AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did what she suggested, blurting out the first question on my mind.“How long have we been here?”
“Three days.” Ylena reached with both her arms overhead, her back popping as she stretched. “It’s a good thing I remembered to bring food.”
My stomach rumbled at that, and she laughed again. “Here, why don’t we fly down together and get you some breakfast. I’d say you’ve earned it.”
Ylena transformed into her own beast form, a burgundy dragon with golden eyes. She ran a little ways down the volcano, then kicking off with a powerful flex of her back legs, wings snapping out to catch the updraft. I followed her lead, a little nervous at first, but some hidden instinct flared to life, taking over like muscle memory. I copied her movements exactly, and a thrill raced through me as I leaped into the air with my wings fully extended, catching the updraft just like she did.
“Very good,”she said, her voice crystal clear in my head. Her eyes shone with pride as she hovered in the air before me.“Now, beat your wings and angle your body like this.”
Ylena showed me some basic maneuvers, how to turn and dive, how to speed up or slow down both when gaining altitude or during a descent, and a few other things. My dragon instincts allowed me to copy the movements well enough, but after fifteen minutes, I began to flag. It had been over a week since I’d eaten, and three days since I’d slept.
Sensing my exhaustion, Ylena led me back to the village. The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon, but even so, several people were up and about, and they pointed excitedly as they saw our approach. By the time we landed, a large crowd had gathered, with Quye and Yaggir at the front, beaming.
“You did it!” Quye squealed, darting forward. She grabbed me around the neck in a fierce hug, heedless of my sharp spikes and scales. “You’ve finally become a dragon!”
“She was always a dragon,” Yaggir said, a little amused. His eyes gleamed as he looked me up and down. “But now, everyone else knows it, too.”
Ylena shifted back into her bipedal form, then coached me through the process as well. For some reason, it was harder to shift back—my inner dragon, who was finally free for the first time in nearly twenty years, was reluctant to relinquish control. The two of us were the same person, yet somehow not, and only after promising her a long flight did she finally relent, allowing me to return to my body.
“Phew,” I said, swaying on my feet a little. Yaggir caught me as I stumbled, slinging my arm over his broad shoulder and taking some of my weight. “That was a little scary. I thought she wasn’t going to let me change back.”
Ylena laughed. “We all go through that during our first shift,” she said, patting me fondly on the shoulder. “Now come. Let us eat.”
The dragons gave me a small breakfast to break my fast, which I devoured eagerly before returning to my bed and promptly crashing. I awoke at sundown to find that the dragons had prepared a massive celebration feast, roasting several wild boars they’d hunted while I’d undergone the ritual.
“Amazing,” Quye said, tracing the edge of my new tattoo. I wore a high slit dress that exposed most of it, and it gleamed in the firelight as we sat near the bonfire. “Do you have any talent for drawing? This is a work of art.”
“None at all,” I said, shaking my head. “The pattern just appeared on my skin, and I followed the lines.”
“That’s how it is for all of us,” Diyani said, dropping onto the log next to ours. She studied my tattoo for a long moment, then lifted her gaze to my face. “Have you had a chance to test out your icefire?”
“No.” I dropped my gaze to the golden cuff around my wrist. It was nearly full to bursting with icefire, having collected all the energy that exploded out of me during the Umnar. “We don’t have any shadow creatures here, so there’s nothing I can test it out on yet.”
“Hmm.” Diyani stared at the cuff thoughtfully. “May I see it?”
“Sure,” I said, though I was a little taken aback. I hadn’t removed it since Einar had given it to me, and the lack of weight felt a little strange. I watched carefully as Diyani fastened it around her own wrist, then turned her palm face up. A flame ignited in the center of her hand, and I sucked in a sharp breath. This wasn’t the usual reddish yellow fire, but the same fiery blue I’d conjured earlier.
Diyani was using icefire.
“Yessss!” Quye squealed, jumping to her feet. She punched the air triumphantly and did an excited little dance. “Iknewthe other dragons would be able to use it.”
A group gathered around us, and they took turns passing the bracelet around. Ylena appeared as well, and she watched impassively as the dragons tested the primal stone out. All of them were able to conjure a flame, but no one was more delighted about this than Yaggir.
“That’s it,” he proclaimed, handing the cuff back to me. “I’m coming with you.”
“You’re what now?”
“You heard me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m coming back to Ediria with you.”
“Not alone, you aren’t.” Diyani elbowed him. “I’m coming too.”
“What? But you—"
Diyani leaned forward, her eyes burning into mine. “I’ve thought about what you said, about the dangerous enemy you and Einar are facing. You have proven yourself to be one of us, and Einar is a blood brother to me. I won’t let the two of you fight for our homeland alone. I’m coming with you.”
“I’ll come too,” another dragon announced, stepping up. His name was Keenan, and he was barely an adult, his facial hair still patchy, his limbs too long and gangly for the rest of his body. “I’ve always wanted to know what our homeland was like.”
“Oh no, you won’t!” His mother grabbed him by the ear and dragged him backward. “You’re not to go through that portal. It’s too dangerous!”
