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Abner looked around the sky and the ground in an attempt to find what fueled the transportation. His gaze shifted upward, briefly connecting with something in the sky before returning to rest upon our group.

Raising my gaze to follow his line of sight, I found nothing out of the ordinary in the sky. Only the billowing clouds and the gentle glow from the moon as it was overlooked in the sky, overpowered by the sun and its energy.

“Huh,” Abner said, looking in awe and shaking his head. “Waxmau8,” which meant moon. This made me look back up at the silver sphere hanging low in the sky. It was peeking out behind some clouds. It was daytime, but the moon still presented itself, its light muted, but still there.

“The lunar, but why didn’t anything happen last night? We were flying in the moon. We’ve flown with the moon multiple times…” I didn’t understand. At least not fully.

“Maxzq9 only present themselves when the dragon and the rider are ready,” Abner responded.

I wanted to yell and tell him that I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what I was expecting today, but it wasn’t that.

Covering my hands over my eyes, I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Lunar? The moon? What else could we do? Did we just transport within the waves of the moon? In its light? It wasn’t making sense.

Maybe I did.

Maybe I have been overlooked my whole life, similar to the moon in the sky. Always there, but its power underestimated.

I thought of the moon and how it was always a constant beacon of hope outside of the window of my tower.

Maybe it made sense.

Something that was dark. Only shining when allowed to. Always there. Always waiting.

My gaze drifted away, lost in a haze of thoughts, oblivious to the words being said around me. “Lia, Lia,” my name rattled the air like a ticking clock—back and forth and from all directions.

My eyes unblurred, displaying Damian shaking my shoulders. “Aurelia, you okay?” he asked, concern lining his eyes.

“Lia, let’s go back to camp, and we will practice again tonight. Don’t worry about it. Okay?” someone said as Damian held me by my shoulders. Everyone’s voices collided, merging into one. I felt as if I was caving in on myself with the way my stomach felt heavy and sick, bile rising, finding a place on my tongue.

Abner’s voice penetrated my mind, connecting to the other Scalebornes. The words were fuzzy. The letters blended, slurring into unfamiliar sounds.

Feeling dizzy, I leaned further into Damian. He picked up my limp legs, cradling them in the crevices of his arms as he took me down the mountain, my vision going black before I could protest.

1.Maxz (Mahz): Ability

2.Washailameii (Wa-shay-la-mee): Angie’s dragon

3.Tanaleiiman (Taw-naw-lee-mawn): Luella’s dragon

4.Teiimanam (Tee-maw-nawm): Clemmy’s dragon

5.Machmuax (Mock-mwah): Connection

6.Uanai (Wah-nay): Everything

7.Haxnau (Hah-nah-woo): Hell

8.Waxmau (Wah-maw-ooh): Moon

9.Maxzq (Mahz-eck): Abilities

Chapter fifty-eight

AURELIA

Patter.

Patter.