The early morning sun spilled through the dragon academy's garden, turning every droplet of dew into a tiny, sparkling star. Lira stood among the rows of plants she had already tended with care, her fingers brushing lightly over the leaves. But today felt different. The air itself seemed charged, humming faintly beneath her skin, like a heartbeat too low to hear but impossible to ignore.
She knelt by a small patch of creeping ivy and exhaled slowly, feeling the energy in her body shift. A warmth gathered at her palms, not the dry heat of summer, but a soft, pulsing glow that spread into the soil beneath her fingers. The ivy quivered, its tendrils stretching toward her hands as if waking from a long slumber.
"Fire and earth…" she whispered to herself, realizing the connection her body was sensing. "I can feel them… here."
