1. The Shadow

She was knocked back by the sudden impact. Leila lifted her eyes to see what she had run into. A tall, strong knight with a golden sword and shield was standing before her. His armor shone with a golden light under the bright, hot sun.

Her flustered escape caused her to crash into the leader of a squadron of golden knights, ranked as golden dragons, patrolling under the direct command of the royals. Their glistening armor hurt Leila’s eyes. She had never seen anything like it; everything was gray and brown in her aunt’s house. She was amazed by this troop of men. The shield was emblazoned with a fierce dragon, as though it was vividly flapping its monstrous wings on the beautiful piece of weaponry. Their swords were long and sharp. Just gazing upon the points of their swords was enough to make Leila’s heart hover in her throat.

People on the street gathered around, enthusiastic to observe the stupid girl who had just committed a crime. Rarely had one dared to stumble into the golden knights - not if they still wanted to keep their head on their neck. Catching a glimpse of Leila’s striking eyes, a man screamed out from the crowd, “She’s a mongrel!” Everyone gasped and muttered as the crowd surrounding her pressed in. No one had ever seen a real mongrel born from and dragon and human before, much less her cursed eyes foretold in the old legend. “It’s impossible!” “How could it be?” “She’s a disgusting half-blood!” “Kill her!” “She’s a disgrace to our dragon blood!”

Leila was terrified. The savage faces of the strangers and their inexplicable hatred confused her. The crowd was ignited by her sudden appearance. She was delirious, and thought she even saw a few males stick out their tongues and make licking gestures at her. There was a lustful and beastly desire in their eyes. Leila was reminded of what her uncle did to her last night. It struck her that the looks on the faces of these men was almost the same as the look on her uncle’s face before. How could she be so stupid, why didn’t she realize it earlier? She pulled her ragged clothes down to cover her thighs. Anyone would agree, she certainly had an enticing figure.

As for the knights, they seemed quite stern and unconcerned. Their faces were hidden behind golden armets. A knight behind the commanding knight approached her. He grasped onto the back of her head and exposed Leila’s face. It once again fired up the crowd. “Purple eyes! No dragon has those eyes!” “Burn her! Kill her!” “She’s a bad omen!” The knight was dragging her towards the commander. Her heart sank. There was nowhere to run now. The knight’s grip was so powerful that she could barely move. She had a terrible feeling that they would certainly kill her. Her aunts and her cousins has disappeared from view. They must have hidden among the crowd, not daring to come any closer.

The knight commander saw Leila’s face and turned to other knights to say something. Leila couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she knew she would been taken away with them.

“You need to come with us,” a golden knight said to Leila, as he began to bind her wrists with rope, knotting it tightly. Leila observed the knight’s hands glistening with a gorgeous golden sheen. She remembered her aunt saying once before, due to the loss of the dragon spirits, the dragon race’s appearance changed overnight. The high-ranking dragon lords, which were the golden and silver descendants, had glistening skin. As for the grey dragons, their eyes were still pale brown, but their dark brown hair gleamed under the moonlight. It was the first time Leila had ever encountered golden dragons. She tried to carefully observe the knight’s eyes, but he scooped her up and threw her over a tall white horse’s back like a sack of potatoes.

The knight commander then yelled at the citizens gathered around. “Disperse immediately! Back to where you were! No more prying!” All of the grey dragons obediently turned away, with only a few eyes still lingering on Leila.

Lying on her stomach on horseback, Leila felt immensely uncomfortable. The horse bumped and jolted her, but it was the least of her concerns. Where would they take her and what they were planning to do? Powerless, all she could do was be quiet and wait for her chance to escape.

The squadron was patrolling along the streets of King’s Harbor. The capital of the grand dragon kingdom had existed for centuries. Leila had always wanted to see it with her own eyes, but her aunt and uncle had never allowed it, saying it was dangerous for a girl like her. They told her she wasn’t normal, a freak, that people outside would do bad things to her, maybe even kill her. All her life, she had been kept in the house to work and never once attempted to run away. She hadn’t known that they were only protecting themselves; concealing the fact that they were keeping a mongrel in their home to avoid trouble.

Leila tried to grab hold of a loose rein dangling from the horse and used it to support her body and avoid falling to the ground. She lifted her head and looked at the streets passing by. The majority of the citizens were grey dragons. They were strolling on the broad streets paved with high-quality asphalt. A variety of grocers were dotted along the roads; grey dragons were walking in and out, carrying wrapped bags and fresh flowers. Leila rarely saw any grey dragons in the more expensive-looking shops. The customers were all golden or silver dragons dressed in fine robes. Surprisingly, Leila realized the female owners were all silver dragons, their skin glowing with a silver sheen. They clearly stood out in the crowd. Just as her aunt had said, silver dragon girls were sculpted finely by the dragon divinity. They were born with grace and beauty.

Leila looked down on the ground at a puddle of water. She saw her lilac eyes reflected with an illicit sparkle. Her messy, thick hair was tangled together without the glow a grey dragon should have, and her skin was dull and plain, just like a human. It was a painful fact that she was an outsider in the dragon realm. And now, she would meet her fate.

The squadron stopped in front of a stately mansion. Leila read the name, The Royal Garrison, on the outside of the building. The entire estate was guarded by fully-equipped knights and squires. Men shouted, swords clashed, and horses whinnied. The whole place was one thousand times larger than Leila’s aunt’s house, with a gigantic yard surrounding the main building on all sides.

Leila was lifted onto the ground and led inside the garrison by the knight commander. Other knights passing by all nodded to their commander, surprised that he had brought a girl back with him.

“New girlfriend?” An arrogant young knight with a messy golden hair joked. He was chewing a piece of beef jerky as he walked towards them.

“Shut up,” the commander said hoarsely, “This mongrel was found during our patrol.”

“Are you serious?” The young knight moved closer to Leila to get a better look, “Her skin is as dull as a human’s…and she has lilac eyes! Geez, what kind of creature are you, girl?”

Leila stepped back and lowered her head.

“Has the prince returned yet?” The commander asked plainly.

“Nah.” The young knight put the whole chunk of jerky inside his mouth, muffling his speech. “Didn’t see him the whole day.”

“Alright. Now come along,” the commander said to Leila, urging her forward. He left the young knight and led her into a huge storage room. Then, he closed the door behind him.

The room was located at the far end of the first floor of the mansion. It was stuffed with all kinds of swords, daggers and shields. Leila even caught a glimpse of a few thick animal hides and preserved heads from various creatures.

“Sit down.” The commander motioned for her to sit on a dusty sofa as he took off his golden armor. “I must confess, you caught my attention right away on the street. But unfortunately, being a mongrel, you’d be sentenced to death. And with you being exposed like that…I had no choice but to bring you here. But I can let you escape–for a price.”

Leila looked at him properly for the first time. His face was gorgeous; he had a perfect jawline, but his smile was lascivious, sending a shiver down her spine.

Putting his hand on Leila’s bare thigh, he continued, “If you let me fuck you and be quiet about it, then I’ll figure out a way to get you out at night, when the knights are all asleep.”

Leila stood up from the sofa and scrambled away from him. She stumbled into a wooden shelf and knocked over a bear head, which rolled over towards the door. The commander pursued Leila and asked, “You refuse? I’m offering you a chance to live!”

Leila shook her head and stepped away from the commander. Suddenly overcome with anger, he flung himself onto Leila, taking hold of her bound wrists.

At that very moment, the door was kicked inward. A half-naked man, well over six feet tall, appeared at the door. The room was too dusty for Leila to see the man’s face clearly, but even from a distance, Leila could still sense that he possessed an overwhelmingly intimidating air. He kicked the fallen bear head, and it sailed right into the commander’s face; it was a hard and precise strike. The commander was knocked unconscious and fell to the floor at once.

Leila could feel his eyes scanning her. His gaze seemed to linger on her lilac eyes for a considerably longer amount of time. Without any emotion, he turned to the man dressed in black armor standing behind him. “Discharge him from the battalion. And put her in my council chamber.”

“Aye, my prince.” The dark knight obeyed and stepped in.

As the knight entered the room, the sun’s rays finally had a chance to penetrate the dim storage room, filling the room with its sparkling orange light. With great wonder, Leila saw the prince’s shadow cast clearly on the floor; Instead of a man, his shadow was shaped like a fierce dragon.

Leila was gently pulled up by the dark knight. She blinked and shook her head, thinking she had witnessed some kind of illusion. She wanted to get another clear look at the shadow, but the prince had already left her sight.