The Dragon Beneath My Heart

In the ash-choked village of Oakhaven, the sun has almost disappeared. Volcanic skies hang over a dying world, crops fail, and the people survive beneath a blanket of grey ash. Yet Elian carries something impossible beneath her ribs: a mysterious golden Heart that pulses with the warmth of a living sun.Inside her mind lives Dorian, a powerful dragon made of molten memories and ancient sorrow. He has protected Elian for as long as she can remember, guiding her through the wastelands and shielding the dangerous power inside her. To Elian, he is both guardian and prison.When her secret is exposed, the ruthless High Inquisitor Julian Mercer begins hunting her. He believes Elian is merely the vessel of a demonic dragon and intends to sever their connection using an ancient Soul-Stripping Relic. Elian flees through forests of ash, volcanic ravines, and ruined sanctuaries while trying to understand the truth about the creature inside her.Then the truth changes everything.The Heart is not Dorian's power. It is Elian's. Dorian is not the source but the shield-the dying guardian who has spent countless lifetimes protecting her from the terrifying magnitude of her own divinity. The curse destroying the world is not a conventional plague. It is the consequence of a divine being broken apart, with Elian unknowingly carrying one half of that ancient power.Even Dorian's protection becomes dangerous when his fear turns possessive, forcing Elian to question whether the dragon who saved her is also the one keeping her trapped. Meanwhile, Julian closes in, convinced that killing Elian will save what remains of his world.At the final confrontation, Elian realizes she is no longer merely a vessel. She is the source itself-a forgotten power too vast for a human body to contain.A dark, epic fantasy about dragons, divine power, betrayal, sacrifice, identity, and a girl who must decide whether to destroy the world that fears her-or become the one person capable of healing it.