Chapter 179: Aurum’s Choice
Cora stirred in her sleep, her brow furrowing as she touched something with a dry, leathery texture. She gently caressed it, feeling a strange sense of warmth, and then heard a soft purring sound.
In an instant, she opened her eyes and saw a small dragon staring at her. ’Is it smiling?’ she wondered, rapidly blinking, but the image of the little golden dragon remained, its eyes gleaming with curiosity. It nudged its head against her hand, urging her to continue touching it.
"Oh heavens! A d-dragon?" she stuttered, her voice tinged with both awe and uncertainty. It was only a baby dragon, right? So it couldn’t possibly harm her with its fire?
"Why do they have a dragon here?" she murmured, contemplating her next move.
She gently touched it again and said, "You seem so harmless..."
The dragon seemed to like her touch and moved closer, as if asking to be cradled in her arms. Cora chuckled, delighted by its affection. She loved animals, but her role as a commander in the cavalry division often kept her too busy and in too dangerous situations to consider having a pet.
"Does this mean that this kingdom managed to keep dragon eggs and have them hatched?" Cora thought aloud while continuing to stroke the golden dragon’s back. She knew Zion’s history and its ancient connections with dragons and dragonriders, but that was almost a millennia ago.
"Right, Her Majesty is a dragonrider... This..." Cora gasped. "I should report this to the king." She moved to get another parchment to send a report, but the golden dragon suddenly breathed fire on the parchment on her table, reducing it to ashes.
Cora blinked and then gulped. "You... Aren’t you too little to breathe a powerful fire like that?" she mumbled, her face contorted in surprise. The dragon roared softly as if scolding her.