Sunny's POV
The sword slipped from Sunny's grip and fell to the ground.
"Focus!" Zara Stormwing shouted, swinging her blade toward his head. "In a real fight, you'd be dead by now!"
But Sunny couldn't focus. His mind was still stuck in the dream he'd had last night - the same dream he'd been having for three years. A girl with hair like starlight and eyes that sparkled with silver magic. In the dream, she had been crying, and he couldn't reach her no matter how hard he tried.
"Sorry," Sunny mumbled, picking up his sword. His hands were shaking, which was embarrassing for a prince who was supposed to be the best fighter in the Day Realm.
Zara lowered her weapon and studied his face. "You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?"
"A little," Sunny lied. The truth was he had barely slept for weeks. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the starlight girl, and every time he woke up, his chest ached like someone had ripped his heart in half.
"Let me guess," Zara said, rolling her green eyes. "Another dream about your mystery girlfriend?"
Sunny's face turned red. "She's not my girlfriend. I don't even know if she's real."
"Then why do you look like someone stole your favorite dragon every time you think about her?"
Before Sunny could answer, a loud roar echoed across the training yard. Blaze, Sunny's golden dragon, landed with a thump that shook the ground. The dragon was the size of a small house, with scales that glowed like liquid gold and eyes that burned like tiny suns.
But today, instead of his usual happy rumbling, Blaze made sad whimpering sounds. He nudged Sunny's shoulder with his huge nose, nearly knocking the prince over.
"I'm okay, boy," Sunny said, patting Blaze's snout. But the dragon didn't believe him. Blaze could always tell when Sunny was upset, even when he tried to hide it.
The dragon opened his mouth and breathed out a stream of warm golden fire that wrapped around Sunny like a gentle hug. Usually, this made Sunny feel better, but today it just reminded him of how cold and empty he felt inside.
"See?" Zara pointed at the dragon. "Even Blaze knows something's wrong with you. You've been moping around for days like the world is ending."
"I'm not moping," Sunny protested.
"Right. And I'm not the best sword fighter in the kingdom." Zara grinned and raised her blade again. "Come on, let's go another round. Maybe if I beat you up enough, you'll forget about your dream girl."
They started fighting again, their swords ringing as metal hit metal. Zara was fast and clever, but Sunny was stronger and had been training longer. Usually, their matches were pretty even.
But today, Sunny kept seeing the starlight girl's face every time he blinked. He remembered how she had smiled at him in last night's dream, right before something dark and scary had torn them apart. The memory made his chest hurt so bad he could barely breathe.
"Your guard is down!" Zara called out, lunging forward with her sword.
Sunny tried to block her attack, but he was too slow. Zara's blade was heading straight for his chest when panic shot through him like lightning. Without thinking, he threw out his hand and called up his fire magic to protect himself.
But something went horribly wrong.
Instead of golden flames, silver fire poured from Sunny's palm. The flames were cold instead of hot, and they shimmered like moonlight instead of burning like the sun. Zara's sword hit the silver fire and bounced back so hard that she stumbled and fell.
"What in the name of the Golden Crown was that?" Zara gasped, staring at the silver flames dancing around Sunny's fingers.
Sunny stared at his hand in horror. The silver fire felt wrong, like wearing clothes that didn't fit. But at the same time, it felt strangely right, like a missing piece of himself had finally clicked into place.
"I don't know," he whispered.
"Sunny, your magic is silver," Zara said slowly, as if he might not have noticed. "Sun mages don't make silver fire. That's moon magic."
"I know what it is!" Sunny snapped, shaking his hand to make the flames go away. But they wouldn't disappear. If anything, they got brighter and more beautiful.
Blaze sniffed at the silver fire and made a confused rumbling sound. Dragons knew all kinds of magic, and even Blaze seemed puzzled by what he was seeing.
"Maybe it's just a fluke," Zara suggested, but she didn't sound convinced. "Try again. Make normal fire this time."
Sunny closed his eyes and concentrated on everything he had learned about sun magic. Heat. Light. Power. Golden flames that danced like happy thoughts. He reached deep into his magic and pulled as hard as he could.
When he opened his eyes, even more silver fire was flowing from both hands. It swirled around him like a gentle snowstorm, and everywhere it touched, he felt peaceful and calm.
"This is bad," Zara said, backing away. "Really, really bad. If anyone sees this—"
"Prince Sunny!" a deep voice boomed across the training yard.
Both teenagers froze. King Apollo Goldenheart was striding toward them, his golden armor glinting in the sunlight. Behind him walked three of his advisors, all looking very serious and very worried.
"Father," Sunny said, quickly trying to hide his hands behind his back. But the silver flames were too bright to hide.
King Apollo stopped in front of his son and stared at the silver fire with an expression Sunny had never seen before. It wasn't anger or disappointment. It was fear.
"Explain this to me," the King said quietly. "Right now."
"I don't know what happened," Sunny said, his voice cracking. "I was just trying to protect myself, and this came out instead of my normal magic."
"Silver flames," one of the advisors whispered. "Your Majesty, this is moon magic. How is the prince creating moon magic?"
"I don't know!" Sunny shouted, frustrated tears burning his eyes. "I don't want to make moon magic! I want my regular fire back!"
King Apollo reached out like he was going to touch the silver flames, but pulled his hand back at the last second. "Son, this is very important. Have you been having any strange dreams lately?"
Sunny's heart stopped. "Dreams?"
"Dreams about the Night Realm. Dreams about moon witches. Dreams that feel more real than real life."
The starlight girl's face flashed in Sunny's mind, and he knew his father could see the answer on his face.
"Tell me about the dreams," King Apollo commanded.
"There's a girl," Sunny admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "She has silver eyes and hair that looks like starlight. We're always together in the dreams, but we can never touch. And lately, she's been sad. Really, really sad."
The advisors started whispering to each other in worried voices. King Apollo's face went pale.
"How long have you been having these dreams?" the King asked.
"Three years."
"Three years?" King Apollo's voice cracked. "And you never told me?"
"I thought they were just normal dreams!" Sunny protested. "I didn't know they meant anything!"
But even as he said it, Sunny knew that wasn't entirely true. The dreams had always felt different from regular dreams. More vivid. More important. And the girl in them felt like someone he had known his whole life, even though he had never seen her in the real world.
"Father, what's happening to me?" Sunny asked, and he sounded like a scared little boy instead of a prince.
King Apollo was quiet for a long moment, staring at the silver flames that were still dancing around his son's hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy with worry.
"I need to contact the Night Realm," he said to his advisors. "We need to speak with Queen Celeste immediately."
"The Night Realm?" Zara gasped. "Your Majesty, we've been enemies with them for a hundred years!"
"I know," King Apollo said grimly. "But I think something is happening that's bigger than our old fights. Something that involves both realms."
He turned back to Sunny. "Son, I need you to tell me everything about these dreams. Every detail you can remember. Our kingdom might depend on it."
Sunny nodded, but inside he was terrified. What did his dreams about the starlight girl have to do with politics and kingdoms? And why did his father look like the world was about to end?
As if reading his thoughts, King Apollo put a heavy hand on Sunny's shoulder. "The silver flames aren't just random, son. They're a sign. A very old and very dangerous sign that something ancient is waking up."
"What kind of something?" Sunny asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
But before King Apollo could respond, a messenger bird landed on his arm. The bird's feathers were pure black - the color of night magic. It carried a scroll tied with silver ribbon.
King Apollo unrolled the scroll and read it quickly. His face went from pale to completely white.
"What does it say?" Sunny asked.
His father looked up with eyes full of fear. "Queen Celeste's daughter is having the same problem. Her moon magic is turning golden."
Sunny felt like the ground had disappeared from under his feet. "You mean..."
"I mean the starlight girl from your dreams is real," King Apollo said quietly. "And whatever is happening to your magic is happening to hers too."
The silver flames around Sunny's hands suddenly flared brighter, as if they were trying to reach across the sky toward something - or someone - far away. And for just a moment, Sunny could have sworn he felt an answering warmth, golden and gentle and familiar.
Somewhere in the Night Realm, the girl from his dreams was thinking about him too.
But neither of them knew that their changing magic was just the beginning. Neither of them knew that forces older than their kingdoms were stirring in the shadows, waiting for the moment when sun and moon magic would finally meet.
All Sunny knew was that his world had just turned upside down, and nothing would ever be the same again.