Pregnant with the Dragon Lord's Last Heir

Lila Reed is a widow from the Blackstone Harbor slums. Governor Barlow corners her at a cliff and demands she become his mistress. She would rather die. She jumps. The cliff leads into the dragon sacred grounds.

Inside, she meets Kael, the Dragon King. Any woman who touches him burns to ash. Lila does not. She is immune to his dragonfire. They spend one night together. Kael is called to the northern front when goblins invade three border cities. He seals every sanctum exit and orders his men to find the woman from the hot spring. Then he leaves.

Lila survives and returns to her mother Martha, who tells her the Reed family failed her and begs her to keep fighting. Ten months later, Lila gives birth. It is not a human baby. It is a dragon egg. The egg carries the royal sigil and golden marks. It is Kael's child. Barlow comes for her, and in the chaos the egg is taken from her arms. Lila runs, but she cannot forget it.

The dragon clan discovers the egg and declares the bloodline will live on. But no magic can hatch it. The royal blood egg rejects every touch. It is dying, turning to stone. Kael's elder issues a decree: whoever hatches the egg, man or woman, young or old, will be granted nobility and a hundred chests of gold. Five days remain.

Lila hears the decree. She knows the egg is her child. She tears down the royal notice and walks to the sanctum gates. The nobles mock her. Barlow tries to drag her back to the mines. Kael stops him at the temple grounds. She feels familiar, though neither fully understands why. He adds her to the roster.

Inside the temple, every candidate fails. The egg's shell is nearly devoured by stone. It will perish before sunset. Lila steps forward, places her hand on the egg, and speaks to it. The egg responds. The little prince awakens. Royal blood revived.