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I did as she asked, while she gave me instructions on minor adjustments. The eggshell was cracking, and from inside, I could hear what sounded like scrabbling sounds. “Now what?”
“Now, break off the quarter-size piece that’s hanging from that side.”
I took hold of the shard and gingerly twisted it until it came off without breaking the rest of the egg. The next moment, there was a gasp from inside and a thin red-scaled arm, about the diameter of my thumb, reached out, ending in five “fingers” with long golden claws at their tips. I watched, mesmerized. Whatever it was, it had opposable thumbs.
“May—”
“Sshh. Wait.” She reached into the drawer and turned the egg slightly. Why, I wasn’t sure.
The next moment, another arm reached out. The hands clasped the edge of the hole in the shell and pushed from the inside. The shell cracked some more, and then a large chunk of the side fell away. I waited, breath bated.
Stepping out of the egg was a tiny red dragon, perfectly formed. Its wings were curled around its back and it slowly unfurled them, like a butterfly, before turning to me. As I met its gaze, everything else faded, everything but the dragonette.
Everything I thought I knew flew out the window. Dragons were massive creatures, seldom if ever seen, and they left humans alone. In fact, they had retreated to the highest reaches on the planet and lived between the worlds. But here in front of me, one had hatched, perfectly shaped, and the size of a small cat. A dragonette.
I held out my hand and it unsteadily stumbled toward me. With the other hand, I guided it onto my palm, barely touching it. Then, as it grasped my thumb with its tiny hands, I lifted the dragonette up to my face. We stared at each other, and for a moment, nothing else existed. I knew, absolutely knew, that we were meant to find each other and be together until the end.
“Who are you?” I whispered. “I’m Elphyra.”
The dragonette stared at me and I tumbled into those beautiful blue eyes, falling hard. I wanted to protect the creature, to take care of it and guard it.
“Elphyra,” it said, its voice lower than I would have thought possible for such a tiny creature. The next moment, I felt the dragonette’s presence in my mind, searching. It didn’t feel like it was intruding—hewas learning. And as sure as I knew who I was, I knew this dragonette was male. And though he had just hatched, he was far older in spirit than most of the people I’d ever met during life. Apparently they matured while in the egg and emerged fully aware.
A flood of images cascaded through my mind. He was a dragonette, and he had no idea where his mother was. And he was small, but he’d grow bigger through the centuries. He wouldn’t be full grown by the time I left this planet, though. I’d never see him fully grown because his kind were few and far between, and they lived long lives. But the bond was there between us, an unbreakable cord connecting us. He’d chosenme, and we’d be bound forever, unless one of us died. Then, and only then, would the bond break.
“Youknowme,” I said, gazing into his eyes. “You know who I am.” I had no idea how, but this creature was a part of me. I brought him close to my chest and the dragonette snuggled in, under my chin. I felt a rumble almost like a purr and glanced over at May.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Bonding. He’s sealing the bonding process.” Her eyes were luminous, and she reached out, not touching the wings, but hovering near. The dragonette looked like he was asleep. I wasn’t sure what to do next.
“Have you ever seen one before?” I asked.
“A couple, but they’re. Their mothers lay the larva and tends to them. Then, after a time, the larva spin their eggs around them. At that time, the mother scatters them in different places. It’s theorized that she’s hoping at least one will survive and not become some coyote’s dinner. If there’s somebody nearby with compatible energy, as the dragonette nears its time to hatch, it will automatically reach out from within the egg and touch their minds, trying to lead them to the egg.”
“What does he eat? What’s he going to want? I’ve had cats before and I miss them, but I have no clue what to feed him, or how to take care of him.” I paused, then asked, “How long do they live? Do they always bond with people? How big will he get?”
“First, he can eat whatever he wants. He needs meat, but dragonettes aren’t obligate carnivores. Second, as to taking care of him, well…for the most part they look after themselves. There are a few rare vets who understand their anatomy, but annual vet visits are few and far between.”
I looked over at her. “You know people who are bonded, don’t you?”
May let the question settle for a moment. “You might say so. What few researchers there are on them tend to keep information on how to find the eggs to themselves, because the danger of poaching is very real. There are millionaires who would pay a high price to own one of these, but if they snatch a dragonette that’s hatched and bonded and try to force it to re-bond, it would be torture for both the dragonette and their witch. And in the end, it wouldn’t work. So most people who have dragonettes don’t advertise the fact. They keep the knowledge private, telling a select few about it—people they can trust.”
Sobering, I began to see the drawbacks. “So I should create a secret room for him?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Dragonettes—like their massive cousins—have the ability to phase into another dimension. It’s not the astral realm, but one that only a few species can enter. Unicorns, pegasi, sphinxes, Nessie and her cousins, can phase in and out of our world when they need to. Some live mostly in this secret realm. Those who research cryptozoology call the realmSescernaht—the secret night.” She smiled. “So if he needs to, he’ll be able to vanish. They can travel through that realm, which means he can phase into Sescernaht here, then travel a ways there and appear someplace else in our realm. Dragonettes have an innate sense of direction and they’re good with spatial relationships.”
“You certainly know your lore on them,” I said. Inwardly, though, I was worried. I didn’t know if I was up to the responsibility of taking care of the baby dragon. Hell, I wasn’t sure I could take care ofmyself.
May must have sensed my hesitation, because she added, “You don’t have a choice, Elphyra. He’s chosen you and the bonding process has taken place. The only thing that will shatter it is the death of either the dragonette or their person.”
“What will happen to him when I die?” I hated to think of the pain that might cause.
“Then he’ll strike out on his own. Not all dragonettes bond with people—they’re a solitary, isolated species. But once bound, they will never transfer their connection to another. And when that connection comes to an end, they revert to their solitary state.” She leaned in to look at him. He was curled asleep in my arms, next to my chest. “He’ll sleep for a few hours. You can lay him down. The connection has formed.”
“Okay, out with it. How do you know so much about them?” I asked, settling him onto the blanket next to the shards of the broken egg.
May inhaled a sharp breath. “Truth? Few people know, but I was once bound to a green dragonette. Her name was Melda. She was born with a birth defect, though, and she died when I was in my fifties. She was with me for about ten years, but I can tell you, I felt like my heart had been ripped out when she died. She died in my arms, and I did my best to make her comfortable until the end. I can’t tell you how much it hurt—and it still hurts, but time has softened the loss. I survived and I’m the better for having known her.”
