by Martha Carr
“Not again, Raven. It’s always there but it’s a little stronger today. And I had…bad dreams.”
She snorted, then covered her mouth and shook her head. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you and I know what bad dreams are like, trust me. I’m merely surprised that dragons even have dreams.”
Leander’s head raised from the grass and a little shudder rippled down the scales on his neck and down his back before it shivered out into his wings. “Of course dragons dream. I’d go so far as to say they mean more than human dreams.”
“Huh.” She stepped close to him and slid her hand over the hard ridges of his snout and between his eyes. “You’re probably right about that, honestly. Do you wanna talk about it?’
“The superiority of a dragon’s imagination even in sleep?”
Raven chuckled and nudged his face away. “I meant your dream. The bad one.”
“I prefer not to.”
“Okay. If you change your mind, I’m here to listen—”
“The earth split open.” His tail, still curled tightly around his body, thumped on the grass.
“Oh.” She sat in front of him and crossed her legs. “Like an earthquake?”
“Like a black maw. You fell into it.”
“Wow. Yeah, I think I’d call that a nightmare.”
Leander snorted again and his hot breath brushed against her bent knees. “I felt you but I couldn’t find you, no matter where I looked or how fast I flew. Then the gaping mouth rose from the ground and ate the rest of the world.”
She waited a few seconds longer for him to finish, but that was apparently the end. “Did anything else happen after that?”
“I heard you running and woke up.”
“Well, it sounds like perfect timing.” She leaned forward and caught his gaze before she shook her head. “Just so you know, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know that.” He looked sleepily at her through half-closed lids. “It was a dream, Raven.”
My dragon’s sending me seriously mixed messages. “I’m glad we covered that. How do you feel now?”
“I’m still not hungry. You’re feeling nervous.”
“I…” With a sigh, she pushed to her feet. “Okay, maybe a little nervous. That gala or dance or whatever is tonight.”
“You’re not nervous about having fun.”
“No. I’m nervous about not having fun. I think.” Raven rolled her eyes and dragged her hair back to tie it into a loose ponytail. “I’m starting to regret telling Daniel I’d be his date. I don’t even know the guy and I didn’t say yes because I wanted to.”
“You made a necessary sacrifice and I appreciate it.” Leander pushed slowly to his feet and his wings stretched wide before he curled them again.
“Yeah, well, I’m fairly sure that sacrifice is gonna bite me in the ass tonight. So yeah, I’m a little nervous.”
The dragon paced slowly along the far end of the pen. “There’s a very simple cure for that, you know.” His wings stretched again.
“Do you want to eat first?”
“Maybe after. I’m ready to go now.”
“Okay, okay.” She grinned as she strode to the gate and pushed it open. “I’ll be right back.”
“We could try it without a saddle.”
“I’m tempted. Really, I am. Let’s take a raincheck on that, though. I don’t know if me being nervous about a silly dance and you thinking about your bad dream makes either one of us a hundred percent on our game. We could fly without a saddle. I’m sure we could. But we still have to be careful.”
Leander swung his head from side to side and his tail thunked against the pen wall. “You’re still standing there.”
Laughing, she slipped through the gate, closed it behind her, and went to the stables for her grandpa’s old dragon saddle and harness. Maybe for the last time if we’re as coordinated as we think we are. We’re almost there.
Taking flight on a dragon’s back at this time of the morning was indescribably more exciting than her regularly scheduled classes. The chilly wind nipped at her face and brought the same hot tears she’d experienced before to her eyes before they were swept away from her. This is what we need. And we can take our time.
She slipped her boots out of the stirrups and spread her arms. The reins remained loosely tied around the saddle horn and she hadn’t touched them once they became airborne. Leander wheeled through the sky and pushed himself faster and faster until it felt like he was trying to chase the sunrise.
Raven shouted with joy and freedom, her arms still spread to either side. The dragon banked, turned again, and descended a little. Her hands dropped instinctively to his neck as the air rushed down her throat and she fought for breath. When he leveled out again, her laughter finally made a sound.
“And I thought playing with fire was good for clearing the mind.” She clapped and laughed again. “Nothing’s better than this!”
He made another sharp turn before he aimed them toward the sky and climbed even higher.
Feeling on top of the world like this? Yeah, I’d say that’s a good time to try.
As soon as she thought it, the dragon sensed her intention and leveled off as they flew high above the top of the forest that backed the school grounds. She patted his neck and reveled in the feel of his wings beating and all his muscles coiling and tensing beneath her.
He turned his head to look at her. “Do it.”
She laughed again. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You don’t have to, dragon rider. Do it.”
Raven wiped her hands on her trousers and shook them. Blowing out a long, steady breath, she nodded. Trust the dragon. That’s all I need, even for this.
She braced both hands on the front of the saddle below the pommel and lifted her left foot slowly from Lander’s flank. Focused, she leaned forward and brought her boot up quickly onto the saddle and crouched there with one leg dangling over the dragon’s other side. I won’t fall. Even if I tried, he wouldn’t let me.
With a final lurch, she straightened her leg with her boot on the saddle and stood. Her other foot settled on the dragon’s scaly hide in front of the saddle horn, and with her hands outstretched to either side, Raven Alby stood to her full height on the back of a flying dragon.
“Ha!” She wobbled a little as she adjusted to the different way the wind buffeted against her, from head to toe now. After a moment, she steadied her footing and released another joyous laugh. “Yes! Whoo!”
Leander responded with a piercing screech. Raven startled and leaned forward to correct her balance. Her left foot slipped off the saddle, and she somehow thumped down where she’d been seated. She jerked her right foot down again to squeeze his back between her thighs but kept her hands away from the saddle horn or the reins.
“Woah.” Despite how fast her heart hammered in her chest, the mage in training could only grin. My foot slipped off the saddle, not his back. There’s more traction with dragon scales than a piece of leather worn smooth over the last fifty years.
“That was it,” Leander added and glanced at her with wide yellow eyes. “It’s a start.”
“You’re telling me!” Shaking her head, Raven caught her breath and leaned to pat his neck again. “We’ll get there.”
She straightened, spread her arms again, and let her dragon familiar fly wherever he wanted to. We have all the time in the world today.
They flew for a few hours before he returned to the stables and his pen. The minute she leapt off his back and had the saddle unbuckled beneath his belly, the dragon all but barreled toward the gate.
“Wow. I didn’t think I’d ever see you so excited about getting into a pen.”
“I’m hungry now.”
“Oh, okay.” Laughing, she opened the gate with her rune and barely had it pushed all the way before he raced inside and headed to the trough. “I’ll go get you some more. Are you good in here?”
His only reply came in the form of munching away at the dragon feed
, his tail resting on the grass.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Raven closed the gate again and took her grandfather’s old dragon saddle back into the stables to stow it with the other tack. When she returned with another full bag of feed, the trough was empty and the dragon hovered over it, waiting impatiently. “It looks like you needed that ride as much as I did.”
He snorted and barely waited for her to dump the feed in before he was at it again. He stamped a few times as he ate and his back legs shuffled from side to side in eagerness.
She sat with her back against the wall of the pen and watched him eat. I stood on a flying dragon. Whatever else happens today can’t make a dent in that feeling.
It took him about ten minutes to fully empty the trough, but he spent another minute sniffing for more until he was convinced he’d eaten everything. With a long, satisfied rumble, he turned away and spun in a few tight circles before he lowered onto the grass, tipped over onto his side and wiggled a little, and belched.
“Is there anything that would make you happier than this right now?”
“No pen. A fresh carcass in my belly instead of carcass-flavored kibble.”
Raven laughed. “Have you ever eaten a live animal?”
“Once. I pretend that’s what I’m eating at every meal.” Leander’s hind legs stretched in the grass and his claws twitched open and closed again in contentment.
“Huh. Whatever gets you through the day, right?”
“For the time being, I’d say I’m relatively happy.”
She took that opportunity to cross the pen toward him and squatted in front of his great head that rested upside down in the sun. The underside of his chin twitched when she scratched it. “That was incredible, by the way. Thanks for the ride.”
“Thank you for not falling off in complete silence.”
“Well, you can keep thanking me for that, Leander. I don’t plan to ever let that happen. And I know you don’t, either.”
One large yellow eye opened to regard her with silent approval.
“I’m gonna go try to get ready for this dance, I think. I’ll come to say goodnight after it’s over. I probably won’t even be out there for the whole thing, only long enough to make an appearance and have dinner, I think.”
“If Mr. Cool gives you any trouble, you know where to find me.”
She laughed and pushed to her feet. “Yes, I do. So does he. I can handle it.”
When his eye closed again, she took it as her cue to leave. “Enjoy the sun. It looks like nap time.”
The dragon said nothing and didn’t move again. She closed the gate firmly behind her and headed across the field, most of her previous anxiety effectively pushed aside.
Chapter Thirty-Four
After she snagged a few pieces of fruit left from lunch in the common room, Raven went to her dorm room on the third floor. Elizabeth once again sat on her bed with her legs crossed and her head lowered over another book in her lap. “Did you have a nice flight?”
“Yeah, actually.” She has no idea. She paused once she’d shut the door and regarded the girl curiously. “I didn’t tell you I was going out for a ride.”
“Nope. But we have a decent view of the landing strip.” Her roommate gestured toward the window without looking up from her reading. “You were gone so long, I almost thought you weren’t coming back.”
“No, I have to come back. I want to.” She crossed the room toward the dresser beside her desk and opened the drawers to dig around in her clothes. “Although staying out on the back of a dragon long enough to miss this dance completely sounds like a good excuse. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“For some reason, I have the impression that you’re not excited for the gala.” Elizabeth clapped her book shut with both hands and waited for her to turn again before she smirked.
“Thank you, Mistress of the Obvious.” Raven gave her an exaggerated little bow and they both laughed. “It’s not that I’m not excited for the gala specifically. I kinda sorta told Daniel Smith that I’d be his date.”
Elizabeth coughed and tossed her bangs out of her eyes. They fell back almost immediately. “That was weird. I thought I heard you say Daniel Smith is your date tonight.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your hearing.” She wrinkled her nose. “It was a reaction. He kept me between a bag of feed and a ravenous dragon and I simply said, ‘Okay. Now leave me alone.’”
With a little snort, the girl shook her head. “That can be interpreted in so many ways.”
“You know what I mean.” She turned to the drawers again and tossed her clothes aside in each one. “This is basically a joke. I don’t have anything to wear. Seriously, who grows up on a goat ranch with their grandfather and has a wardrobe of formal clothes from which to choose for a surprise party?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the same person who has a dragon familiar. Who she goes flying with for hours at a time.” Elizabeth chuckled and tickled her bat familiar’s belly. Iggy emitted a happy little squeak and rolled to sniff his mage’s hand. “Or we could change it around a little and say that the mage in training who grew up on a goat ranch but rides dragons has the best roommate ever, and that’s how she gets something to wear to Fowler Academy’s spring gala.”
The way the other girl rolled her eyes and adopted Professor Gilliam’s nasally voice of extreme etiquette made Raven burst out laughing. “That’s really good.”
“I do many impressions, actually.”
“For real?”
Her roommate shrugged and bit her lip. “I’m proud of my Bixby. ‘Now, students.’” She clapped sharply and straightened where she sat while her head wobbled in perfect mimicry. “‘It is imperative that you understand the historical significance of the very underwear you keep tucked beneath your britches. With one wrong step, you might miss the restroom altogether.’”
“Wow.” Raven tried to hold back another laugh and failed. “Do you spend time practicing those? Because that’s dead-on. Other than the fact that she’d probably stammer uncontrollably if she heard anyone mention their underwear.”
With a secretive smile, Elizabeth uncrossed her legs and slid off the bed. “I spent time practicing before you showed up and I got myself a roomie. I’m sure the other girls on this floor think I’m insane.”
“Either that or they thought you were holding meetings in your room with all the professors.” The thought made her laugh again.
The other girl shrugged, went to her dresser, and pulled out a few of her drawers. “They can think what they want. I don’t give a damn as long as people leave me alone.”
“Somehow, I’m friends with the girl who only wants to be left alone.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t butt into my business and you’re not trying to figure me out. Plus, you haven’t said a word about how much I read, so. Respect.”
“Fair enough.”
“Oh, yeah. Here we go.” Elizabeth turned to her and wiggled her eyebrows. “I found it.”
“You were serious about letting me borrow something for tonight.”
“No. I wanted to see the look on your face when you realized I let you down hardcore.” She laughed and pointed at her roommate. “Yeah, that face. I’m kidding, by the way. Here.” She withdrew a long, flowing piece of black fabric and let it tumble toward the floor.
“Wow. That’s really pretty.” With a grin, Raven stepped across the room and studied the full-length dress. “What are you gonna wear?”
“I dunno. Not this.” Elizabeth made a face at the garment and handed it over. “My mom made me pack all kinds of things I knew I’d never need. I guess neither of us considered the fact that someone else might need to borrow something.”
She took the dress and held it in front of her. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before. What’s it made of?”
The girl shrugged again, returned to her bed, and crossed her legs beneath her again. “Something fancy.”
With a snort, she nodded a
nd laid the dress on her bed. “That’s a good guess. Way fancier than anything I’ve put on. Ever.”
“It’ll look great with your hair. And you look like my size. If it doesn’t work, toss it back in the drawer.”
“Thanks, Elizabeth.”
“No problem. I bet Daniel Smith will like it. Wait. Did you want him to like what you’re wearing? ʼCause if not, we could definitely throw something else together that would make him run away screaming instead.”
“Uh…I’m not sure that’s what I’m going for. But I’ll keep it in mind.” Raven sat on the bed beside the dress and stared at it.
Elizabeth shrugged again and picked her book up without another word.
A few hours later, before the students were supposed to gather in the open area on the other side of the school’s main buildings opposite the barn and stables, Raven glanced at herself in the borrowed dress and shook her head.
“Who am I kidding? I don’t even know how to move in something like this. You can’t…run in a dress.” She hiked the flowing hem of the black dress up and took a long step forward to test how far she could extend her leg.
The other girl tossed her bangs out of her eyes and snickered. “Are you planning to run away screaming?”
“I don’t know!” She released the dress again, twisted awkwardly to peer over her shoulder, and tried to look at the way it fell at the back. “I think I’m one of those people who end up having to run somewhere for something anyway. Okay, I get it. Dresses were invented to slow people down.”
“Not all people.” Laughing, the other girl slipped on her dark-purple jacket with draped sleeves, pulled the silk shirt down over the top of a long purple skirt, and shrugged. “I don’t know. It kinda helps with the heat, right?”
“The heat of what?” Raven gave her roommate a playful frown. “Yeah, it’s been getting warmer but it’s not the middle of summer.”
“Dancing, Raven. You know. Moving around, limbs flailing, sweat flying, people knocking each other over.”
“I don’t think this is that kind of dance.”