Page 35 of Magical Mission

She moved toward me slowly, cautious but curious, her claws silent against the earth.

We’d done this dance before. Ever since I’d first come to the dragon wing, we shared something I couldn’t name.

At first, she wouldn’t come near me. Wouldn’tlookat me.

Now?

She stood just feet away, tilting her head like she was trying to figure me out. Or waiting for me to say something.

So I did.

“Hey,” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath. “You’re up late.”

A huff of warm air brushed against me. It was her version of a sigh.

I smiled. “Me too.”

She blinked, slow and steady.

I moved to the center of the den, past the arch carved with runes I still hadn’t deciphered, and stood near the nesting circle.

And there, just where I knew it would be, was the egg.

The shell had turned a shade of pale lavender with a gold flecked sheen, but keeping the precious egg safe was a beautifully fierce mother dragon.

She curled around it with half-lidded eyes but very much aware of my presence. She didn’t move as I stepped closer, though one massive wing adjusted just slightly, shielding the egg, but not from me.

I dropped to a crouch, heart thudding.

The egg had changed.

I could see it from here. Two long cracks had appeared along the shell’s top, with one spidering down the side, like a bolt of lightning.

“It’s almost time,” I breathed.

The young dragon edged closer, her glowing gaze flicking from me to the egg, then back again.

“You’re going to have a little sibling,” I murmured to her. “Hope you’re ready to share.”

She gave the smallest chuff, and if I didn’t know better, I wanted to scratch her chin.

I laughed quietly. “I didn’t think so.”

The mother dragon watched me as her massive eyes, ancient and unreadable, scanned over my body.

And still, I spoke.

“I wanted to check in. It’s… It’s been a big day.”

The dragons said nothing, but I kept talking anyway.

“We’ve got students now. Dozens of them. All souls who’ve been through too much and still showed up, hoping this place would be worth it. Twobble was the first student. If you ever meet him, he has a heart of gold.”

A low rumble echoed from the back of the den as one of the older dragons shifted in his sleep, or maybe he just agreed.

“And teachers,” I added. “Real ones. Some expected, some… not.”

I looked back at the young one beside me, who had now sat, tail coiled neatly around her feet like a particularly large and elegant cat.