I laughed. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve fallen for the ‘I’ve dreamt that I woke up but really I just went into another dream’ trick. You’ve outdone yourself this time. So, what’s this supposed to teach me? Or did you just do it out of boredom?”

Shade opened his great fanged maw of a mouth and clicked his fingers together. “Do you have any idea how much energy I’ve expended to appear to you in the physical realm? Certainly not, since you paid not one iota of attention during my lecture on interdimensional travel.” 

He flickered in and out of existence for a moment before returning to a semi-solid state. “I see my words fall on deaf ears, so I suppose I need to address the humanoids in the audience.” He leaned forward and hissed at Aster, blowing cold wind in our faces. “The dragon this kitten seeks is your dear Mars. If the kitten convinces her to go through the portal to Mystica, her chances of survival are slim to none. I highly suggest you keep her under lock and key until the portal closes in a half-hour.”

He flickered again, this time seeming unable to regain a steady form. “Halfling, if you fail to protect her-” His voice came on the wind, as if he’d shouted the words into a canyon and they’d echoed back to us. “-you will wish you had never been born.” With that, he disappeared.

I rolled my eyes. Someone had taken an extra portion of drama oatmeal this morning. With a sigh, I glanced down at the voidcat. She was as real as any voidcat, I supposed. Only, since she wasn’t trying to eat me at the moment, I figured she was a tad nicer than the usual ones in Shade’s lessons. 

“Hey, guess what Shade just said,” I said in Bontair. “I’m what you’re looking for. Wanna show me where the portal is? I’d be happy to come with you for a change of scenery. I’m sick of the same old boring trees and fields.”

She mewled. “You’re the dragon egg?”

“Yep. Well, I guess I’m a proper dragon now, all grown up. Think Merlin would still want me?” I hoped so. It was high time Shade started pitting me against someone who wasn’t just a nameless set of fangs in the shadows. 

“I dunno, but we can try, right?”

I nodded, and she pointed at the boulder with one of her forepaws. 

“It’s over there, at the bottom of the cliff.” 

I tried not to giggle. The ‘cliff’ she was talking about was a fifteen-foot-deep ravine. I supposed everything seemed a lot more daunting when you were a foot high at the shoulder. 

“Okay, let’s go check it out.” I started around the boulder.

“Don’t even think about it,” Aster shouted. He grabbed me from behind in a bear hug. “We’re going home, and you’re going to explain what the hell that thing was.”

“Killjoy. Fine, let’s go home.”

“Good.” He let go of me. 

Vance and Izzy kept staring at me as they side-walked toward home. I followed them, acutely aware of Aster’s keen gaze on my back. Even in a dream, I didn’t want to hurt him. It was a silly thing to be worried about, but if I burned him to ash in a dream, I wouldn’t be able to look at him the same way in real life. 

“Can you fly?” I whispered in Bontair.

The voidcat nodded. “I’m real good at flying. Mom says I’m the best flyer of the litter.” 

“Good. Get ready to fly.” I loosened my grip on her and glanced back at Aster. His brows furrowed, like he had an inkling of what I was about to do. Even if he’d known the whole plan, he couldn’t have stopped me. After all, humans couldn’t fly.

I tossed the voidcat in the air and spun on my heels. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Aster lunging toward me. He was quick, but I was quicker. I sprinted around the boulder, calling on my wings to carry me away. Lifting off from the ground was hard, but the ravine wasn’t far. Jumping off the side would give me a nice boost into the air.

I could outrun Aster for that long. I’d done it before. At least, I’d done it before in real life. I’d never outrun a Shade-conjured version of him. 

Aster rammed into my back and tackled me to the ground. My face slammed into hard dirt with a horrid crunching noise. Pain shot across the bridge of my nose, and I yelped. Before I could get my bearings, Aster grabbed my arms from behind and sat on my back. Bucking and kicking, I almost managed to get him off. I tried to use my wings as well, but I couldn’t feel them. 

“A little help over here?” Aster shouted. “She’s stronger than she looks.”

My face throbbed as I paused to rethink my escape strategy. Blood streamed from my nose and down my chin. It was nothing compared to the injuries I’d sustained in other lessons, but I’d always had my magic to back me up then. Now, I couldn’t seem to summon so much as a feather, much less quick-healing or superhuman strength. 

“Nuh uh, I ain’t touching her.” Vance stood a good ten feet away, cowering with Izzy. “That freaky scorpion dude said she’s a dragon. I’m not itching to get eaten today.”

Izzy’s face scrunched up like she was going to cry. “Please, Vanvan, she’s still my sister. Just help us get her home.”

“Yeah, no chance. I get paid to babysit you, not your freaky sister. We’re going home.” He swept Izzy’s legs out from under her and tossed her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed, but he just ignored her and marched toward home. 

“Well, that’s an interesting development,” I said, my voice sounding nasally. “It would be hilarious if that happened in real life, too.” 

Aster cursed under his breath. “Mars, listen to me very carefully—this is real life. This is real, and apparently that scorpion guy is real and so are dragons and voidcats, so if you have one ounce of sanity in you, you’ll stop fighting and go home.”

“You know, that argument’s never going to work on me. You’re not real, so I have no reason to listen to you.” I spotted the voidcat crouched on a limb overhead like she was about to pounce. In Bontair, I added, “Try to be gentle with him. He’s a friend.”

Aster’s eyes widened, and he looked up just as the voidcat leapt down. She hit him in the chest with just enough force to knock him off of me. I scrambled to my feet. He grabbed my ankle and yanked it out from under me. 

Twisting as I fell, I ripped my ankle from his grasp and sat down hard. Before I could get up again, he jumped on me and pinned my arms and legs. I was flat on my back, his face inches from mine. I’d begged Shade for this type of dream before, but he’d never listened. I wondered what had changed his mind, but it was best not look a gift horse in the mouth. 

“Damn, you’re even cuter from this angle.”

Aster blinked. “What? I- no, you’re trying to trick me into letting you go. I won’t.”

“That figures. It’s because of the bloody nose, isn’t it. Hmm. I’d clean myself up if I could, but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

“Come back here or I swear-”

Izzy burst into view, followed shortly behind by Vance. She froze next to the boulder and crossed her arms. 

“I can’t believe you. She’s out of her mind, you can’t just- just jump on her like this.” 

Aster scowled. “Believe me, there is nothing romantic about trying to keep Mars from killing herself.”

“Well, it sure looks like-”

“Shut up.” Vance moved to grab her, but she danced away. “She’s obviously into it. Give them some privacy and go home.” He lunged again, and she sprinted over to us. “Damn it, get back here!”

In the chaos, Aster was obviously distracted. As much as I wished I could’ve gotten out of this without hurting him, I didn’t have much choice. Getting to the portal was obviously the goal of this lesson, and achieving lesson goals was the quickest way to a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night. 

“Sorry about this.” Before Aster could question my apology, I head butted him in the neck. 

Wheezing, he jerked back. I tore out of his grip and took off toward the ravine. It was only twenty feet away, now ten. Five. My foot touched the edge of the ravine, and I leapt off. Adrenaline would trigger my magic. I would fly. I knew I would. 

Why wasn’t I flying?