Prince Valen

Prince Valen had been exiled for high treason, accused of poisoning the High King, his own father. It was a lie, orchestrated by an ambitious stepbrother, but the council had shown no mercy. They stripped him of his titles, dragged him to the jagged edges of the Forbidden Crags, and chained him deep within a subterranean tomb. They wanted him to starve to death in his fragile human skin.What they didn't understand was the nature of the bloodline they had tried to extinguish.Valen’s ancestors were not entirely human. Deep within the marrow of his bones slept the primordial essence of an ancient, cataclysmic beast—a dragon of iron scales and black fire.In the royal court, Valen had spent his entire life suppressing the monster. He wore fine silks, spoke in quiet tones, and forced the roaring beast into a cage of perfect etiquette. But now, as days bled into weeks, starvation eroded his human restraint. The civil prince was fading. The desperate beast was waking up."Let me out," a voice rumbled, not in the cave, but in the echoes of his own mind. It was a low, scraping sound, like tectonic plates grinding together.Valen gritted his teeth, his human eyes flashing a sudden, predatory gold in the pitch black. “No,” he thought back, his body shivering from the cold. “If I transform in these chains, the pressure will crush my human bones before the scales can form. We will die.”"We die anyway if we stay like this," the beast growled. "Let me taste the iron. Let me burn."For three more days, Valen held the line. He watched his own ribs grow prominent. He felt his heartbeat slow to a sluggish, dying rhythm. The humans who exiled him wanted him to pass away quietly, a pathetic scapegoat forgotten by history.On the fourth night, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the cavern tunnels.A torchlight flickered against the damp walls, casting long, monstrous shadows. It was Malakor, the captain of the royal guard—and the man who had physically framed Valen by placing the poison vial in his chambers."Still breathing, Your Highness?" Malakor sneered, stepping into the chamber. He thrust the torch forward, illuminating Valen’s pathetic, chained form. "Your brother sends his regards. He is to be crowned tomorrow at noon. I suggested we leave you here, but he prefers absolute certainty. I am here to finish it."Malakor drew a gleaming steel dagger.