The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch
Chapter 5: Atheris: The Dragon

Chapter 5: Atheris: The Dragon

She didn’t flinch. She simply reached into her pocket, pulled out a small piece of flint, and struck it against the stone wall.

Sparks flew.

And then....

Fire bloomed in her palm.

Not from the flint. From her.

She let the flame dance across her fingers, small and controlled, casting flickering light against the cave walls. The heat of it soothed something deep in her chest, and she exhaled slowly.

Here, she didn’t have to hide.

Here, she could breathe.

She moved deeper into the cave, following the winding tunnel downward. The walls were slick with moisture, and the air smelled of damp stone and something else, something ancient and metallic and alive.

The tunnel opened into a massive cavern.

And there, in the center of it all, was Atheris.

He was enormous.

Even lying down, coiled upon himself like a great serpent, he was the size of a small house. His scales were deep crimson, darkening to black along his spine, and they gleamed in the firelight like polished metal. His wings were folded against his sides, the membrane torn and scarred from centuries of use.

Massive chains hung from the walls, looped loosely around his limbs and neck. They were old, rusted, more decoration than restraint.

And his eyes...

His eyes were gold. Molten and ancient and impossibly knowing.

They opened as Morgana approached, and a low rumble echoed through the cavern...not a growl, but something closer to a purr.

"Little spark," Atheris said, his voice like grinding stone and distant thunder. "You’re late."

Morgana smiled despite herself. "I had to wait for my mother to fall asleep. Her cough was bad tonight."

The dragon’s head lifted slightly, his gaze sharpening. "Is she worsening?"

"I don’t know." Morgana’s smile faded. "She won’t tell me. She just... keeps going. Like if she stops, she’ll fall apart."

Atheris was silent for a moment, then lowered his head again. "She is stronger than you think."

"Or more stubborn."

"The same thing, often."

Morgana moved closer, settling herself on a flat stone near the dragon’s massive foreleg. The heat radiating from his body was like sitting next to a bonfire, and she let it seep into her bones.

"I almost lost control today," she said quietly.

Atheris’s eyes narrowed. "Tell me."

So she did.

She told him about the market, about Aldric and his inflated prices, about the way her temper had flared and the magic had surged. She told him how close she’d come to letting the fire slip, how her hands had trembled, how the air had shimmered.

"I caught it," she finished. "But barely. If someone had been paying attention..."

"They would have seen nothing," Atheris interrupted, his tone firm. "You controlled it. That is what matters."

"I shouldn’t have let it get that far."

"You are human, little spark. Humans feel. Anger, fear, frustration...these things are part of you. You cannot suppress them forever."

"I have to," Morgana said, her voice hardening. "If I don’t, I die."

Atheris regarded her with those ancient, unblinking eyes. "And if you suppress it too long, you will burn from the inside out."

Morgana looked away. "Then I’m damned either way."

"Perhaps." The dragon shifted, his chains clinking softly. "Or perhaps you simply have not yet found the place where you belong."

She laughed bitterly. "And where would that be? Magic is forbidden. I’m forbidden."

"For now."

Something in his tone made her look up sharply. "What does that mean?"

Atheris’s mouth curved into something that might have been a smile....if dragons smiled. "It means the world is changing, little spark. Whether you are ready for it or not."

Morgana frowned. "You’re being cryptic again."

"I am a dragon. Cryptic is what we do."

"You’re also annoying."

"That too."

Despite everything, Morgana smiled. This...this, was why she came here. Not just for the safety of the cave or the freedom to use her magic.

But for him.

Atheris had been the only constant in her life since she was ten years old. The only one who knew what she was, what she could do, and didn’t flinch. Didn’t fear her. Didn’t try to control her.

He just... understood.

"Tell me a story," she said softly, leaning back against the stone.

Atheris rumbled, a sound like distant thunder. "Which one?"

"Any of them. Something old. Something before all of this."

The dragon was quiet for a moment, his gaze turning distant, as if looking into some far-off place only he could see.

"Very well," he said at last. "I will tell you of the time before kingdoms. Before laws. Before dragons wore the skins of men and pretended to be kings."

Morgana closed her eyes and listened.

His voice washed over her, deep and resonant, weaving tales of fire and sky, of battles fought in the clouds, of a world where magic wasn’t forbidden but revered.

She didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted salt on her lips.

"Why did it change?" she whispered. "Why did they make it illegal?"

Atheris’s eyes glowed in the darkness. "Because they feared it. Because magic in the hands of the common folk is power. And power in the hands of the many is a threat to the few."

"That’s not fair."

"No," Atheris agreed. "It is not."

Morgana wiped her eyes and straightened. "Someday," she said quietly, "I’m going to change it. Somehow. I don’t know how, but I will."

The dragon regarded her for a long moment, something unreadable flickering in his ancient gaze.

"I believe you," he said softly. "I have always believed you."

She stayed longer than she should have.

They talked about everything and nothing, about the market, about the stars, about the old stories Atheris remembered from centuries past. He made her laugh with his dry, sardonic observations about human behavior. He made her think with his questions about power and choice and destiny.

And when the sky outside the cave mouth began to lighten from black to deep blue, Morgana finally stood.