Reborn Rivalry: She Stole My Dragon Prince

Serpent blood ran hot, as an old saying put it.

Once serpent women came of age, loneliness gnawed at us, making sleepless nights unbearable.

The elders, fearing we'd stir trouble with reckless affairs, ordered us to choose our mates right after adulthood to forge alliances with other clans.

That day, we arrived at the temple, barely glancing at the array of beastmen before us.

A girl beside me nudged me, whispering, "I saw Marina on the way here, bolting toward the back hills. She ignored everyone. Is she ditching this?"

Her words hit me like a stone. It looked like my dear sister, Marina Hughes, was back from our past life, too.

She was racing to the hills, likely to chase her dream of becoming a queen.

Before I could respond, thunder rumbled outside, dark clouds swallowing the sky. The world dimmed, and red-robed figures descended.

My heart skipped a beat as I recognized them from my past life. These were dragon clan envoys, here to offer wedding gifts.

By now, Prince Horace Montgomery must have regained his power, ready to claim Marina in gratitude.

In my previous life, Marina, on a cruel whim, had sent me to the hills to pick flowers for her. There, I stumbled upon a man lying wounded and unconscious.

I meant to heal him to sate my serpent urges, but when he woke up, he handed me a relic, revealing himself as the Dragon Prince.

He sent word to his clan, declaring me his concubine.

The serpent clan, never high nor low in status, had never known such honor.

I had no choice. My fate was sealed in moments.

Though dragons ruled the realms, they hid a dark secret: birthing a dragon heir required the mother's life force.

Dragon blood was fierce. Most females couldn't endure it. Many died mid-pregnancy, both mother and child lost.

By some stroke of luck, I had survived and birthed the only dragon heir. Horace had been ecstatic, naming me his princess consort.

Centuries later, he was crowned Dragon King, and I became Queen.

I lived in splendor beyond imagining, while Marina, married to a beastman with a dozen concubines, was miserable.

He didn't favor her, visiting her once a month. That could never satisfy her.

She wept daily, consumed by envy. Finally, at a ritual, she lured me to a cliff and shoved me to my death.

That despair still haunted me.

Back in the present, amid the elders' procession, Horace appeared, hand in hand with Marina.

"Marina's heart is pure," he declared proudly. "She saved me in the hills, and I'll make her my concubine."

I knelt as custom demanded, while Marina held her head high in front of the crowd, unaware of what was coming.

I hid a smirk. If she were so eager to try, I'd help her discover its costs.