"Of Distant Embers" - Istebrak book-cover art challenge "A Conversation with a Dragon"

TL;DR - I won an art challenge 
https://www.reddit.com/r/istebrak/comments/1k6wpco/and_the_winner_is/
I’ve been following my art guru since 2016, but I never felt confident enough to join her challenges. I submitted my piece "Of Distant Embers" for her book cover challenge, which had the theme "a conversation with a dragon."
I spent about a week working on it nonstop, and I won.
It still feels surreal, especially since all the other submissions were absolutely stunning. I'm so very thankful.
The story is a continuation of her story, written by my very talented spouse.
I'm aware this is very different from the rest of my portfolio here. This is only my second color piece in more than a decade, my first ever without relying on lines. It really makes me more confident about coloring some of my work now.
Some more info about this piece- 
- The distant embers are both the flames of her ruined city, which is in the past, and the distance between them; they have strong feelings towards the city of Xi Cheang, and they should be bitter enemies.
- The tooth crystal she holds reflects the city towers, the smaller buildings, and even her people (on the stairs) - it was a living city.
- I tried to emphasize the similarities between them physically; the wisps of hair are similar to the whiskers, the braid has the shape of the dragon's body, and the horns.
- The seven-pointed star on her backpack is the symbol of the fallen star empire.