The Dragon City

Aleena is seventeen.

She is hiding in the Golden City.

There is no escape for her this time, nowhere to go. The city is built far out in the ocean, water surrounding it on all sides. A dragon has to fly for an hour to reach the shore.

It is late afternoon, and the sun’s light streams through an endless series of windows. An eternal fire burns at the city’s center. Aleena has never seen it, it is forbidden to humans, but she knows it is there, its red glow radiating outward through open doorways and internal windows. At sunset, the two lights collide, shining with the same ruby hue, competing to brighten the Golden City.