Chapter 3

Clara's initial shock turned into delight as she leaned into Erik's arms. Meanwhile, Erik frowned hard, like he was looking at a child who didn't know any better.

"Aurora, all I did was let Clara have your position as Dragon Queen. What's there to be so upset about?"

I sighed and looked at him seriously. "Erik, I'm not upset."

He gave a cold laugh and irritably hooked a finger under my chin. "Here it is, yet another one of your methods to get my attention. If you're going to be this disobedient, you can stand outside all night. You can come back into the castle when you've learned your lesson."

This was how he wanted to make me behave.

I didn't bother arguing. I just turned and walked out.

The cold wind howled, but I could still hear Erik and Clara teasing each other and flirting inside. I stood outside, my heart feeling completely calm for the first time. It was almost as if I were mourning my relationship with Erik.

At last, daylight broke. The day my contract with Erik would officially end had arrived.

To my surprise, my father appeared in front of me before anything happened. He said, "The dragon clan trials are about to begin. Why aren't you there yet? Didn't you train like crazy just to be selected?"

I froze for a moment. Then, I remembered that a month ago, to give Erik a surprise, I'd pushed myself to the limit, training my hunting skills and physical strength. I wanted to shine in the trials so he would finally see me in a different light.

Now, I no longer needed his eyes on me, but I also refused to let all that effort go to waste. So, I nodded and forced my numb legs to move. I headed toward the trial grounds.

When I arrived, I saw Erik from a distance. He had an arm wrapped around Clara, frost magic shimmering around his raised hand as he formed a shield of ice to protect her.

Noticing my gaze, Clara tugged Erik over to me. "Aurora, don't you know that ordinary humans aren't allowed to participate in the trials? I may be human, but I'm the Dragon Queen now. As for you…"

Erik scowled and moved forward to shield Clara behind him. "Enough of this. There's a limit to how far you can take your nonsense. These are combat trials between dragons. Every dragon that competes represents their own tribe. Did you use the fact that you're my soul-bonded mate to sneak your way in?"

I exhaled slowly, squared my shoulders, and stood tall. "I earned my place by fighting my way through the selection rounds."

The words were barely out of my mouth when Erik let out a sharp, derisive laugh, his tone growing more and more irritated. "You're out of your mind."

I stared straight into his eyes. "This is something that belongs to me. I don't need to use your name to get it."

His scowl deepened as his body shifted into a massive frost-colored dragon. Iciness rolled off his scales as he growled, "Stop using my name to get ahead!"

I nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about that. I'm about to stop being your soul-bonded mate anyway."

Clara shot me a provocative look, then put on a pitiful act. "Aurora, I know you're only saying all this because you think I stole your title as Dragon Queen. But you shouldn't use that to threaten Erik."

I gave a short, cold laugh and pointed at Erik. "You're both about to find out whether I'm threatening him or not."

The next second, from deep within my soul, the bond between us snapped with a violent crack.