No, Sia, you can figure this out. You aren’t a damsel in distress.
My shoulders rolled back and I continued on. Eventually, I was rewarded with the faintest golden glow reflecting in the distance. A squeal of joy worked itself out of my mouth, despite my efforts to stay quiet, and I ran toward the light.
Only as I drew closer to it, the floor suddenly dropped with a sharp decline. My foot slipped from under me as I tried to plant my feet into the ground to halt my hurried pace. My tailbone vibrated with shockwaves of pain as I crashed into the ground, slipping down the slope. I scrambled, attempting to grab onto any crevice with my hands, but to no avail.
All too soon I was sprawled on the suddenly flat ground with the breath knocked from my lungs. A groan escaped me as I pushed off the floor with my hands to sit.
Where am I?
My eyes dropped to the padding beneath my hands and my mouth dropped open. An array of moss, leaves, and branches were laid out across the entirety of the floor around me, and as my gaze traveled out further, I suddenly saw why.
I was in a dragon's nest.
Eggs the size of my body were lined up in a semi-circle around a blazing fire that showed no signs of going out anytime soon. Warmth radiated from the opposite side of the room from me, emanating from the biggest bonfire I’d ever laid eyes upon. Heat licked at my face as I pushed to my feet and walked closer to the eggs, absolutely mesmerized by the different colors and sizes I could see in the flickering fire light.
Gazing around, I took note that there were ten eggs in total, with the majority ranging in shades of deep blue. However, my feet carried me to the two eggs at the end of the line, furthest from the fire. They were such a light blue that I’d thought them white from far away, but upon closer inspection, they glimmered with ice surrounding the hard shell.
Baby ice dragons.
The thought had the corners of my lips tugging up as I imagined little versions of Theo blasting each other with ice.
I knew I shouldn’t be here, and I most definitely shouldn’t reach out to touch the eggs, but there was something about the bigger of the two eggs that drew me in. It felt similar to the innate draw my heart had felt when Theo had reached out, offering the bond. I couldn’t stop myself from lifting my hand and resting it on top of the egg, the height of which reached my forehead.
Instantly, it began to shake and I gasped as light began to spark from within the egg, reflecting in the most beautiful way with the ice surrounding it. I attempted to lift my hand from it, but found myself stuck. My jaw clenched as I wrapped my free hand around my wrist, trying to use extra force to remove my hand. I dug my feet in and huffed with the force and pain that came with it. It felt as if my skin would tear off if I pulled any harder.
The glow from within began to grow, becoming a blinding white that had me lifting my free hand to block my eyes from it. I squinted, trying to peek through my fingers as a warmth began to spread from my palm and up my arm. I couldn’t see anything, but I gritted my teeth as the feeling moved up my shoulder and into my chest, becoming unbearably hot as it grew.
Searing pain etched itself above my right breast and I let out a scream of pain just before the shell exploded aroundme. I yanked my previously trapped hand away as I stumbled backward, falling onto my ass as the glow began to die down.
As my eyes adjusted back to the fire-lit cavern, I gasped. In place of the egg was a blue baby dragon, sitting on its hind legs with a shimmering blue tail wrapped around its taloned feet. A large, round head tilted my way as their milky-white eyes gazed down at me and a burst of love exploded in my chest.
He was so cute, and somehow Iknewit was a he.
Tiny ice spikes protruded from the edge of his neck, curving toward his back, and more ran down his spine, sticking straight up.
His mouth opened as he chuffed at me, and the tip of his tail flicked around, as if he was agitated.
“What is it, honey?” I asked, getting the courage to get back on my feet and stand eye-level with my new friend.
Could this baby dragon kill me? Probably, but I could think of a million worse ways to die than being mauled by the cutest creature I’d ever laid eyes upon.
There was still a level of trepidation that had my chest clenching with nerves as I walked closer. He let out another chuff and shoved his head forward as I closed the distance between us. The force knocked me back a few paces, but I laughed as the thick skin between his eyes pulled together, like he was confused as to why I was suddenly away from him.
He pushed off his back feet to stand and wobbled as he took shaky steps toward me. I couldn’t help but lift my hands to cover my mouth as awe overcame me. I had seriously witnessed a baby dragon being born and now taking his first step.
As he got to my side, I let out a cheer of encouragement, “You did it, buddy! Great job.”
His eyes widened and a purr rumbled from him. Just as I thought my heart couldn’t take any more of his adorablepersonality, he plopped back down onto his butt and leaned against my side, resting his head against the side of mine.
Tears welled in my eyes as I gently tilted my face to rest my cheek against his. Never in my life had I ever experienced such a profound moment, and truly this would be one of those memories I bursted with joy to tell to anyone and everyone who would listen to me.
However, what felt like a sacred moment was broken as the other icy egg began to wobble.
“Oh!” I gasped as my friend pushed back onto his feet and took tentative steps over to his sibling’s egg. Cracks began to form, but this time, there was a lack of glowing light or crazy energy radiating toward me. The call I’d experienced as the first dragon hatched was noticeably absent this time.
Slowly, pieces of the egg began to fall off as tiny limbs broke through. Before long, a head burst through the top. It was identical to my little friend’s, and as the rest of the shell fell away, I realized that they were actually twins. The only difference between the two was that this new dragon seemed slightly smaller.
A delighted smile lit my face up as the two dragons touched snouts and huffed out air. My friend used his nose to help the smaller one stand, supporting her belly as her hind legs flexed.
