Chapter Three: The Flameless Makes the Stele Bow

“Do the laws require rings, or an imprint?” “Without rings, there can be no imprint.” “So the laws do not say.” Mordred’s eyes narrowed. Lain had read every trial account Serena could recover. The records suggested that the visible sign represented the kind of contract, not the amount of royal blood. Red dragons made flame rings. Frost dragons made rings of ice. If an unrecorded bloodline appeared, no one knew its sign. He had no flame. But he had the pale-gold scale left on his palm when the system awoke. He pressed it against the stone. The Dragon Stele beat like a heart. Once. All crimson light went out. Cassian’s seven rings shattered. Ysolde’s frost disappeared. In absolute darkness, a golden crack opened inside the twelve-foot slab.