The Dragon’s Bed and Breakfast

A warm hearth, a silken bed, and a secret that hungers. Elara arrived at the mountain pass seeking nothing more than a refuge from the biting winter slush. When she discovers a grand inn tucked away in the peaks, a place smelling of sulfur and expensive cinnamon, it feels like a miracle. But the proprietor of The Dragon's Bed and Breakfast is no ordinary host, and his hospitality comes with a price that gold cannot pay. As the walls begin to pulse like a living lung and the violet flames of the hearth whisper in the voices of the lost, Elara realizes she is trapped in a gilded cage. Every rich meal and glass of velvet wine is a calculated theft, stripping away her memories to fuel an ancient, cosmic machine. To find the truth behind her grandmother's disappearance forty years ago, Elara must navigate a labyrinth of shifting mirrors and bone-white corridors before her own soul is woven into the inn's eternal tapestry. In this haunting novella, the line between sanctuary and slaughterhouse is razor-thin. Atmospheric, emotionally resonant, and deeply unsettling, The Dragon's Bed and Breakfast is a dark cozy fantasy that explores the high cost of seeking comfort in a world of monsters. Note: This novella is approximately 6,700 words and features a definitive, surprising conclusion.