They say the second prince of Arcadia is a rare prodigy.

That I'm kind to the weak and a force to be reckoned with.

My name is Ren Drakemore. I'm eight years old, and one day I will be King.

"I'd kill for a hamburger right now," Ember the dragon groans, staring longingly into the metal bucket clasped in her foreclaws, which she's using as a makeshift teacup. "Or ten."

"What is a hamburger?" I ask, leaning on the railing as steam curls from my cup, carrying the soft scent of lavender and citrus.

Willow, Jade, Ember, and I perch atop the scaffolding at the highest point of the half-built fortress. We came with Jade to oversee the latest mithril trade but decided to spend the night in the castle's skeletal frame above the kobold cave.

"It's grilled meat between bread," Ember says, tipping her tea bucket into her massive, razor-filled maw. As much liquid splashes into her mouth as spills onto the stone below.

"So... a sandwich?"

"Not sandwiches," Ember responds indignantly. "They have like... round meat patties."

"So... round sandwiches?" I chuckle.

"Ugh, no! You just don't get it," Ember sighs with theatrical frustration.

"Where are these round sandwiches from?" I ask dryly. "And how do you even know about them if you've lived here your whole life?"

"Forget it," she grumbles, flopping back onto her tail and scowling at the ground. Despite her reptilian features, she's clearly pouting, equal parts comical and oddly cute.

I sigh and tilt my head back to the night sky. The full moon hangs above like a pale blue orb, casting its gentle glow over the rising castle, the stone canyon below, and the faces of my companions. Three years ago, I sat in another castle, in a place just like this, staring out at a world that had no place for me.

But now, I have friends and powerful new allies. Griswald's manor has become my second home, where I'm always welcome.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"The moon is one of nature's greatest beauties," Willow muses, stepping to my right.

Behind us, I hear Jade whimper. I glance back to find her curled beneath a bit of scaffolding, looking anywhere but up. She's been there since I coaxed her to join us. I'd hoped she might enjoy the view, if she'd just look.

"You're missing a wonderful view, Jade."

"I don't care!" she squeals, trembling as her little clawed hands clutch her head and her eyes squeeze shut. "I didn't want to come up here in the first place!"

"It's perfectly..." I begin, just as the railing groans under Ember's weight. "...safe."

"I told you I don't like heights!" Jade whines.

She's always preferred tight, enclosed spaces and avoids open skies or high places. It's an annoying quirk I've been trying to help her outgrow, probably a product of growing up in a cave.

"Please just take me down!" she whimpers.

I sigh, watching her cower beneath the nearest bit of shelter, looking completely pitiful. Maybe I asked too much, too soon. Guilt tugs at my chest as I catch the shimmer of tears in her eyes.

"Alright, I'll take you down," Willow says coolly, her tone far too amused. "Just one drop."

"Willow," I warn.

"Deal! One drop is fine!" Jade cries desperately. "Just get me down from here!"

Willow flashes a troubling smile, eyes glinting with mischief. If Jade's eyes were open, she might have sensed the danger.

With surprising gentleness, Willow swoops in and scoops up the scaly ball of anxiety. She carries Jade to the edge of the scaffolding near the steep stairs we climbed earlier. For a moment, it looks like she's going to descend. Then she pauses.

"Willow."

In a blink, Willow holds Jade out over the railing and lets go.

Jade's eyes snap open. She flails, clawing for Willow's arm, but her hands pass through as if Willow were made of smoke. I see the scream forming on her lips a second before she vanishes from view.

In stunned silence, I stare after her. Her shriek cuts through the night like a blade.

Ember lurches forward, her tea bucket tumbling away with a hollow clang. Her wings flare open, ready to launch. The metal railing groans under her weight.

But she's not fast enough.

Jade is already near the ground—still screaming—until her voice abruptly peters out as she realizes she's no longer falling. She hovers there, suspended inches above the ground.

Then, gently, Willow's magic releases her.

Jade drops softly onto her hands and knees, trembling and gasping for breath, her claws digging into the dirt. Slowly, she looks back with a seething glare aimed up at Willow.

"You okay, Jade?" I call down.

No sooner do the words leave my mouth than a magically propelled stone shoots up from below, zipping straight through Willow's smug face without leaving a mark.

"I got her down like she asked... just one drop," Willow says with a grin.

"You know, this is why dragons hate the fae," Ember growls, narrowing her eyes at Willow as she settles back on her haunches and folds her wings across her back.

"I wish you would stop doing stuff like that..." I say with a sigh.

"She's fine," Willow replies dismissively, taking my empty teacup. "Here, I'll go down and fetch you a fresh cup."

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"I'm going to run a bath. You can bring it there," I say as Willow gracefully hops over the railing, drifting down slowly. Her white dress and flowing silver hair billow around her, suspended in the moonlight like a silken specter. The pale blue glow makes her look almost unreal.

"As you wish, young master," she says as she vanishes from sight.

"You have a bath out here?" Ember asks, her amber eyes wide with interest.

"Yeah. Made it myself."

"I really miss baths..." Ember says, looking at me with hopeful, expectant eyes. "The relaxing feel of hot water on my skin."

"Scales."

"Right, I mean scales," she corrects quickly, her eyes darting away as she fidgets with her claws.

I raise a skeptical eyebrow.

"You are a very odd dragon."

"And you are a very odd eight-year-old," she snaps back defensively.

Ember returns to her begging expression, tilting her head in a way that might be cute, if she weren't four times my size with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

"It's big enough for you to join us," I relent.

"Yes!" Ember cheers, pumping her fist.

"Well, I guess we should head dow—"

"Wait, before we go," Ember interrupts, her voice hesitant and her posture oddly nervous, "I need to ask you something..."

"What's on your mind?"

"I... uh, remember those things I showed you the other day?"

She's talking about the time she took me back to her den. Nearly every inch of her walls is covered in etched images, strangely dressed humans using tools and machines I've never seen before. Apparently, she decorated the space with things she dreams of creating.

The drawings were impressively detailed for something carved into stone with claws, but the kobolds couldn't make sense of them. When she saw I had successfully made her idea for Oakleys real, she started hoping I could bring some of her other concepts to life too.

"There were definitely some interesting ideas," I say carefully. "That horseless carriage, for example..."

What I don't mention is that most of her sketches are vague at best. They're more like half-formed fantasies than workable designs. The idea of a horseless carriage is fascinating, sure, but she couldn't give me the slightest clue about how its so-called engine was supposed to function.

"That's not what I mean..." Ember bobs her head from side to side, fidgeting more than before, her eyes darting around as if searching for the right words.

"What is it, Ember?"

"Okay," she says, as if finally steeling herself. "Have you ever heard of a person being reincarnated?"

"Sure," I shrug. "Celestia is the goddess of reincarnation."

"No, I mean... have you ever heard of someone reincarnating from another world?" Ember asks, her tone growing quieter. "Like, a world completely different from this one."

Then it clicks.

Her question is the last piece of the puzzle. Suddenly, it all seems painfully obvious. I pause, rubbing the back of my head as I think through how best to respond. In the end, I follow a principle Willow taught me: information is power. Some secrets are better kept than shared.

"I don't know, Ember," I say gently.

She looks like she's about to press the issue, but I step closer and place my hand on the side of her head, speaking in a softer voice.

"But if someone were reincarnated from another world, I would tell them not to tell anyone. If powerful people found out, they might fear them, or worse, try to use them. I wouldn't want them to put themselves in danger."

"Oh... I see," Ember says, smiling at me. Her large red eyes lock onto mine, and for a long moment, there's a quiet sense of mutual understanding between us.

Then her eyes close, her lips press together, and she starts to lean forward.

As her massive body shifts toward me, I dodge backward several feet, just barely avoiding the two forelegs that nearly wrapped around me.

"What are you doing?" I ask sharply.

Her eyes fly open. She freezes, arms curled around the empty space where I had just been, her snout pressed to the air that had moments ago held my face. Her gaze flicks between the spot and where I now stand.

She coughs and straightens up quickly, trying to play it off. "Oh, sorry. I sort of thought we were having a moment."

"It was definitely a moment," I say, narrowing my eyes. "But I don't think you were having the same moment I was."

"Sorry—"

"It's fine. Let's just go," I say coolly.

I haven't put much thought into my first kiss, but I'm one hundred percent certain it's not going to be with a dragon.

Ember looks genuinely embarrassed and apologetic about the misunderstanding. To make up for it, and despite my protests, she scoops me up and flies me down from the tower.

I guide the angry little kobold and the awkward dragon to the stone basin outside my tent. Jade and I fill it with water while Ember heats it with her breath. Once the temperature is right, Jade and I disrobe, and we all climb in.

"So, you take baths like this with Lady Willow all the time?" Ember asks, lying on her back, her massive form filling nearly half the bath. She's far too big to sink below the surface, but she doesn't seem to mind. Her wings drape lazily over the edges, and steam curls around her snout as she exhales a quiet sigh of contentment. "You're so lucky."

"Why's that?" I ask, watching Jade putter around in the water, with only the top of her head poking out like a very small, very angry alligator.

"Well—you know." Ember makes a strange gesture, like she's squeezing an orange over her chest. "She's got... impressive assets."

"She is pretty great," I admit.

"Oh ho... really. A man of culture, I see," Ember chuckles. "Does she ever wash your back for you?"

"Yeah, why?"

Ember snorts and rolls onto her side to face me, sending a wave through the bath that nearly submerges the angry alligator.

"Want me to wash your back?" Ember asks.

"No, I don't have a death wish." I respond.

A silence follows, broken only by the splash of water as Jade resurfaces.

"She's not that great," Jade grumbles, glaring in my direction. "She's always mean to me."

"That's on me," I say regretfully. "I shouldn't have made you go up there."

"It wasn't you who dropped me off a tower," she snaps. "She's a monster!"

I sigh and scoot closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her scales are slick and surprisingly smooth when wet. She turns to face me, sadness shining in her mismatched eyes.

In the time we've lived together, we've done nearly everything side by side. She's the closest thing I've had to a friend my age, like the little sister I never had. That's why I genuinely feel bad for scaring her. I just wanted her to share that memory with me. But I should've seen it from her perspective.

"Jade, did you know that fae almost never help people without asking for something in return?" I say at last.

"Sounds pretty evil," Jade mutters.

"It's because using their magic shortens their lifespans."

Jade's eyes widen slightly at that.

"They also don't fear the same things we do. Falling, for example," I add with a chuckle.

"What's your point?" Ember asks from behind me.

"From Willow's perspective, she shortened her life to give Jade what she wanted. She didn't hurt her. And she didn't ask for anything in return."

"She sure seemed to enjoy it," Jade grumbles.

"True. She probably just finds it silly that you're afraid of falling. She can't relate."

I pause and glance at her. "Trust me, Jade. I've seen the real Willow. And the real Willow is beautiful. Not a monster."

"That's just a mask, Ren," Jade says quietly, as if I'm being naive.

"We all wear masks," I reply. "But our true selves are shown by what we choose to do."

A thoughtful silence follows.

Jade slides closer and rests her head gently against my shoulder. The night wind stirs the valley, rustling the tents and carrying an earthy scent with it, mixing cool air against the warmth of the pool.

In that quiet moment, I realize that all three of us have been fighting loneliness in our own ways. Not long ago, I had no friends and had never even left my tower. Jade lost her loved ones and was sent to live in a world that felt unfamiliar and frightening. Ember has never truly felt like she belongs.

And yet, through a series of cosmically unlikely events, none of us are alone anymore.

I've made real friends, earned loyal allies, and found a second home in Griswald's manor. The fear of my father and his men feels farther away than ever. And for the first time, it doesn't feel overly optimistic to say my future looks brighter than ever.

Tink.

All three of us whip around at the sound of a teacup shattering into countless pieces on the hard ground.

Willow stands eerily still, wearing only a towel. One hand rests on her head, her eyes locked on something far in the distance. Her ever-present confident smile is gone, replaced by an unreadable expression. The remains of my tea and its cup lie at her feet.

I have never seen anything shake the unflappable Lady Willow. She is a creature of immense power, untouched by fear. But now, a cold chill crawls down my spine.

Whatever unsettled her like this must be something truly terrifying.

"Willow, what's wrong?"

"Someone in the capital," Willow says darkly, her voice low and tight, "has just done something very unwise."

Coming from her, those words hit like several tons of mithril.

And I get the distinct impression... that was a massive understatement.

Something dangerous has happened.

And worse, it may be coming for us.

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