The throne room felt different at night. Floating orbs cast soft light across the black marble, making shadows dance along the walls. Null entered beside Aurora, his claws clicking against the floor in a steady rhythm.
A white dragon waited in the center of the room.
She was his size exactly, maybe a few inches shorter. Her scales were pristine white, like fresh snow, but with an opal sheen that caught the light. Ice-blue eyes watched them approach. Her wings were folded perfectly against her back, and her tail curled around her feet in a relaxed but ready position.
"Null, this is Sierra," Aurora said. "She's the same age as you. My new student."
Sierra dipped her head slightly. Not a bow—just acknowledgment.
"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Aurora said, already walking toward the door. "Try not to destroy anything."
Then they were alone.
Null looked at Sierra properly for the first time. Beautiful. The word came unbidden, strange on his tongue even in thought. Her features were sharp but elegant, deadly but graceful. In his past life as Jordan, he'd never had a girlfriend. Never felt whatever this was. It had always been him against the world, alone by choice and circumstance. This feeling was unfamiliar, almost uncomfortable. He kept his expression neutral.
Sierra broke the silence first. "So you're the mysterious prince who trains all day and night."
"Not all night," Null replied.
"Most of it though." She tilted her head, studying him. "Aurora says you barely sleep. What do you do with all that time?"
"Train. Study. Think."
"Sounds boring." She walked closer, circling him slowly. Not threatening, just curious. "Don't you do anything fun?"
"Training is fun."
Sierra laughed. It was a bright sound, genuine. "You're serious. That's actually what you consider fun."
Null watched her move. She had confidence in every step and strength without trying to show it. Her tail swayed as she walked, completely at ease despite being in a new place with a stranger. Most dragons showed some nervousness around royalty. She didn't.
"Aurora says you're strong for your age," Sierra continued. "But she says that about me, too. Makes me wonder who's stronger."
"Does it matter?"
"Everything matters when you're trying to be the best." She stopped in front of him, ice-blue eyes meeting his cosmic ones. "I didn't come here to be second place. Not to anyone."
There was no arrogance in her voice. Just a fact. She believed it completely.
"Why did my mother choose you?" Null asked.
"My mother recommended me. Cryos, the Ice Elder." Sierra said it simply, without pride or shame. "But Aurora only agreed after testing me herself. Being an elder's daughter means nothing if you're weak."
"Here you are," Null agreed.
She studied him for a long moment. "You don't talk much."
"I talk when there's something to say."
"Most dragons your age never shut up. Always trying to prove something." She sat back on her haunches, wings adjusting. "But you're different. Quieter. Aurora warned me about that."
"What else did she say?"
"That you're smarter than you should be. That you learn too fast. That you have an element no one understands." Sierra counted off on her claws. "Oh, and that you need friends your own age. I think that's why she introduced us."
"We don't have to be friends."
"No, we don't." She stood again, stretching her wings wide. They were impressive—larger than his proportionally, with deadly-looking wing claws. "But we could have fun together."
"Fun?"
"You know, that thing young dragons are supposed to have?" Her smile showed teeth. "Aurora's too strong—fighting her is like fighting a mountain. But you? You're my age. We could actually enjoy ourselves."
Null considered her words. She was direct, honest, and unafraid. Different from the politics and careful words of the elder dragons. Different from Aurora's maternal warmth. Sierra had a lightness to her, despite her strength.
"You don't care about getting stronger?" he asked.
"I'm already strong. My mother made sure of that." She moved toward the door, then looked back. "Sometimes it's nice to just… be. Without goals or training schedules or expectations."
"I don't know how to do that."
"I figured." Her tail swished with amusement. "Well? Are you coming?"
"Where?"
"The training grounds. Where else?" She laughed at his expression. "Enough talking. Let's fight. Not to train, not to improve. Just because it's fun."
Null didn't hesitate. "Sure."
Sierra grinned, all teeth and challenge.
"Try to keep up, Prince."
She bolted through the door, wings already spreading. Null followed, his cosmic scales shifting in the moonlight.
For the first time in five months, he wasn't thinking about optimization, skill combinations, or closing the gap with Aurora.
He was just a young dragon, following a white dragon into the night, ready to fight for no other reason than she'd asked.
Sometimes that was enough