If she had not seen familiar faces among the chaos, Rìhé might have believed it all to be a dream—conjured from the recent turmoil's that had shaken her life apart. Stress, punishment, escape—one or the other.

But she’d seen them. Heard Lian’s cries. Yuèzhuō’s growls. Counted her very own breaths of frustration as they worked to free the chained wolf alongside an army she had not known had existed.

It was a wonder she remained unscathed. Her coat, though slightly ruffled and damp, lay nearly pristine beneath new sunlight—creamed gold against warm wind, not a bloodstain in sight. Even her teeth, which had worked and worked against chains that burned, remained intact, not a canine fractured or sore nerve in her jaw. A marvel, indeed.

Before she could fully gather herself, she found her blue gaze drawn skyward. Up and up toward a sky that suddenly blossomed with life—a canvas of color so bright she had to squint at first just to truly see it. To even believe it. Shades of orange, pink, and magenta bled into soft blues, melting together like the last wisps of smoke from a dragon’s dying fire. With it came the scent of salt from the distant ocean, honeysuckle carried on a warm wind that wrapped around her like an embrace, and she found herself smiling from ear to ear with a joy she didn’t fully even understand.

For the first time in months, the daybreak dragon felt a rush relief the longer she looked above. The sun, as if it had never even dared hide from them all, broke across the Heavens in a grin, and she could not stop the wetness that gathered in her gaze. How long had it been since the warmth had truly reached her skin? Her spirit? Far too long, surely. Suddenly, Rìhé wished to laugh aloud, to call out for all to hear her, but she contained it, letting it escape only as a burst of breath and a flick of her tail as she bowed her head in reverence once, then twice, lashes fluttering as droplets caught and glittered in the light.

Panic came next, too fast, far too abruptly after the initial spell of relief, but it was a calmer storm than she was used to. Sucking in a breath, her eyes anxiously roamed, searching for ones that matched her own. She had seen him there. Had felt him beside her—his essence, the other half of her soul. She was certain of it. Close to her—and Lian. Close enough that she knew he had been alive there, fighting just as she had despite everything. He too, was a reason for this change. This new spring!

But Rìhé could not find him easily amongst scents of strangers and foreign land that lay before her, leaving her feeling unsettled and uncertain. Instead, almost begrudgingly, her gaze settled upon the Lotus of the Court as she pressed herself to the earth before straying eyes so freely. Princess Lian. Something sour climbed up the daybreak dragon’s throat, settling across her tongue like ash, but she was quick to swallow it down with a silent furrow of her brow, her lower lip twitching.

Quietly, desperately, she reminded herself of the blessings above—the blessings all around them, clear as day, of a world born anew. She lingered alone in the dazzling sunlight a moment longer, breathing in the joys of spring, her head dipping back as she let it warm her core, steady what threatened to spill, and only then, when she was certain it was enough to keep herself contained, did she move, following after the Lotus on slow steps. Though her gaze continued to betray her, slipping over her shoulder in a persistent search for the one who had not returned to her side, she couldn’t help but savor the feel of lush grass beneath her paws and the warmth that lingered graciously at her back like it had always belonged.