Page 27 of The Baby Dragon Cafe (The Baby Dragon #1)

Chapter 27

“T he ritual is simple,” Mireya had explained to Saphira that morning.

She would get dropped off on a mountain, where she would have to climb steps up to a cave. In the cave, a dragon would be guarding gemstones, of which she had to choose one. Once she had done so, the dragon would signal Mount Echo, and they would come retrieve her.

Easy! Unless the dragon took offense.

Then she would be barbecued.

Saphira was pretty confident that wouldn’t happen. Sparky loved her, as did all the baby dragons at her cafe. So this ritual would be quick and simple.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Halfway up the mountain, Saphira was struggling. She was incredibly high up—higher than Mount Echo—and it was freezing.

The wind was a physical force, fighting against her as she climbed, and snow kept blasting into the air, cutting into her face like tiny shards of ice. Saphira paused to bury her nose in her scarf, catching her breath.

She had to do this. So Saphira pushed on.

Until a gust of wind blew against her, and she slipped.

Her stomach turned, heart stopping—but she caught herself at the last moment.

Snow fell off the side of the steps, and she looked over, watching the snow disappear into the clouds. She swallowed hard, pressing a hand to her chest. Saphira tried to stay calm, gathering up the courage to keep going, despite the fear beating through her.

And then she heard Aiden’s voice, calling her name. Saphira blinked. The voice was distant, so she must have imagined it.

But then she heard it again.

Saphira looked to the side, and through the clouds, there he was.

Aiden was riding Torch, Sparky in the dragon’s paw.

“Aiden!” she cried, surprised.

“Saphira, my god,” he said, voice ragged. Torch stopped beside the steps so that she was eye level with Aiden. His face was pale, his eyes shining. “Are you alright?” His voice broke. He surveyed her, inspecting for any damage. “Please, let’s go home.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, inspecting him as well. “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket?”

“You’re going to kill me,” Aiden said, ignoring her questions. “You don’t have to do this, you have nothing to prove. Sparky loves you; he’s just as much yours as he is mine. He’s the one who found you! And dragons can only track their riders; he could only do that because you are his.”

He broke off, emotional.

“Saphira, I love you.” His eyes welled with tears. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, voice thick with emotion.

“Please, let me take you home,” he begged. “I just want you to be safe. If anything happens to you, I will actually die.”

Guilt needled through her. She hated to see Aiden so worried; it was why she hadn’t told him she was doing this. She had thought she would be home by the time he realized she was missing.

“I’m sorry, Aiden,” she said, choking up. “But I have to do this—I have to prove it to myself, if no one else.”

Aiden’s face broke. He looked troubled as he thought something over, and she braced for him to argue with her, for him to try and force her to go home.

But he only released a long breath, resigned. “Okay.” He swallowed. “Even though it’s killing me, if this is something you are adamant about, I won’t stop you.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Saphira expected Aiden to fly back to Mount Echo then, but he surprised her by turning Torch to face upwards, parallel to her path.

“Let me watch your back, at least,” he said. “If you fall, I’ll be here to catch you, I promise.”

He was with her, supporting her, watching her. She felt a new sense of strength.

So she continued on.