The moment Emma sees Brugen die at Fiona's hands, everything changes—she wakes in a classroom, back at the start of the creature-binding ritual. This time, the ignored grey-maned bear is meant for her, but Fiona cuts in and trades it away, leaving Emma with a golden dragon hatchling and taking Brugen. The ridicule around her doesn't matter; Emma already knows this timeline is different. In fifteen days, a lethal frost will arrive.