The fire had long since gone out, but Jackie couldn't sleep.
She lay awake on the cold stone floor of the tunnel, watching the ceiling like it might collapse. Her limbs ached from training. Her fingers still tingled from that last burst of flame. Kael slept across the room—if he did sleep. It was hard to tell with him.
She closed her eyes.
And the dream took her immediately.
---
It wasn't the mountain this time.
She stood in a field of glass.
The sky above was split into two halves: one burning gold, the other pure black. Beneath her feet, shattered reflections showed her face—some with horns, some without. One of them smiled back at her, even though she wasn't smiling.
Then came the wingbeats.
Massive. Rhythmic. Heavy with memory.
The dragon descended.
This time, its form was sharper. Clearer. Gold and onyx scales. Eyes like glowing coals. Its voice shook the air.
> "You feel it now, don't you? The burn. The hunger."
Jackie's fists clenched. "Why are you in my dreams?"
> "Because I am your dream. The oldest one. Buried in every story you ever loved. Every dragon you ever imagined was a piece of me."
She backed up a step. "You said I'm flame-born. That I survived. Why me?"
The dragon's head lowered, close enough for her to feel its heat. It didn't roar this time. It whispered.
> "Because you wanted it."
Jackie's heart skipped.
> "You stared at dragons your whole life. You wanted their strength. Their beauty. Their fire. So the Rift gave you what you asked for."
Her voice cracked. "I didn't want to lose myself."
> "Then choose. Right now."
A pulse of heat, and suddenly the field cracked—revealing two paths beneath the glass:
To her left:
A vision of herself. Human again. Whole. No scales. Her old life, blurry but warm. Her friends. Her family. A meal in the comic store diner.
To her right:
Herself in dragon form. Glowing eyes. Wings unfurled. Fire pouring from her mouth as she stood over a battlefield, Unmade burning all around her. Alone. Powerful. Unstoppable.
> "You cannot have both," the dragon said. "You must embrace your truth. Or deny it."
Jackie's breath shook. "Why does it have to be like this?"
> "Because fire only knows how to change what it touches."
She looked at the human version of herself.
Smiling.
Then the dragonborn version.
Roaring.
She stepped forward…
Toward the center.
The glass cracked beneath her, both reflections trembling.
"I don't want to choose between who I was and who I'm becoming," she said. "I'll be both. Or I'll burn fighting."
The dragon stared.
Then—
It laughed. Not mockingly—proudly.
> "You speak like a hatchling now. Reckless. Proud. Stubborn."
It bowed its massive head slightly.
> "Very well, Jackie of the Rift. Then earn your place in the fire."
Everything went white.
---
She gasped awake.
Kael was standing beside her, blade half-drawn. "Another dream?"
Jackie nodded, heart pounding.
He studied her. "You smell like fire."
She wiped sweat from her brow. "I think I just made a deal with a dragon."
He didn't look surprised.
"That means it's watching you now," he said. "And so is everything else."