Chapter 124: Dragon's Dream, Becoming a Dragon
At noon, in the bedroom of the Lion's Den.
Suleiman closed the final short chapter of the Laws of the Fiefdom, written by Evelyn, on its piece of parchment. Evelyn had already disappeared through the door.
Suleiman felt himself swallowed by an overwhelming drowsiness that had come from nowhere. His body sank onto the soft silk bed Evelyn had carefully bought, but his consciousness did not immediately fade.
His knuckles had gone white from clenching. Something was terribly wrong. His heart was beating too fast. He gasped for breath, trying to call for Evelyn, but no sound came out.
He heard his heartbeat, again and again, like the steady pounding of war drums he had heard before.
Then everything changed. He was no longer lying in bed.
The hard stone floor vanished, replaced by a sensation of being supported from all sides—light yet powerful.
Suleiman opened his eyes. Instead of the familiar bedroom ceiling, he saw an endless night sky and mountain ranges stretching below. Moonlight shone like mercury, tracing the ridgelines in silver. They were the Mountains of the Moon.
He could feel enormous wings unfolding at his sides. Every part of his body brimmed with explosive power.
Wind roared beneath his wing membranes, carrying the thin chill of high altitudes and the damp scent of moisture in the clouds. He was flying, free and unrestrained—or rather, he was flight itself.
He looked down and saw the enormous shadow he cast, like a moving storm cloud covering the mountains below.
He had dominion over the sky. He was a dragon.
Ahead, a giant, mud-brown dragon fled in panic. Its wings were like two enormous dead leaves, each flap frantic and feeble.
The mud-brown dragon was a little smaller than him, but quick.