Page 54 of Under Restless Skies

Ava lets out a low coo, while her brother remains silent. I crouch carefully by the rock hiding him, and he pierces me with his deep stare.

“You know, I’m a pro at staring contests. I had tons of practice with my brother, while you’ve been doing this just for one day. I think I’m going to win.”

The gray dragon doesn’t move. Doesn’t make a sound.

Ava wriggles in my arms and I put her on the floor, my eyes still locked with her brother’s.

Then he jumps on my thigh and emits a loud screech. I’m so startled that I fall on my butt, while he runs up my shirt, then screeches again, his face right in front of mine.

Had he been some five times bigger, I’m sure this would have been the most terrifying moment of my life.

But I think he’s just scared. I place a hand on his head. “Fine. You won the staring contest, except that you cheated. I wasn’t aware that screaming also counted.”

The gray dragon relaxes, and I lie back on that strange floor with a plush fabric trying to mimic grass or moss. I don’t think it does a good job, but at least it’s not as bad as lying on bare marble or wood.

Ava climbs on me again, and now I have two dragons lying on my shoulder blades.

“You need a name, you know?” I whisper to the gray hatchling, and he coos for the first time.

His voice is softer and a little higher than his sister’s. I’m not sure why I’m so certain that he’s a boy, as the private parts aren’t visible in dragons, but even if I’m wrong, it’s not the end of the world.

Vos, the word comes to me. “I’ll call you Vos.”

He screeches, as if irritated, but then makes an odd gurgling sound, then lies on the crook between my neck and my shoulder, while Ava coos. He’s no longer afraid.

When I was growing up in Sirenna, a neighbor had a cat, and he climbed on me a few times, his purr calming. The little dragons don’t purr, but their light weights on me send me a soothing, relaxing sensation. I can’t fall asleep, but I can spend a few moments like this.

A muffled and distant crack of thunder awakens me. I suppose I did fall asleep, and so did the little dragons. Ava is making a soft sound, similar to a snore, or maybe a purr, while Vos is silent, his little chest moving up and down slowly.

Meanwhile, my stomach is rumbling, starved as if I hadn’t eaten in days. The light coming from the sunholes is so minimal that I can only discern some shapes in the darkness. I have to go, even if I don’t want to wake up the cute, magical little creatures resting on me.

I would stay, if I wasn’t so hungry—and if Alayel hadn’t asked me to go out with him.

Slowly, I take each dragon with one hand and place them on a pile of straw. Ava opens her dark blue eyes, stares at me, and chirps. Her brother wakes up and runs away, I suppose to hide somewhere.

“I’ll try to come back,” I whisper.

And I truly hope I can.

I also hope I’m not late to meet Alayel. I shouldn’t want to see him, after everything, after his displays of sudden fury. At the same time, he stood up for me. He even confronted Mallor. But Alayel’s still a prince, and there’s an ocean of difference between us.

Maybe this is my chance to realize he’s an asshole and forget him once and for all. That’s it. It explains why my heart is frantic in my chest.

10

Irush up the stairs to my room, then dash to the bathing chambers as thunder cracks so loud in the sky that I can hear it even within the thick walls of the academy.

Part of my heart remains in that room by the dungeons with the little dragons, left to fend for themselves in the dark. But Instructor Katrine must know what she’s doing. I could hear the concern in her voice, and if she’s spent her entire life studying dragons, she knows what’s best for the hatchlings.

Another part of my heart is reminding me that it’s still in my chest—and thinking about Alayel.

I won’t fall for him, but refusing dinner would be rude, right? Oh, by Vigorlu, why am I making flimsy excuses? Even in my mind, my words sound unconvincing.

I pause. Maybe I am affected by him, but all it means is that I have eyes, like Celine and Nelly said. Maybe my heart wants to jump up and down at the thought of being alone with him. None of it matters. My mind’s in control, and, for now, I want nothing to do with him.

The thought dissolves my fears, and I return to my bedroom feeling poised and in control. I open the door, and, this time, the presence on my bed doesn’t bother me.

Alayel’s there, sitting with his arms crossed, except that he’s relaxed and his smile lights up his features when he sees me. That smile will be the death of my reasoning.