if I don't get all of it, at least I deserve half. Or even a quarter.

I mumbled to myself as I picked up the last of my things from home. This was it. The holiday was over, and I was going back to Ravenmoor, or as I preferred to call it, "the devil's cage."

The only reason Ravenmoor seemed interesting at all was Caspian, my best friend and the alpha wolf of the Crescent Pack. I really wished my dad, also the ruler of the dragons, would unblock my power flow so I could finally be powerful.

I was supposed to be the most powerful being alive because of the circumstances of my birth. I'm a tribrid: werewolf, witch, and dragon, the only one alive, which should have made me the strongest person in the nine clans. But my overprotective father had a wizard cast a spell that blocked my power flow, leaving me unable to so much as light a candle.

If I ever got my power back, the first thing I'd do is turn Lilith into a butter frog. I smirked at the thought as it crossed my mind.

"Eliora, where are you?" My butler's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back into reality.

The ride to school was calm. Valerie, the dragon I was riding, stayed steady and even the whole way.

"Eliora!"

I heard Caspian yell my name as my dragon landed.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked once he was close enough.

"Werewolf sense of smell, remember?" He pulled me into a tight hug before I could say anything else.

"I missed you so much, but you're squeezing my intestines."

"I missed you too," he said, finally letting me go. I breathed in, grateful for air again.

"Well, if it isn't the powerless princess of the dragon clan."

I turned my head, and there she was, standing like the devil she is. Lilith, daughter of Lucifer, ruler of the demons and the damned, and this school's reigning heir.

"And you're still the bitch you've always been," I shot back. "I thought a little holiday in hell would've given you some sense."

"Say that again and I'll fry you right here like a holiday turkey."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, stop it," Caspian said, stepping between us.

"And her school nanny saves the day again." Lilith turned her glare on him. "Do you need a cape to go with those hideous clothes?"

"I dare you to say that again." Caspian's jaw tightened, and I could see the shift starting to ripple under his skin, the wolf just beneath the surface.

"Let the bitch be, Caspian. She isn't worth it."

Right on cue, the bell rang, calling everyone to the general assembly that always opened the first day of a new semester. Lilith shot us both a final death glare before turning on her heel, her minions falling into step behind her like she was dragging them on strings.

"Let's go, Eliora," Caspian said, and I followed him inside.

At assembly, everyone sat with their own species, and within their species, by rank. The order never changed:

Dragons.

Devils and demons.

Vampires.

Werewolves.

Witches.

Giants.

Shape shifters.

Fairies.

Frankenstein monsters.

Since I was a tribrid, I should have been at the very top of the power chain. Instead, with my flow blocked, I sat with the dragons in name only, powerless as anyone at the bottom.

Viktor Rhys walked up to the podium and stood at its center. As the school administrator, he cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Good day, students. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Your class schedules are in your lockers, and I have a special announcement. We have a new student joining us this semester, and I'd like everyone to treat him with the love and respect he deserves. Please welcome Lucien Draven, a vampire and heir to the vampire dynasty."

We don't usually accept new students partway through a term. So why had they made an exception for Lucien Draven?

My thoughts scattered the moment Viktor waved him up to the podium. I knew vampires tended to be beautiful in that dangerous, otherworldly way, but Lucien looked like he'd been carved by someone with too much patience and not enough mercy. Dark hair, straight and perfectly out of place, a build carved from muscle and restraint. His eyes were a deep gold, bright enough to catch the light from across the hall. He looked dangerous. He also looked, somehow, innocent.

By then, the entire school was staring at him. I was staring too, and before I could stop myself, our eyes met. He blinked, slow and deliberate, like he'd meant for me to notice.

Oh no, I thought.