Morning arrived slowly over the northern castle. Grey light crept through the narrow windows. The cold air carried the quiet stillness that usually followed a storm. Yet this time there had been no storm.
Only tension. Servants moved carefully through the corridors. Guards stood straighter than usual. Conversations were brief and hushed.
Everyone knew something serious would happen that morning.
Inside his chamber, Newton Ice still slept. Deeply.
His body lay sprawled across the bed, one arm hanging loosely off the side. His breathing was slow and steady.
The chaos of the previous night had not followed him into sleep. Not yet. His mind drifted somewhere far away.
Then the darkness around him shifted. Newton found himself standing inside a hall he did not recognize.
The air smelled different. Warmer. Heavier. He looked around slowly. Tall stone walls rose around him, but they were not the icy blue stones of the northern castle. These stones were darker. Ancient looking. Torches burned along the walls, yet their flames seemed steadier than normal fire.
Newton frowned. "Where am I?".His voice echoed across the room. No answer came.
He turned slowly in place, trying to understand where he had landed. The chamber looked like part of a castle. A large one. The ceiling arched high above him, supported by thick pillars.
Yet he had never seen this place before. His eyes moved across the room again. Then he noticed it. Something sat on a stone pedestal several steps ahead.
Newton walked toward it cautiously. Each step echoed against the floor.
The object was oval shaped, and large. Its surface shimmered faintly under the torchlight.
Newton slowed. His brows furrowed. "I know this shape. I have seen it somewhere before."
He stepped closer. The surface looked rough, almost scaled. His memory stirred. Images from the northern library floated into his mind. Old scrolls. Diagrams drawn by scholars who had studied ancient creatures.
Newton's eyes widened slightly. "Is this a dragon egg?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.
He circled the pedestal slowly. The egg was bigger than he expected. Nearly the size of a newborn child.
Its surface carried faint lines running across it like veins. Newton leaned closer. Curiosity pulled him forward. He reached out and touched it.
It was warm.
He blinked. He placed both hands around the egg and lifted it carefully. The warmth increased instantly.
Newton raised it slightly and turned it around in his hands. "This must be a dragon egg." His voice lowered into a whisper.
Dragons had disappeared from the world nineteen years ago. What was left of them were stories of people who witnessed them.
Yet here he stood, holding one. The warmth inside the shell grew stronger. Newton frowned. "That's strange."
The heat did not burn him. But he could feel it. The egg seemed alive.
Newton shifted his grip. He was about to place it back on the pedestal when a faint sound reached his ears.
Crack.
Newton froze. His eyes lowered to the shell. Another sound followed.
Crack.
Thin lines appeared across the surface. Newton's breath slowed. "Is it… hatching?"
The question barely left his lips.
The cracks spread slowly across the egg..Small pieces of shell loosened. Newton stared at it in disbelief.
He had read stories about dragons but nobody had ever told him about how they hatch. Now he was watching it happen. The shell split wider.
A small claw punched through the crack. Newton's eyes widened completely. Then the top of the egg burst apart. A small creature forced its way out. Wings folded tightly against its body. Tiny horns on its head. Silver eyes glowing faintly.
A baby dragon.
Newton screamed. The creature tumbled from his hands as he threw it away instinctively.
His voice echoed wildly through the chamber.
Newton jerked upright in his bed. His heart hammered violently inside his chest.
The room around him rushed back into focus. Stone walls. Cold air. His own chamber.
He was breathing heavily now. "It was a dream!" His voice sounded rough.
He ran a hand across his chest as if trying to steady his heart. "It was a dream."
His breathing slowly began to calm. But the memory of the egg lingered. The warmth in his hands. The cracking shell. The silver eyes of the hatchling.
Newton rubbed his face. "Just a dream," he whispered again.
Then suddenly:
BANG.
A loud knock shook his door. Newton flinched. "Who is there?" he called.
The guard outside did not bother answering the question properly. "You are summoned before the Ice Throne."
His voice carried through the door. "The council is already waiting for you."
Newton blinked. The council? His eyes shot toward the window.
Sunlight had already begun creeping across the courtyard outside..The sky had turned pale gold.
Newton cursed under his breath. "Shit." He jumped out of bed immediately. "I slept over."
Cold water splashed across his face as he rushed to the basin. He wiped his face quickly and pulled on his robe. His hands moved fast now.nThe dream vanished from his mind completely.
There was something far more dangerous waiting for him.
Newton pushed the door open and stepped into the corridor.nThe guards were already waiting. Without another word, he followed them down the hall.
Toward the Ice Throne. Toward whatever judgment awaited him.
The throne room was already full when the doors opened.
Cold morning light streamed through the high windows, cutting across the stone floor in pale beams. The Ice Throne stood at the far end of the chamber, raised above the council floor like a frozen mountain.
Every seat of the council had been filled. Northern lords sat shoulder to shoulder along the long benches. Their heavy cloaks draped across their shoulders, their eyes fixed toward the throne.
The air felt thick, and heavy.
No one spoke loudly. The quiet murmurs that slipped through the hall sounded cautious, uncertain.
Everyone knew what the meeting was about. Everyone knew the boy who had struck the Crown Prince would soon walk through those doors.
Ryli sat beside his mother. Queen Friya's posture remained rigid, her fingers resting calmly on the arm of her chair, though her eyes burned with quiet fury.
Ryli's bruised face had darkened overnight. The swelling along his jaw had grown worse. His lips were pressed together so tightly they had lost their color.
Not far from them sat Bianca. She remained close to Edmond, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes moved from the doors to the throne again and again.
Sonia sat several rows away. Her wheelchair rested near the edge of the hall. She had not spoken since entering the chamber.
Her hands rested stiffly on the armrests. Her eyes remained fixed on the door.
Waiting.
Then the doors opened. The sound echoed through the hall. Newton stepped inside. His robe hung loosely around his shoulders, and the cold air followed him in from the corridor.
The murmurs died immediately. Every gaze turned toward him. Newton walked forward slowly. His footsteps echoed across the floor.
He reached the center of the hall and stopped before the Ice Throne.
Then he bowed. "I am sorry, my lord." His voice carried clearly through the chamber. "I slept too deeply. I did not realize it was morning."
Edmond watched him for a moment. Then he gave a small nod. "That is alright."
Newton straightened again. He adjusted his posture slightly, standing tall before the council.
The hall remained completely silent. Then Edmond spoke again. "I have reached a decision."
The words stirred the room instantly. Several councilors shifted in their seats. The tension tightened.
Edmond's gaze moved slowly across the chamber before returning to Newton. "You attacked and struck the Crown Prince of the Nine Kingdoms."
His voice carried across every corner of the hall. "And the heir to the Golden Throne of Astarous."
The murmurs returned. This time louder. Several lords leaned toward one another, whispering in low voices. The tone of the Warden already suggested guilt and doom for the bastard.
Then Edmond continued. "And the punishment for such an act…"
He paused.
Every breath in the chamber seemed to stop. "…is death."
Newton's legs trembled slightly.
Just for a moment. The words struck the hall like falling stone. Even the murmurs vanished again.
Newton kept his eyes on the floor..Part of him understood the law. Striking the heir of the Nine Kingdoms was no small offense.
But another part of him believed something else. His father could not kill him. Not truly.
Edmond's voice rose again. "But you did that in good faith."
Several heads lifted. "You believed you were protecting your sister from harm."
Edmond paused again. The hall waited. Across the chamber Ryli's jaw tightened. His fingers curled slowly against the arm of his chair.
Inside his mind anger boiled.
What is the Warden doing?
His eyes burned toward the throne. Why is he turning the bastard into a hero instead of a violent attacker who deserves to die?
Edmond continued speaking. "For this reason,"
He leaned slightly forward on the throne. "I cannot pass a sentence of death upon you." The words drifted through the hall.
Then silence swallowed them. No one spoke. No one moved.
Even the torches along the walls seemed to burn quieter. "But," Edmond continued slowly, "I cannot allow you to go without punishment."
The air tightened again. Every councilor leaned forward slightly. They knew something severe was coming.
From her seat, Sonia slowly closed her eyes. Her fingers tightened against the arms of the wheelchair.
"Please do not do it, Dad."
But Edmond continued. "Therefore," The word echoed across the chamber. "I hereby order you to depart from this kingdom…"
He paused.
"…and join the monastery."
The sentence landed like thunder. Newton drifted a step backward. The movement was small, but everyone saw it. His jaw tightened instantly. The color in his face drained. His eyes lifted toward the throne.
"My lord." His voice came out strained now. "I only protected my sister."