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Burning, everything was burning, and I stood amongst the academy’s ruins, bodies broken and lifeless strewn around me. Dirt and soot-covered me in streaks, the heat singing my skin in places where the flames got too close.

I felt the sword in my hand; it was light but strong. A gust of wind from above and I whipped around to see my Dragon soaring towards me. His wings clipped to his body, accelerating his speed. In seconds, he unfurled them and landed before me, shaking the ground I stood on. His eyes peered down at me, love flashing through them before he began to shrink back to his human form.

“Ellie.” Ethan held open his arms, and I was swept up into them. We held each other on that burned and charred hill. Devastation surrounding us, the enemy only moments away. I knew, though, in that instant, that we would survive. Our bond was unshakeable, our strength was unbreakable. A screech sounded, and I turned to face the swarm of darkness heading our way. 

“Together?” I looked up at my soul mate. He nodded and backed away, transforming once more and letting out a roar of anger above me. Ethan would protect me, and I would protect him. We moved as one and faced the oncoming storm. 

We would win this. There was no other option.

My eyes flew open and bolted up in the bed I had been laying in. Sweat dripped from my forehead, and I looked around frantically. I was back in Ethan’s house in his bedroom. Gripping my chest, I took some deep breaths to calm my racing heart. What had I just seen? Was it a nightmare?

Or something more?

My hands shook, and I tried to steady them as I heard footsteps coming towards the room. My Dragon stood in the doorway seconds later and stared at me. He knew something had just happened, I could tell from the way he studied me. Ethan walked slowly towards me, almost as if he was afraid of scaring me. 

He sat next to me on the bed and placed a hand on my knee. “Ellie, are you alright?”

I nodded slowly but kept my eyes downcast. “I feel alright now.”

“Adrian was able to give you something to help block out the majority of the emotions and thoughts. It’ll slowly wear off, giving you time to practice pushing back and building your mental walls. I’m sorry, I underestimated how strong our bonding was going to be.” He clenched his other fist, and I knew he felt horrible about everything.

I shook my head and patted his shoulder gently. “It’s alright, Ethan, really. I know you couldn’t have prepared either. Not like you’ve done this before, right?” I smiled softly, trying my best to reassure him.

He nodded and took my hand in his giving my knuckles a gentle kiss. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” I froze for a moment. He could still tell something was off?

A sigh escaped my lips, and I nodded. “I just had a horrible nightmare. I’m praying, that’s all it was.” I looked at him, “It was so real, Ethan.”

“What happened?” He asked, worry seeping through.

I proceeded to tell him my entire dream, and his face became more and more stoic as I continued. We were both silent when I finished. I didn’t know what he would do with this information. 

His voice was rough and low when he finally spoke. “A large contingent of Shadows has been spotted heading this way. This isn’t common knowledge, though. Only the Dragon Corp knows of it. The students have been kept in the dark to prevent mass hysteria.”

I blinked at him in astonishment. “You mean…my dream-“

He cut me off, anger apparent in his voice. “Yes, it could very well be the future. You could be awakening to new abilities now that we’ve bonded.” He stood quickly and walked towards the door. Before disappearing around the corner, he turned back and looked at me. “Stay here, ok? You’re still recovering. I need to speak with Adrian. The Corp will need to be alerted.” 

He was gone then, leaving me to my thoughts. Did I see the future? This was just getting insane. But all I could really think then was that hopefully, if it was the future I saw, we could change it with this advance warning. The bodies lying around me, their lives snuffed out too soon, flashed through my mind again, and I sobbed softly, my hands over my face.

Please…let us change it.