SAGE
Sleep took gently that night.
It wrapped around like warm silk, pulling under without resistance. I did not rember closing my eyes. I only rembered Adam’s arm around my waist and the steady rhythm of his breathing at my back.
And then I was laughing.
I was on one of the long marble countertops in the western wing, my back against cool stone, Adam standing between my knees, his hands firm at my hips. The morning light stread through the tall windows, catching in his hair, turning it molten gold.
"The maid will be back any second," I whispered, though I could barely keep the laughter from my voice.
"All the more reason to hurry," he murmured, his mouth brushing my collarbone.
I swatted his shoulder, breathless, my heart racing with delicious recklessness. My dress was halfway undone, my breasts nearly bare, and his hands were everywhere at once.
He kissed again, deeper this ti, and I tangled my fingers in his hair.
"We are going to get caught," I insisted, even as I arched toward him.
"Worth it," he replied without hesitation.
I was about to retort when the world shifted.
The warmth vanished. The counter, the sunlight, Adam’s hands—gone. I stood alone in blinding whiteness.
For a mont, I could not see. My eyes burned as though I had stepped into snow under harsh midday sun. I blinked repeatedly, disoriented.
Where was I?
The brightness softened gradually, revealing a corridor stretching endlessly in both directions. The floor was white. The walls were white. The ceiling arched high above , also white, seamless and glowing faintly as if lit from within.
My heart hamred. I looked down at myself. Instead of my half-undone gown, I wore a flowing white garnt that draped from my shoulders to my feet. It was simple, modest.
"Thank the goddess," I muttered, relief washing through . The last thing I needed was to be wandering so celestial hallway half-naked.
My bare feet made no sound as I took cautious steps forward. The air felt weightless, almost thick, yet it did not hinder . Every movent echoed faintly, as though the space itself were listening.
"Hello?" I called.
My voice bounced back at , multiplied and distant.
No answer.
I walked further, uncertainty prickling along my spine. I had died once already. Surely this was not—
The corridor opened abruptly into a vast chamber, larger than any throne hall I had ever seen. There were no visible walls, only endless white stretching outward in all directions.
I swallowed.
"What am I doing here?" I whispered to myself.
A figure appeared in the distance.
At first, she was only a shimr, a distortion in the light. Then she took form as she approached—a woman clad in white robes that flowed like mist around her feet.
My breath caught. The First Queen.
I recognized her not from mory but from sothing deeper, older. From blood. From history woven into the marrow of my bones.
Behind her walked a dragon. A magnificent beast.
Gold—not dull, not bronze, but radiant molten gold. Each scale glead as though individually forged by divine hands. They overlapped like armor plates, edged in faint light. Three heads rose from a single powerful body, each crowned with ridges like jagged halos. Their eyes burned amber, intelligent and terrifyingly aware.
The dragon’s wings were folded but vast, the mbranes translucent and threaded with veins of liquid fire. Its claws struck the white floor with deliberate grace, though I heard no sound.
My mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. I bowed before I even consciously decided to.
The First Queen smiled gently. "There is no need for fear, child."
Her voice was soft, yet it carried effortlessly through the boundless space.
"I—" My throat felt dry. "Your Majesty."
She tilted her head slightly. "I apologize for interrupting your dream."
Heat flooded my face. The mory of the countertop flashed unbidden through my mind.
She smiled knowingly.
I wished the white floor would swallow .
"Why am I here?" I managed at last.
She stepped closer, her presence calm and imnse all at once. "On behalf of the Goddess and the Host of Heavens, I wished to speak with you."
My pulse stuttered.
"We are pleased," she continued, "with how you handled what was set before you. You chose the necessary when it mattered. You chose love. And in doing so, you surrendered your magic and the ancient blood in one breath."
The words settled over heavily. But I did not feel mighty. I did not feel worthy of heavenly acknowledgnt.
"I only did what I had to," I said quietly.
Her gaze softened. "That is often what greatness looks like."
I said nothing.
The dragon shifted behind her, its three heads moving independently as though surveying from different angles.
The First Queen gestured toward it. "Stand before him."
My stomach dropped.
"Before—" I glanced at the creature. Up close, it was even larger than I had realized. Each head could have swallowed whole.
"It will not harm you," she assured.
My legs felt unsteady as I approached.
The dragon lowered one of its heads, then another, then the third. All three pairs of amber eyes focused on .
I wanted to run. I wanted Adam. Instead, I clenched my hands at my sides and forced myself to remain still.
The dragon leaned closer. Heat radiated from its scales.
I squeezed my eyes shut just as one massive head hovered inches from my face. If this was how I died again, I hoped it would be quick.
Then... Warm air washed over .
Not fla. Not fire. Breath.
I opened one eye cautiously.
Golden mist flowed from the dragon’s nostrils, curling through the air like shimring smoke. It drifted toward , luminous and alive.
Before I could step back, it entered my open eye.
"Damn it—" I hissed, squeezing both eyes shut.
The light flooded inward.
And then—
Darkness. Oblivion.
—
I jerked upright in bed.
Air rushed into my lungs as though I had been underwater.
The room was dim, pre-dawn shadows stretching long across the walls of our chambers. The curtains fluttered faintly in the early breeze.
Adam lay beside , one arm thrown over the pillow where my head had been. His hair fell across his forehead, his features relaxed in sleep.
He looked devastatingly handso. My panic eased slightly. It had been a dream.
Hadn’t it?
My heart still raced. Carefully, I lifted my hand in front of .
"Just a spark," I whispered. A simple fireball. The most basic magic.
I focused. Willed. Nothing. The air above my palm remained empty.
Whatever hope I had, died. I exhaled shakily. It had only been a dream.
Disappointnt weighed heavier than I expected. I lowered my hand and swung my legs over the side of the bed, aning to stand.
A presence prickled at the back of my neck.
I froze. Soone was in the room. Near the window.
A tall figure stood in shadow, partially obscured by the curtains.
My heart slamd violently against my ribs.
I opened my mouth to shout—
Nothing ca out.
Panic surged. I tried to reach for Adam through our bond.
Silence.
An invisible force pressed gently against my lips, against my limbs, holding in place without pain yet with undeniable authority.
My pulse thundered in my ears. What is this? Who...
The figure stepped forward into the faint silver light.
Makeh. An amused Makeh.
"Relax, Sage," she said softly, her eyes shining with sothing unreadable.
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