The Offering.
It was a tradition older than memory—an ancient rite held by the coastal kingdom of Serenthia. Every hundred years, a bride or groom was chosen and placed upon the altar of the sea. For protection. For peace.
For the dragon.
They said he once scorched entire kingdoms. That his heart was nothing but fire and vengeance. And that only the Offering kept him at bay.
Jungkook never believed in legends. Until he became one.
---
The bells rang.
He was barely standing at the altar, dressed in ceremonial white, when the sky split open.
A roar unlike anything human shattered the wind. Flames coiled in the clouds. And then—a shadow with wings like thunder fell from the heavens and seized him.
Screams. Wind. Fire.
And then, darkness.
---
When he awoke, it was in a place beyond dreams.
Smooth stone surrounded him, carved into sweeping arcs. A pool of warm spring water shimmered nearby. Sunlight filtered through a crack high in the ceiling, revealing glimmering veins of crystal in the walls.
He was alone—until he wasn’t.
“You’re awake,” a voice said.
Jungkook turned sharply.
He stood at the entrance, tall and impossible. Human in shape, but something else entirely. Skin kissed by bronze. Hair dark, tousled. Golden markings shimmered faintly across his chest. And his eyes—burning, haunting—watched Jungkook like he was both a miracle and a mistake.
“Who are you?” Jungkook demanded.
“My name is Taehyung,” the man said quietly. “But you know me as the dragon.”
Jungkook stood, fists clenched. “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing,” Taehyung said. “The fire chose you. I only obeyed.”
“That’s not an answer!”
Taehyung took a step forward. His presence was heat and silence and gravity itself. “I didn’t choose this,” he said, voice low. “But now that you’re here… I can’t let you go.”
---
Jungkook tried to escape.
Every path led to cliffs or sheer drops into endless ocean. There were no boats. No bridges. Only the sky, and the memory of fire.
Days passed. Taehyung never locked him up. He brought food, clothing, books written in languages both new and forgotten. He left quietly when Jungkook glared. But always, he lingered just long enough to watch. Just long enough to hope.
On the fifth night, Jungkook saw him standing at the cliff’s edge, wings unfurled beneath the moonlight.
He was… beautiful.
Not monstrous.
Not evil.
Lonely.
---
“You were human once,” Jungkook said days later, watching Taehyung place warm bread near the fire.
Taehyung nodded. “A long time ago. I loved someone. I was cursed for it.”
Jungkook blinked. “Why?”
“Because I was not supposed to love. I was created for war. My love made me disobey. So they sealed the fire into me. And made me forget.”
“And the Offerings?”
“I don’t remember their names,” Taehyung said softly. “Only shadows. But you… I remember your voice. Even before I saw you.”
Jungkook’s heart clenched. “That doesn’t make this okay.”
“I know,” Taehyung said. “But I’d rather be damned with you… than burn alone again.”
---
They fell into a rhythm.
Jungkook stopped trying to flee. Not because he gave up—because he grew curious. Taehyung showed him the gardens, the hot springs, the hidden waterfall behind the cave mouth.
And sometimes, when Taehyung forgot to guard himself, Jungkook saw the boy beneath the beast.
He saw it in the way Taehyung traced old runes with wistful fingers. In the way he flinched from sudden noises. In how he never let his wings unfurl fully, as if ashamed.
One night, Jungkook sat beside him at the fire.
“May I?” he asked, reaching toward one wing.
Taehyung nodded, hesitant.
Jungkook touched it. Warm. Smooth. Alive.
“You’re not what I expected,” he said.
Taehyung smiled faintly. “And you’re not afraid.”
“Not of you,” Jungkook whispered.
Their eyes met.
And the space between them vanished.
---
The kiss was slow.
Not demanding. Not urgent.
Just soft.
Like the first breath after drowning.
Jungkook's fingers tangled in Taehyung’s hair. Taehyung’s arms wrapped around his waist, holding him like a secret the world could never steal.
They kissed until the fire burned low.
They didn’t speak of it the next morning.
But something had changed.
---
Weeks passed.
The island bloomed around them. The fire that once flickered across Taehyung’s back was now barely visible. His voice became lighter. His eyes softer.
Jungkook found himself smiling more.
He laughed. Danced in the rain. Sang old lullabies into the wind. And Taehyung watched like it hurt to look away.
One night, beneath the stars, Taehyung whispered, “I’ve flown for centuries. But this… lying beside you… is the first time I’ve felt free.”
Jungkook pressed a kiss to his collarbone. “Then don’t let me go.”
Taehyung’s voice broke. “Even if it dooms us both?”
“Yes,” Jungkook breathed. “Because for once, I’m not being used. Not being married off. I’m… yours. And you’re mine.”
Taehyung’s wings wrapped around them.
And they burned together—slow, sweet, and true.
---
But peace, like fire, is never still.
Jungkook saw the ship first.
A royal vessel, flying the banner of Serenthia. Headed for the island with iron spears and priests in gold.
“They’re here,” Jungkook said, heart hammering.
Taehyung stood silent at the cliff’s edge. The fire in his veins pulsed dangerously.
“They’ll kill you,” Jungkook whispered.
“Or take you.”
“I won’t go.”
Taehyung turned to him, eyes flickering gold. “If I fight, I become what they fear. If I let you go, I lose you.”
“Then let them fear you,” Jungkook said, grabbing his hand. “We choose our fate.”
Taehyung kissed him hard.
And roared into the sky.
---
The battle was brief—but unforgettable.
Taehyung soared into the clouds, wings spread like storms. The ship’s arrows bounced off his scales. Fire roared from his mouth—not to kill, but to warn.
Jungkook stood on the shore, yelling his name.
The soldiers shouted, “Monster!”
He shouted back, “No—he’s mine!”
---
The priests chanted a forbidden spell.
A black chain of light shot through the sky and wrapped around Taehyung’s body. He screamed, crashing to the rocks. Jungkook ran to him, dropping to his knees.
“No!” he cried. “Please!”
The high priest raised a dagger of obsidian.
But Jungkook threw himself over Taehyung’s chest.
“If you want to kill him,” he shouted, “you’ll kill me too!”
The soldiers hesitated.
The priest faltered.
And in that heartbeat, Taehyung’s fire exploded outward—consuming the chain, blasting the spell into ash.
Silence fell.
Jungkook turned to the stunned soldiers. “He saved me. He loved me. He gave me a choice.”
And slowly, the soldiers lowered their weapons.
---
They didn’t return to Serenthia.
Jungkook and Taehyung built a new life on the island, away from war, away from chains.
The fire never rose again.
Not because it vanished—but because love had mastered it.
Sometimes, at night, Jungkook would press his ear to Taehyung’s chest and whisper, “Do dragons still dream?”
Taehyung would smile and say, “Only of you.”
And together, they dreamed of nothing but forever.
---
The End.
