Chapter 1

The first time I lived, my sister and I found two dragon eggs.

The black one pulsed with raw, untamed power.

My sister, Isabella, claimed it without a second thought.

The white one was left for me. A cracked, forgotten thing.

It held only a whisper of magic. I took it out of pity.

Within a year, the black dragon shattered his shell and emerged a man so beautiful it was a curse.

He became Isabella's devoted weapon, his power forging her path to godhood.

Meanwhile, the white egg fed on me.

I poured everything I had into my white egg.

My magic, my money, my soul.

For ten long years, it gave me nothing.

Everyone said to abandon it. But I couldn't.

I was an orphan, ignored by my sister. I just wanted a companion.

But as the dark plague swept the lands, the egg I'd nurtured for a decade hatched overnight—while I was dying, he soared past me to save Isabella.

He could have hatched years ago. Could have been human all along.

But he chose Isabella. He mistook her for his savior.

Then I was back to the day it all began.

This time, Isabella lunged for the white egg first, afraid I'd take it.

I slung my worn satchel of herbs over my shoulder. Turned my back on them both.

"You can have them both," I said calmly. "I choose myself."

This life, I swore I would have nothing to do with Adrian.

But now, he's the one filled with regret, willing to give his own life just to have me look at him one more time.

...

"Eva, I'm taking this one!" Isabella declared, snatching the white egg before I could even react.

"Just look at it! The shell is flawless, the magic so pure. This one is destined for greatness!" she gushed.

"It's just like the egg from the old legend that a farmer's wife found! The one that made her a goddess!"

Isabella clutched the egg tighter, a possessive glint in her eyes.

The villagers swarmed around her, their voices a rising chorus.

"Isabella, of course it's yours! Your eye for magic is a gift from the gods!"

"A treasure like that would be wasted on Eva so plain. So powerless."

"She wouldn't even know what to do with it!"

"Oh, stop being so modest, Isabella! Take the egg! It was destiny!"

A flash of triumph lit Isabella's eyes before she veiled it with practiced humility.

She clutched the egg to her chest.

"Oh, please, everyone. I just… felt a pull. A connection."

I frowned.

Anyone with a sliver of magical sense could feel the life inside the white egg was fading to nothing.

It was riddled with hairline cracks, practically screaming its own death.

The black egg, meanwhile, had cryptic runes swirling across its shell, shimmering with a rainbow iridescence.

The villagers were ignorant, but Isabella knew better.

Last time, she'd practically spat on the white egg, calling it worthless before shoving it at me.

Now she was fawning over it.

So. She's back, too.

The irony was a bitter pill in my throat.

She was cradling her own doom and calling it a prize.

"If you like it so much, it's all yours." I shouldered my worn satchel of herbs and started to walk away. "And I don't want the other one."

"Eva!" Isabella was stunned.

She never expected me to be so decisive.

It shattered her perfectly crafted script.

Seeing me about to leave, she dropped the act.

Panic flashed in her eyes.

She scrambled forward, trying to grab both eggs.

With the black egg tucked under one arm, she reached for the white one, but her boot caught on a loose stone.

She pitched forward with a cry.

The white egg flew from her grasp.

It hit a jagged rock with a sickening CRACK.

The world went silent.

A web of fissures spread across its pristine shell.

Isabella's face went deathly pale.

It wasn't the egg she mourned.

It was her ticket to godhood.

She scooped it up, her face a perfect mask of horror.

Crocodile tears streamed down her cheeks.

She whirled on me, her voice thick with sobs.

"Eva… it's all my fault… I was just trying to keep it safe for you..."

Before she could finish, the villagers' accusations turned on me.

"Evangeline, you monster! She was only trying to help, and you made her fall!"

"This is your fault, you cold-hearted witch!"

"Isabella, don't cry. She's just a jinx. It has nothing to do with you."

I gripped the straps of my basket and turned to stare coldly at the scene.

It was always the same story.

Her greed. Her mistake. My fault.

A laugh tore from my throat. "Well, Isabella. Since you're so kind, you can take care of your broken prize. You're the one who caused its little… accident."

Isabella froze.

The white egg was so badly damaged, saving it would cost a fortune in magic and money we didn't have.

She wanted a perfect divine companion, but she'd just turned it into a worthless burden.

She held the cracked egg, trapped.

Just then, a brilliant white light exploded from the egg.

Everyone fell silent.

I whipped my head around.

A man, naked and divine, with dragon wings unfurled behind him, shimmered into existence.

A single trickle of blood traced a path from the corner of his perfect mouth, a stark crimson against pale skin.

The impact had forced him out.

That one flaw, that smear of blood, only made his otherworldly beauty more devastating.

The crowd held its breath.

I froze, too.

The white dragon… He'd hatched.