Violet Stormwing's Arc

Chapter 19 of 46

They climbed the mountain that night. Jasper led them to his cave. Soft moss covered the stone walls, and a low fire kept the air warm. The hatchlings crawled off their mother's back and sank into the moss. But the pink dragon would not settle. She stood stiff at the cave mouth, wings tight, eyes fixed on the sleeping brood. Violet had bonded her only days before. She had never bonded two grown dragons at once. Now she saw the danger. The pink dragon watched the hatchlings the way a stranger watches food. "She doesn't trust them," Jasper said. He set his broom against the wall. "Two wild-born dragons in one cave. That never goes easy." The mother dragon lifted her head. A growl rolled from her chest. Her tail curled around her young. The pink dragon growled back, louder. In the tight cave the sound bounced hard. A hatchling woke and cried. Violet felt the whole thing tipping toward blood. "Both of you, easy," she said, and stepped between them. It was a foolish place to stand. Two sets of teeth, one small girl. But she had learned that force never worked. Trust did. A light drifted down from a crack in the ceiling. A tiny fairy no bigger than Violet's hand floated into the cave, blonde hair glowing, blue eyes wide. "You'll get bitten standing there," she said. Her voice was small but sharp. "I'm Lumina. I live in the high cracks. I've watched dragons fight for years." She hovered near Violet's ear. "They don't hate each other. They're scared. Give them one thing to share." Violet understood. She turned to Jasper. "Bring the meat. All of it." He dragged over the bucket from the ruins. Violet took a heavy strip and laid it in the center, between the two dragons, closer to neither. Then she knelt beside it, empty hands open. The mother dragon moved first. She lowered her head and tore a piece free. The pink dragon watched, muscles tight. Violet slid another strip toward her, slow. "Yours," she said. "No one takes it." The pink dragon crept forward. She ate beside the mother. Their shoulders nearly touched. Neither growled. Lumina laughed, a soft chime. "Now the little ones." Violet waved the gold-horned hatchling closer. It wobbled to the pink dragon and pressed against her warm side. The pink dragon went still. Then she folded a wing over the small body, the way a mother would. The mother dragon watched and did not strike. Violet let out a long breath. The tension had broken. One cave, two grown dragons, a whole brood, all resting together at last. Lumina settled on a mossy ledge. "They'll hold now," she said. "But your lord's men climb these peaks by morning. I saw torches on the low pass." Violet looked at the sleeping dragons. She had made them one flight. Now she had to get that flight off the mountain before dawn.