The dreams started in the second year.
Seraphina would wake in the night, her heart pounding, the mark on her wrist blazing with light. Through the bond, she felt Pyre's concern—the dragon had been sensing something wrong for weeks, something that scratched at the edges of their consciousness.
The dreams were always the same. A vast darkness, reaching toward her with tendrils of shadow. And in the darkness, eyes—dozens of them, hundreds, all watching her with something that felt like hunger.
The Voidwalkers. Even sealed behind the barrier, even banished from her world, they were reaching for her.
She consulted the archives, searching for any record of similar experiences. What she found was disturbing—the Dragonbound who had come before her had all reported similar dreams in the years after their major confrontations with the darkness. It was as if the Voidwalkers never forgot, never stopped seeking a way back.
"The barrier is strong," the former Queen assured her during one of their now-rare conversations. "Whatever they're trying, it won't work."
"But they're trying. That's what concerns me." Seraphina paced the former Queen's chambers, her agitation visible in every movement. "They've had three hundred years to plan, to scheme, to find new ways around our defenses. What if they've found something?"
"Then you'll deal with it. That's what guardians do." The older woman's red eyes were calm, steady. "You have the ultimate bond, Seraphina. Power that no previous Dragonbound has possessed. If the Voidwalkers find a way through, you'll be ready."
But would she? The doubt gnawed at her, keeping her awake at night, filling her waking hours with a tension she couldn't quite shake.
Kestrel noticed, of course. He always noticed.
"What's troubling you?" he asked one evening, finding her on the balcony watching the sunset.
"The Voidwalkers. They're still out there. Still trying."
"They've been trying for three hundred years. The barrier has held."
"But for how long? Nothing lasts forever. And if they find a way through..." She shook her head. "I can't stop thinking about it."
He moved to stand behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Fear is natural. But it can't rule you. If you spend all your time worrying about what might happen, you'll miss what's happening right now."
"What's happening right now?"
"Us. This moment. The life we're building together." He turned her to face him. "The Voidwalkers may be planning, but so are we. The barrier is maintained by your bond with Pyre. You're stronger than any guardian who came before."
"And if that's not enough?"
"Then we face it together. Like we've faced everything else." He smiled, and the warmth of it reached his golden eyes. "You're not alone, Seraphina. You never have to be."
She let herself lean into him, drawing strength from his presence. Through the bond, Pyre's consciousness wrapped around hers, steady and reassuring.
He's right, little flame. We face everything together.
Even when the dreams keep getting worse?
Especially then. The dragon's presence was calm, ancient. I have lived for five hundred years. I have seen darkness come and go. And through it all, one truth has remained constant—light persists. You are that light now, Seraphina. And no darkness can extinguish what you carry within you.
The words settled into her like warmth after a cold night. She was the light. She was the guardian. And whatever the Voidwalkers were planning, whatever shadows they were casting, she would meet it with everything she had.
That was what it meant to be Dragon Queen.
That was what it meant to be Seraphina.