Chosen by the Dragon Lord part 3

Five hundred and eighty-seven women have been chosen by the Dragon Lord. None of them survived. At eighteen, Mira is next-torn from her village by Zhyrkon, a six-hundred-year-old dragon king whose appetite for tribute is matched only by his cruelty. The chosen are meant to break quickly, to become another portrait in his gallery: beautiful, detailed, dead. Mira refuses. Zhyrkon has ruled through absolute dominance for centuries. He has never been challenged. Never been questioned. Never faced a woman who met his gaze with anything but fear. Until her. Survival in a dragon's court means navigating a creature who can burn her to ash with a thought-who has already claimed hundreds of lives before her. So Mira watches, learns, asks questions no one has dared to ask. She studies the painted faces of the dead, searching for the pattern that might keep her alive. But the deeper she digs into the mystery of Zhyrkon, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Because the greatest threat may not be his fire... ...but the possibility that he doesn't want her to break at all. Will Mira survive the Dragon Lord- or become his next masterpiece?