Chapter 163

Maren

Dragon realm doesn’t announce itself with fire or teeth.

It announces itself with certainty.

The air changes first—thicker, warmer, like the world has drawn a line and decided this side belongs to something older than me. The stone beneath my boots hums faintly, not alive exactly, but aware. Every step feels like it’s being noted, cataloged, remembered.

I don’t shrink.

I straighten.

Because