The Girl Who Heard Dragon

The first time Lyra heard the dragon, everyone in her village thought she was dreaming.

It happened on the night the moon turned red.

Lyra was standing alone beside the old forest, carrying a basket of herbs she had gathered before sunset.

The village of Eldermere was quiet behind her.

Too quiet.

No children were playing in the streets.

No merchants were shouting.

Even the dogs had stopped barking.

Lyra looked toward the mountains.

Something felt wrong.

Then she heard it.

Run.

She froze.

The voice wasn't coming from behind her.

It wasn't coming from the forest.

It was coming from the mountain.

Lyra slowly lowered her basket.

"Who's there?"

Nothing answered.

Then—

Run, little one.

Her heart slammed against her chest.

She stepped backward.

"Who are you?"

A deep sound rolled through the mountains.

Not thunder.

A growl.

The ground trembled beneath her feet.

Birds suddenly burst from the trees.

Lyra stared at the mountain.

A massive shadow moved behind the clouds.

Then two golden eyes appeared.

They were enormous.

Far too enormous to belong to any creature Lyra had ever seen.

Her legs nearly gave out.

A dragon.

Everyone in Eldermere knew dragons were supposed to be extinct.

For three hundred years, humans had believed the last dragon had died during the Great War.

But Lyra was looking directly at one.

And somehow…

She could hear it.

They are coming.

Lyra swallowed.

"Who?"

The dragon's eyes narrowed.

The ones who killed my kind.

A cold wind swept through the forest.

Lyra felt something strange in her chest.

A warmth.

Like a small flame had suddenly awakened inside her.

"What do they want?"

The dragon remained silent for several seconds.

Then its voice entered her mind again.

You.

Lyra's blood turned cold.

"Me?"

Before the dragon could answer, a horn sounded from the village.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

An alarm.

Lyra turned around.

Torches were appearing along the village road.

Dozens of them.

Men in black armor were entering Eldermere.

"They're here," the dragon whispered.

"Who?"

The King's Hunters.

Lyra's heart stopped.

The King's Hunters were soldiers sent throughout the kingdom to find anything connected to dragons.

But why would they come to her village?

She grabbed her basket and ran.

As she reached the edge of the village, she saw her mother standing outside their house.

"Lyra!"

"Mother!"

Her mother rushed toward her.

"We have to leave."

"What happened?"

Her mother grabbed her hand.

"They're looking for you."

Lyra stared at her.

"What?"

Her mother's eyes filled with tears.

"I prayed they would never find out."

"Find out what?"

Before her mother could answer, the sound of horses thundered down the road.

A soldier shouted:

"Search every house!"

Lyra's mother pulled her toward the back door.

"Listen to me."

"What is happening?"

Her mother held Lyra's face between her hands.

"You were never an ordinary girl."

Lyra stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

Her mother hesitated.

Then she whispered the words that would change Lyra's life forever.

"Your father was a dragon guardian."

Lyra's breath caught.

"No."

"He died protecting you."

Another horn sounded.

The soldiers were getting closer.

Her mother pulled a small silver pendant from beneath her dress and placed it around Lyra's neck.

"This belonged to your father."

The pendant suddenly glowed.

Lyra gasped.

A brilliant blue light spread across the room.

Outside, the soldiers stopped.

One of them shouted:

"THE MAGIC!"

Her mother looked terrified.

"They know."

"Mother, I'm scared."

"I know."

She hugged Lyra tightly.

"But you must go."

"Where?"

Her mother pointed toward the forest.

"The mountain."

Lyra stared at her.

"The dragon?"

Her mother nodded.

"He has been waiting for you."

"For me?"

"Yes."

The front door suddenly exploded.

Soldiers stormed into the house.

"RUN!"

Lyra ran.

She sprinted toward the forest as arrows flew past her.

Behind her, she heard her mother scream.

"LYRA!"

She wanted to turn around.

But she didn't.

She ran deeper into the forest.

Branches scratched her arms.

Her breathing became painful.

Her tears blurred the path ahead.

Then—

Keep running.

The dragon's voice returned.

Lyra looked toward the mountain.

"I don't know where I'm going!"

You do.

"What?"

You have always known.

The pendant around her neck burned with blue light.

Suddenly, the forest disappeared.

Lyra saw a path.

A hidden path glowing beneath the trees.

She followed it.

The path led directly toward the mountain.

Behind her, the King's Hunters were getting closer.

Ahead of her, something enormous moved between the trees.

Lyra stopped.

A dragon stepped into the moonlight.

Its scales were black as midnight.

Its eyes were golden.

And on its forehead was a glowing silver mark—the exact symbol engraved on Lyra's pendant.

The dragon lowered its head.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then the dragon spoke.

Not with its mouth.

Inside her mind.

At last.

Lyra stared at it.

"Who are you?"

The dragon's eyes softened.

I am Kael.

Lyra's heart began pounding.

"And why can I hear you?"

Kael looked toward the burning village in the distance.

Then back at her.

Because you are the last Dragonheart.

Lyra stepped backward.

"What is a Dragonheart?"

Kael spread his enormous wings.

The wind nearly knocked her off her feet.

The last human capable of awakening the ancient dragons.

A terrifying roar echoed from the mountains.

Then another.

And another.

Lyra looked around.

Her eyes widened.

There wasn't just one dragon.

There were hundreds.

Their silhouettes appeared across the mountain peaks.

Some were black.

Some were silver.

Some were red as fire.

Some were covered in blue scales that shimmered beneath the moon.

They had been sleeping.

Waiting.

For her.

Kael lowered his head.

The war has begun again.

Lyra looked back at the village.

Smoke rose into the night sky.

Her mother was still there.

Her people were still there.

And somewhere beyond the mountains, an army was coming.

Lyra wiped the tears from her face.

"Then teach me how to fight."

Kael stared at her.

For the first time in hundreds of years…

The dragon smiled..