Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 50 of 70

The dragon slept in Willowyn's lap, wrapped in Kai's dark cloak. She held it close as the griffin cut through the night air. Kai flew hard, leaning into the wind. "Only a couple hours now," he called back, keeping his voice steady. Willowyn knew what waited at his castle. Books. His parents kept old books, and books were the only teacher she had for this. She did not know how to feed a newborn dragon. She did not know how much it should sleep, or what it could eat. Guess wrong, and the small life against her chest would fade. The cold and the long day pulled at her. She fought it, but her eyes closed. She leaned against Kai's warm back and slept, one hand still curled around the dragon. When she woke, she was in a soft bed. Sunlight filled the room. The cloak lay folded on a chair, empty. The dragon was gone. Willowyn threw off the blanket and ran into the hall, her heart slamming. "Kai?" she called. She did not care that she still wore yesterday's gown. She checked one room, then another. She had failed already. She had slept while the creature she woke needed her. Then she heard it. A small chirp, like a kitten. And Kai's low laugh. She followed the sound to a bright room off the great hall. Books lay open across the table, their pages thick and yellowed. Kai sat on the floor. The dragon perched on his knee, its silver wings bright and its head up. "You're awake," Kai said. He grinned at her. "Come sit. The books tell a lot about dragons. I gave him milk and a little meat. He perked right up. See?" Willowyn dropped to her knees beside them. The dragon turned to her and chirped again. Its eyes were clear now, not half closed. Its scales had color, pale and shining. Last night it had shivered and drooped. Now it stretched a wing and nipped at Kai's finger. "You did this," she said. Her voice shook. "I fell asleep. I left him." "You held him the whole flight," Kai said. "I only read what you couldn't reach." He turned a page and pointed. "Small feedings. Warm milk first, then meat as it grows. And it needs the moon. It says here the old ones fed on moonlight." Willowyn touched the dragon's head. It leaned into her hand. The fear that had ridden her since the egg cracked loosened its grip. She could keep this creature alive. The books knew, and now she knew. But the page also warned her. A moon dragon grew fast. In just six weeks it would outgrow milk and this quiet room. It would need open sky, and hunting, and more than one castle could hold. She had saved it for today that was all that mattered in this moment