Darkness, again.
Not just darkness. Pressure.
I was trapped. Ice pressed in from every side, wrapped around me like a second skin.
No. Not skin. Not mine.
My heart pounded. Slow. Steady. Too steady. Every beat slammed through me like a drum, like it was forcing something through my veins that didn't belong. It felt wrong. Stronger. Deeper. More.
I should be dead.
That was the first thing that came to mind. The last thing I remembered was cold, and pain, and her golden eyes staring down at me as she—
No. Don't think about that.
I tried to move. My fingers barely twitched. The ice didn't move.
Move. Damn it, move.
I gritted my teeth and pushed. Nothing. Again. Push harder. A dull ache rolled through my limbs, but the ice stayed where it was.
No. I won't die like this.
I clenched my jaw, pulled everything I had together, and shoved.
Crack.
A sharp fracture split through the ice. I went still. Nothing happened at first. Then—again. A splintering sound echoed through the pressure around me.
Then I heard them.
"She is not one of us."
The voice cut through the dark like a blade. Sharp. Furious.
Female.
"They will accept it."
This voice was calmer. Smoother. Didn't need to shout to be heard. "That is all that matters."
A scoff followed. "You think our kin will stand for this? A false dragon, forced into the world by your hand?"
False dragon?
The words hit something deep. Not in my mind. Instinct. Something old.
A pause. Then the calm voice again. Still quiet. Still in control.
"Would you prefer I offer you in her place?"
Silence.
The air around me felt thicker. Like the cold had a voice of its own and it was listening.
Then the first voice muttered something low. I didn't catch it.
"She is hatching," the second voice said, and this time it wasn't calm. It was final.
Hatching? No. No, that wasn't right.
I pushed.
Something inside me wouldn't stop. I twisted my body and slammed forward.
The ice shattered.
I collapsed, landing hard, gasping. My arms barely caught me. I dragged in a breath—too much air. Too fast. It burned. My chest heaved, my body shuddered like it had never done this before.
I clutched at the ground, digging my hands into the frozen floor just to feel something solid.
Then I paused.
Something felt off.
I pulled in another breath and pressed my hand to my chest.
Pain. No. Not pain.
Absence.
I scrambled to check where the wound should have been. Where her claws had gone straight through me. But there was nothing.
No hole. No scar.
Just smooth, cold skin.
I should be dead.
I swallowed, chest tight. Something wasn't right. I looked down, running my hands over my sides, over my waist.
Smaller. Lighter.
Wrong.
This wasn't just healing.
This was something else.
I pressed my hand flat to my chest again. Tried to breathe.
Too fast. Too soft. The rise and fall of it didn't match what I remembered.
What the hell did she do to me?
A sharp breath pulled my attention up.
Two figures stood in front of me.
One, I already knew.
Her.
She hadn't changed. Still tall. Still draped in pale silk and frost. Still looking at me like I was some odd little animal she'd found in the snow. Her golden eyes calm. Amused.
The other one was new.
Younger. Harsher. Long platinum hair and a scowl carved into her face.
I didn't know her, but the way she was staring at me—
Like I wasn't supposed to exist.
Like I was wrong.
I pulled in a shaky breath and steadied myself.
"What…" My voice cracked. Too hoarse. Too strange in my ears. "What did you do to me?"
The dragon tilted her head.
"You live," she said, like it was obvious. Like it was enough.
The younger one scoffed. Arms crossed. "You should've let it die."
It.
The word landed like a kick.
I turned back to her. The one who did this.
"You… changed me."
She nodded, unfazed. "Yes."
She stepped closer. Slow. Measured. Her eyes swept over me like she was studying a painting. Her hand rose and settled beneath my chin.
She tilted my face up.
I froze.
Every part of me told me to move. To shove her back. To fight.
But I didn't. Couldn't.
The other girl huffed. "Her eyes."
"Yes," the dragon said softly. "Fascinating."
"They're blue. They're not like ours."
She didn't respond right away. Just pressed her palm against my chest.
I jerked.
Something answered.
A pulse. Low. Deep.
Not mine.
I felt it again, radiating from her. From the other girl too.
The dragon's gaze sharpened. "You still have doubts?"
The younger one didn't answer.
I wanted to speak. I wanted to scream. To demand answers.
But I couldn't stand. Could barely sit.
How long was I in the ice?
My body swayed. Everything ached. I felt hollow. Starving.
She let her hand fall, stepping back just enough to study me again.
Then she spoke.
"You chose to live," she said, golden eyes half-lidded. "Did you not?"
I stared at her.
That moment.
The choice.
Live—with whatever consequences she chose.
I remembered the claws. The cold. The darkness swallowing everything.
"…What am I now?" I asked. Barely more than a whisper.
Her eyes lingered on me.
Then she smiled.
"My daughter."