if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this realm and then myself (джен)

She has had many riders in her long life, many more who tried and failed to claim her, and there was a point where things shifted, where her riders felt more like younglings, pups for her to raise and shape than the opposite, they started to grow into her image, rather than the opposite.
Her new boy is a living proof of it. The tiny thing is only a pup even to the humans that are supposed to protect him, brave yes, and fearless with the blood of the dragonlords cursing in his veins in such a way she has not seen in a long while, but a pup nonetheless.
Her pup.
And she is not quite pleased with the people surrounding her boy. It just wouldn’t do to see them try to shape her boy as they please, uncaring of his well being, he belongs to her and she will not allow him to be hurt again.
Or: Sometimes all you need to avoid a civil war is give a murderous war criminal ancient dragon the chance to kill people and cause panic.