Fire Within, The

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

The morning mist clung to the mountainside like ghostly fingers, obscuring the ancient stone fortress that had stood sentinel over the valley for over a thousand years. Within its weathered walls, Princess Lyralei of Valdris moved silently through the corridors, her silk slippers making no sound against the cold flagstones. Today marked the beginning of her twenty-first year, and with it, the fulfillment of a promise made long before her birth.

The dragon's fire had not been seen in the valley for three generations, yet the people still whispered of the great beast that once protected their lands from invaders. The stories spoke of Pyrion the Magnificent, a dragon of such power and wisdom that kings from distant realms would journey to seek his counsel. But those were tales from another age, when magic flowed freely through the world and the barrier between the mortal realm and the ancient powers was thin as morning dew.

Lyralei paused before the great tapestry that dominated the eastern wall of the throne room. Woven by her great-grandmother's own hands, it depicted the signing of the Dragon Pact, the sacred agreement that had saved her kingdom from certain destruction. The scene showed her ancestor, King Aldric the Brave, standing before a magnificent red dragon, both figures bathed in golden light. Between them lay a scroll bearing the royal seal, and above them, stars seemed to dance in an eternal pattern.

According to the ancient texts, the pact was simple yet binding: when the kingdom faced its darkest hour, and when the royal bloodline produced a daughter of pure heart on her twenty-first birthday, the dragon would return. In exchange for this protection, the princess would be given a choice that would determine the fate of both their peoples. The exact nature of this choice had been lost to time, but Lyralei had spent years preparing herself for whatever destiny awaited.