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The pain might have been worth it.

The dragon fae claws at the entrance, blocking the light shining through the crevice. He can’t fit through the small opening, and he bangs against the side, making the stone tremble, but the crack does not widen.

I watch him struggle, heaving to catch my breath, and in time, we’re both certain—he’s stuck on the other side.

Giving up, he growls, the sound echoing through my cave, and as he steps aside, the distant light returns.

My heart is still racing, and the rush of triumph quickly fades—I don’t think I can climb back out. I might be trapped in this dark cave, cornered into a crevice that, for all I know, the dragon fae is still watching.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I deepen my breaths. The constriction around my chest loosens, and some of the tension fades. I’ll find my way out. I haven’t survived the stormy sea and escaped a dragon fae only to die in a damn cave.

As my eyes adjust, I follow the scarce rays of light, realizing this cavern goes even farther back. It narrows into a tunnel, but I can’t see its end. Maybe there’s another opening, another way out, if I’m brave enough to venture into the dark.

Walking will be tough. The ground is rough, and I’ve lost my shoes. Fortunately, my skirt is long, and I rip it shorter, using scraps to form makeshift shoes. They’re not much, and I still whimper when I stand, but it’s an improvement.

With one hand braced against the wall, I carefully walk deeper into the cave. After a few dozen steps, the light ebbs away, rendering my vision useless.

I stretch my other hand to the side, and it brushes the wall on the opposite side. By tracing upward, I touch the ceiling.

Without light to guide me, my movements are cautious and slow. I can’t afford to damage my feet any further, and I test each step before placing my weight. The effort is a trudge, but nonetheless, I move forward.

Time loses context as I delve into the depths.

If my bearings are right, this tunnel is my only path, free from forks and decisions. I’m moving in one direction—deeper into the volcanic mountains.

Still, there’s no end in sight. My path continues without a destination, and I stumble. As I tire, I stagger more often.

When I next trip, I land on my hands. Pain wells up.

I’m never getting out of here.Fear rushes me.

Again, my breaths turn shallow, and the pain in my feet returns, tenfold what it was before. The panic worsens when I look around, eyes wide, desperate to see anything.

I’m disoriented, ungrounded.

For minutes, I work through the discomfort, calming myself until finally, I make the difficult decision to rest.

If I’m stumbling, I’ll only hurt myself more.

I settle against the cavern’s wall and pull my knees to my chest as I close my eyes.

It’s just as dark behind my eyelids. The only difference is now my vision sparks—I’ve become so desperate for light that I’ve started imagining it.

I beg sleep to claim me, but I’m too alert and scared, stirring whenever I drift away. Eventually, I lose myself in a timeless haze…

My consciousness becomes buoyant, bouncing in the waves. Drifting, I’m drowning again. My hands paddle, pulling me to the surface, but my nails scrape against bedrock. I’m no longer submerged in the sea—it’s the earth eating me.

This cave becomes the isle’s maw, and it consumes me.

In the belly of the isle, a dragon appears.

Her scales are a shimmery white, her body longer and skinnier than the red dragon. Instead of wings, she wiggles on the air like a snake, levitating before me.

She’s breathtaking, but in a different way than the dragon fae. The red dragon was terrifying and extraordinary, but the power that emanates from this white dragon is…divine.

Her energy is one I’ve known my entire life.

“I can help you,”she says. Her calm words wrap around me like a heavy, warm blanket, while the vibrations of her voice strengthen me, nourish me.