Darkness and pain. That was all he knew. Was it an hour or a century? The pain subsided, and Jacard awoke from the dream.

The first thing he noticed was the metallic coppery taste in his mouth. He attempted to open his eyes. They felt heavy and stung. He forced them open.

Mili sat across from him with the fire in between. She added a few logs to the almost dead ember fire. The logs caught, and the flames blazed higher.

They made eye contact.

Mili smiled. Her eyebrows creased, and her eyes had a sheen to them. “It is about time. You gave us quite a scare.”

He noticed his head was several inches off of the ground. He turned to look up. His head was in Alara’s lap. “Everything aches. But it was just a dream. The events didn’t really happen to me. I feel as if I worked out in a gym for weeks straight.”

Jacard told Mili and Alara of his spirit walk.

Alara ran her hand across his forehead. “You have been out for three days. Your body has gone through some changes.”

Mili gave Alara a deep stare. “How do you feel about these changes? I held the two of you back because you needed to know the whole truth about Jacard before you committed.”

“My feelings for Jacard have not changed. If that is what you are asking?”

Jacard grew frustrated. “What is going on? What are you two not saying?”

Mili said, “Jacard, you never cease to surprise me. That is a hard thing to do. I have seen a lot. You have gone through some changes. I honestly thought that you were like me, that going through the dream walk would give you insight into your inner spirit and allow you to transition into the next stage. Which you did, but not as expected. You are a hidden, like me. Some people call us spirit walkers, but in the old days, they called us the hidden because we hid who we were. We could walk among humans, and no one would know. You are different. It probably had a lot to do with your heritage. Your vampere portion, mixed with a spirit walker and humanity. That is a volatile combination. Your walk gave your body the insight and energy to transform. Jacard, like me, you are a hidden dragon. Unlike me, you are royalty. You are a gold.”

Jacard sat up. He felt dizzy and disoriented as he looked back at Alara. He realized his viewpoint was off as he saw things from a higher perspective. His body was different. In many places, instead of skin, he had golden scales. They covered most of his body, ending at his upper arm and neckline. 

Alara rubbed the scales on his back. They were soft and subtle. “I think you are beautiful.”

Jacard stood and flexed his muscles. They bulged much larger than before. A confused look crossed his face. “What the? I feel something strange inside my back. It’s like something there under my skin… my scales?”

Mili lurched forward, tackled Alara, knocking her to the ground.

Jacard turned, the muscles on his back flexed. Two additional limbs pushed their way out of his back. “What? I have four arms?” The limbs stretched out and unfolded with a light, rippling sound. 

Mili shook her head. “Jacard, be more careful. Those are not arms. They are wings you unfolded. You almost took Alara’s head off. The tops and talons are sharp. Wings are for flight, but we can use them for combat.”

His wings comprised golden scales, rendering a tough and leathery appearance. He estimated his wingspan reached about sixteen feet. Each wing had four sections, and at each junction was a talon.

Jacard pulled his wings forward. They rushed to his command. The wind he generated from moving his wings blew the fire. The shadows on the walls became even more elongated and distorted.

Mili stood and dusted off her clothes. “You will learn to control those better. Like a child, your wings are reacting on instinct. Pull them in.”

Jacard folded his wings. “How do I… Oh!” The wings retracted and folded. “This is going to be so cool. I get to fly.”

“Slow down. This is just an interim stage. You still need to learn to complete the change to a full dragon. Plus, keep in mind you are young. Very young in dragon years. Even once you complete the full change, you won’t be an enormous elder or a great wurm. That will come in time.”

Alara went to Jacard and placed her arms around him. She barely made a loop around his neck with her hands and arms. “Magna, Mili, don’t take the fun out of it. Jacard has just taken a significant step. Let him enjoy it.”

Mili’s face softened, and she nodded. “You are right.”

Alara smiled. “I just realized. You insisted we wait for the joining ceremony to ensure we would still feel the same way. Nothing has changed. Except… we have no reason to wait anymore.” Her face took on a wicked smile as she reached up, stood on her tippy-toes, and gave Jacard a full and long kiss.

Mili laughed. “Joining with a dragon, even a spirit dragon, differs from the norm. Alara, you have already started that process by offering Jacard part of your soul. He accepted. You should finish it. Make it official.”

“What do we have to do?”

Mili stood up, using her staff to lean into. “Just give yourselves to each other.” 

“So,” said Alara. “We need to spend the evening together as joined, or as Jacard refers to it, as husband and wife.”

“Yes. Yes.” She waved her arms at them. “You can have the big ceremony later. I will have someone bring food and drink for you two. Celebrate.” Mili walked off into the darkness, using her staff for support, and left the cavern.