Six for Gold

Once upon a time, it is said, dragons were creatures of magnificence and victory and prosperity, creatures whose arrival could have a kingdom celebrating for weeks on end. But after a thousand years of disasters and legends shrouded in mist, dragons have become little more than specters of death, and those unlucky enough to find themselves living in one's shadow would do almost anything to step out into the sun. Even if it meant sacrificing one of their own.

It is fate that Aether and Lumine, twins marked by calamity, are the first to be captured when a dragon descends upon their village and demands a bride. It is chance that Aether is chosen over Lumine when the sacrifice finally arrives. Resigned to a short world of pain before violent death, Aether’s only comfort is that Lumine might still have a chance to safely live on without him.

Then he actually meets the dragon, with its warm scales and amber eyes. And as the seasons turn and change, he finds himself daring to hope for just a little more after all…