??? — Unknown

  Isaac woke up with his head pounding.

  He sat up slowly, rubbing his temple, blinking through the ache. Soft sheets. A clean bed. A room that smelled like polished stone and cold air.

  “Derek?” he called.

  No answer.

  He stood, unsteady, and walked to the balcony.

  Too high.

  He gripped the railing and looked down. Not a house. Not a guest room. A prison room—built like a tower cell, but dressed up to look polite.

  “What the hell is this…?” he muttered.

  His mind replayed the throne room. The hat. The pull in the air. The way she caught his lightning like it was nothing.

  A lightning dragon…

  He swallowed.

  And Amanda.

  What was she doing at that court?

  A voice slid in behind him like silk.

  “What are you thinking about, Isaac?”

  He spun.

  The Queen stood close—too close. Smiling like she’d been there the whole time.

  No hat.

  Red hair. Blue eyes. Beautiful in a way that felt dangerous.

  Isaac stepped back hard, hand instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there.

  He didn’t hear her.

  Didn’t feel her.

  Damn it.

  She rested an elbow on the balcony railing like they were sharing a view.

  “My apologies,” she said calmly. “Come. Join me. I wanted to talk.”

  Isaac didn’t trust it, but he moved beside her anyway, keeping space.

  She glanced at him, amused. “You must have questions.”

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  Her smile didn’t fade.

  “My name is Yae,” she said. “I’m a survivor. Like you.”

  “Yae…” Isaac repeated, testing the name. “You’re a lightning dragon.”

  “I am,” she replied. “And you are too.”

  Isaac’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t think a dragon like you existed.”

  “Well,” she said, almost playful, “here I am.”

  He looked around again. “Where am I?”

  “A prison room,” she answered, tone casual. “You attacked a Queen, Isaac. In my world, that’s death… or life in a cell.”

  Isaac scoffed under his breath. “So I rot here until I die.”

  Yae didn’t answer right away. She just watched him like he was a puzzle she liked.

  Then she stepped closer.

  “But you intrigued me,” she said. “You killed the night creature. You control lightning. And I hear you were a king… in another world.”

  Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why I’m alive? Because you’re curious?”

  Yae’s smile sharpened. “Reflect on what you did. Maybe later… you’ll earn your freedom.”

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  Isaac stared at her. “That’s your game? Talk like you’re being kind while I’m chained?”

  Yae leaned her weight on the railing again.

  “My turn,” she said. “How?”

  Isaac blinked once. “What?”

  “The dragon,” Yae clarified. “How did you kill it?”

  He stiffened. “So you knew it was a dragon.”

  Yae’s expression shifted—just a little.

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “I knew it very well.”

  Isaac’s voice dropped. “How?”

  Yae’s eyes stayed on the horizon. “He was my brother.”

  Isaac froze.

  “Your… brother?”

  Yae nodded once. “We were brought here when we were young. Banished. Tossed into this place and forgotten.” She exhaled like the memory tasted bad. “Lyra created this world to be ‘perfect.’ It didn’t stay perfect.”

  Isaac watched her closely.

  “It was corrupted,” Yae continued. “By men.”

  Isaac didn’t interrupt. He didn’t even blink.

  Yae’s voice stayed calm, but there was something ugly under it.

  “We tried to leave,” she said. “We tried everything. We failed. So we built. We ruled. We made the capital. For a while… it worked.”

  She paused.

  “Then came the day someone used a spell on him. I don’t even know what it was. He changed.” Yae’s jaw tightened. “He killed everyone. He didn’t remember anything. He only hunted.”

  Isaac’s throat tightened.

  “I tried to stop him,” Yae said. “I couldn’t. He almost killed me.”

  She looked at Isaac again, eyes cold now.

  “And then I learn… he died. The Night Calamity—gone.” Her gaze sharpened. “Killed by a simple outsider.”

  Isaac held her stare. “I didn’t kill him because I wanted to. He attacked me. I survived.”

  Yae watched him for a long second.

  “What do you really want?” Isaac asked. “Tell me the truth.”

  Yae didn’t dodge.

  “I want to know if you’re a threat,” she said. “Or a tool. I want sincerity.”

  Isaac let out a breath, frustrated. “Fine. Sincerity.”

  He leaned on the railing, staring at the empty sky like he could burn a hole through it.

  “Since I arrived, I’ve been hunted,” he said. “Watched. Cornered. I never wanted to hurt anyone here.” His voice hardened. “I want to go back to my world. My reality. I don’t care about your throne.”

  Yae studied him.

  Isaac glanced at her. “So Lyra made this place?”

  “Yes,” Yae answered. “A smaller world. Less… alive. It became a prison. And when it stopped entertaining her, she abandoned it.”

  Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Derek?”

  “He’s alive,” Yae said. “Elsewhere.”

  Isaac’s fist tightened on the railing.

  Yae stepped back and picked up her hat from a nearby chair, putting it on like a crown made of shadow.

  “Well,” she said softly, “it was nice speaking with you.”

  She turned to leave.

  “Good night, Isaac. Perhaps I’ll visit again.”

  And she was gone.

  Isaac stared after her, pulse still high. He moved fast, searching the room for a latch, a crack, anything.

  Then he caught his reflection in the glass.

  Something sat around his neck—thin, discreet, almost elegant.

  A collar.

  Isaac grabbed it and yanked.

  Nothing.

  It didn’t budge.

  “What is this…?” he whispered.

  He pulled harder. The collar stayed like it belonged there.

  Isaac’s breath came sharp.

  “I need to get out.”

  One Day Later

  Isaac sat on the balcony again, eyes distant, mind grinding.

  How do I break this…? How do I find Derek…? How do I even call Yu…?

  A whisper slid into his ear.

  “Isaac.”

  He didn’t move—only his eyes shifted.

  “Who’s there?”

  “Stay calm,” the whisper said. “We’re being watched. Act normal.”

  Isaac kept his face blank, jaw tight.

  “It’s me,” the whisper continued. “Amanda.”

  Isaac’s voice stayed low, controlled. “Amanda… where are you?”

  “I’m invisible,” she said. “Near the balcony.”

  Isaac’s eyes flicked once, quick, but he didn’t spot anything.

  He swallowed. “What was that back there? Why didn’t you help me escape?”

  “Not now,” Amanda whispered. “I can’t stay long. Answers will come later. What matters is getting out.”

  “How?” Isaac murmured.

  “There’s a way,” Amanda said. “I’ve been watching. Gathering information.”

  Isaac frowned. “How long have you been here?”

  A pause.

  “Almost forty days.”

  Isaac’s stomach dropped.

  He kept his face steady, but his eyes sharpened.

  “Forty…?” he breathed. “We’ve been here less than—”

  “No,” Amanda whispered. “You have to accept it. Time isn’t normal here.”

  Isaac’s throat tightened.

  So he’d been out… longer than he thought.

  Amanda didn’t let him spiral.

  “We need the amulet,” she said.

  Isaac’s voice went cold. “It’s destroyed.”

  “There’s another,” Amanda replied. “In the Queen’s quarters. Displayed like a trophy—framed, like art. It’s the same.”

  Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Then why don’t you take it?”

  “Because it’s not a normal room,” Amanda whispered. “It’s extra-dimensional. It doesn’t exist until she wants it to. You can’t sneak into it.”

  Isaac’s jaw tightened. “So what’s your plan?”

  Amanda’s whisper sharpened.

  “She likes you,” she said. “Use it.”

  Isaac almost turned his head, but caught himself.

  “You’re joking.”

  “I wish,” Amanda replied. “Play along. Get close enough to reach that room. Take the amulet. Then we leave.”

  Isaac exhaled through his nose. “That’s insane.”

  “It’s real,” Amanda said. “And it’s the only clean way out.”

  Isaac stayed silent, thinking fast.

  Amanda pushed more.

  “I’m still gathering info,” she whispered. “After we get the amulet… I heard rumors about a portal. Might be a myth. Might not.”

  Isaac’s eyes tightened. “And what about that court? Why were you sitting beside her?”

  Amanda’s whisper lowered.

  “I appeared in this world inside the castle,” she said. “They think I’m some kind of prophet. A gift from the sky. For now, I’m playing along.”

  Isaac’s mind clicked.

  So the amulet scattered them.

  Separate landing points.

  Separate stories.

  Amanda’s voice softened.

  “I have to go. Follow the plan.”

  Isaac’s voice came out flat. “And if I fail?”

  “You won’t,” Amanda said. “Because if you do… we never go home.”

  The whisper faded.

  Isaac stayed leaning on the railing, face calm for whoever was watching.

  Inside, his thoughts were sharp as glass.

  An amulet in her room.

  A room that only exists when she allows it.

  A collar I can’t remove.

  And forty days missing.

  Isaac stared at the sky.

  Then he breathed out slowly.

  “…Okay,” he whispered to himself. “I’ll play.”