Ah, what a beautiful day.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and most importantly… I had successfully made two of the most powerful dragons in existence suffer.

Well, ‘suffer’ might be a strong word. Let’s just say I had successfully annoyed them to the point of frustration, and that was a win in my book.

Valerion, my new not-blood-related but absolutely chaotic big brother, was laughing beside me as we continued our mission of teasing Caelum, the White Dragon. Honestly, I think we were doing a great job. The way he kept pinching the bridge of his nose like he was holding back the urge to strangle us? Perfect.

“I don’t understand how I ended up here,” Caelum muttered, looking like he aged a hundred years.

“Oh, come on,” I said, leaning back against the bench with a satisfied sigh. “You love us.”

Caelum shot me a deadpan look. “No, I tolerate you.”

“Same thing,” Valerion chimed in with a cheeky grin.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brooding Lizard King himself—Zephirion—was sitting silently beside Caelum, arms crossed like he was above all of this nonsense. Except, I knew him well enough now to notice the way his jaw twitched slightly. Oh? Was His Majesty finally running out of patience?

Good. I was just getting started.

I turned to Zephirion with my sweetest, most innocent smile. “Why so quiet, Your Majesty? Are we ruining your dramatic, mysterious aura?”

Valerion snorted. “I think he’s just mad we’re not worshipping him like the rest of the world does.”

“Ohhh, you’re right,” I gasped, placing a hand on my chest in fake shock. “How terrible of us! Forgive us, mighty Black Dragon King.”

Zephirion’s crimson eyes flickered toward me, but instead of getting annoyed like I expected, he just… sighed.

Huh?

No glare? No threats? Not even a smug comeback?

I frowned. “You’re not fun anymore.”

He finally looked at me properly, one brow slightly raised. “I was never meant to be fun.”

“Yeah, well, too late. You’re stuck with me now.”

Valerion and I high-fived again while Caelum just groaned, probably questioning his life choices.

I stretched, feeling the warmth of the sun against my skin. It was strange, really. For the first time in forever, I felt… light. No running. No survival instincts kicking in. Just a peaceful moment with people I could actually call friends.

Maybe… just maybe…

I glanced at Valerion—my overly excited dragon brother who treated me like his favorite troublemaking sibling. Then at Caelum—my handsome but eternally stressed friend who sighed in defeat at everything.

And then… there was Zephirion.

The stupid lizard.

I was about to make some snarky comment at him when I noticed something.

He was already looking at me.

…Why?

The world around me suddenly faded into the background. His crimson eyes held mine, intense and unreadable. It was like he was searching for something, but I didn’t know what.

For a second—just a second—my heart stuttered.

…What was that?

I quickly looked away, clearing my throat. Nope. No way. That was just—just weird. Probably nothing.

Yep. Absolutely nothing.

But then why did my chest feel strangely warm?

No. Not thinking about it. Absolutely not.

Pushing away the thought, I turned to Valerion with a mischievous grin. “Alright, what’s our next plan to make these two suffer?”

Valerion’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I have many ideas.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Zephirion still looking at me. But I ignored it.

Because this? This was just another stupid lizard moment.

Nothing more. Right?

To be continued