Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 9: Leera's Choice

She took a few steps before stopping in front of an elent boy and lowering her head. He reached up to touch her forehead, but at the last moment, she jerked away and kept on walking. She didn't seem to know who she wanted to choose now. First one, then another aspiring rider were denied a joining at the last second. As she turned into my row, I watched with a buzzing in my fingertips. Nervous energy made me feel as if I needed to run, even though my legs ached from running all the way here and standing for ages.

Did I actually have a chance? She was coming my way, slowing down like she was about to stop. She stopped in front of a girl two spots away and lowered her head partway before jerking it back up again. Scaly brows furrowed, Leera walked past me and went to the next row. My heart sunk into my stomach.

And then she was back, standing in front of me. I could've sworn my heart stopped beating. Holding my breath, I tried not to get my hopes up. She'd done this a dozen times already. It didn't mean anything. Her head was right in front of mine, but it didn't mean anything. I didn't want to lift my hand and look utterly desperate when she jerked away at the last second.

She huffed and head-butted me in the face.

The world exploded in a cloud of green light. My forehead burned. As the light grew brighter, I could see nothing but Leera's huge eyes a foot from mine, then not even that.

*** 

"Ella, wake up. Please wake up. This wasn't supposed to happen. You were supposed to stay home, away from all of this. Ella, please..." A woman's voice reached me as if it was coming up from the bottom of a well. It was so familiar, but I couldn't place it.

Someone was holding my head up off the ground. The ground—I was laying on the ground. A hot wind gusted on my arm, but it seemed to be coming from beside me on the ground. None of this made any sense. I forced my eyes open and saw Mother's face hovering over me. My head was in her lap, I realized. She was crying, and there was fear in her eyes.

"I thought you had died." She helped me sit up. "I'm afraid you'll wish you had."

What was wrong with her? She'd thought I was dead, and her immediate thought after finding out I was okay was to threaten to make me regret it?

I pushed away, falling back from her. Just feet from us stood the entire crowd of possible riders, the ones who hadn't been chosen. They were all staring at me, my mother, and the huge green dragon collapsed on the ground beside me. Pushing through the crowd was one of the older riders—the black-haired elent with the golden class 7. His dragon came through the sea of people with him. When he came closer, I realized that he was wearing black gloves with the sign of a death elent on them, a skull and crossbones.

Mother grabbed my arm and pulled me close to whisper, "Whatever happens, you must talk to me before you leave. We can't in front of all of these people, but there's something I have to tell you. Something deadly important."

I wanted to argue, but she honestly looked terrified. If she just wanted to ground me, she would be angry, not afraid. I had to know why she was so freaked out. "Fine, I'll talk to you. In a minute."

As the elent with the golden dragon reached us, Mother left.

"Please disperse. There is nothing to see here," the elent called out to the watching crowd. Most of them listened to him but not all. I thought he couldn't have been much older than I was, but if he was chosen in this province, he must've been chosen ten years ago. Maybe he was chosen in a different province.

He helped me to my feet. "What is your full name?"

"Ella Baluger." I glanced at the unconscious Leera. "What's wrong with her?"

He crouched next to Leera's head, and I saw a white mark on her forehead that hadn't been there before. It could've been a wavy snake, or a talme's tail.

"The few dragons who manage to dispel powerful dark magic in the way she has are affected severely. If her mind is still in one piece, you'll both be lucky. However, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her body."

I felt hot breath on my back and looked up to see the golden dragon sniffing at me. He growled softly, and I backed away from him.

"Don't mind Goldenfire. He just smells the dark magic on you." The elent moved to stand by me.

"On me?" I sniffed without thinking, but I couldn't smell anything abnormal.

"It was on your dragon and transferred to you."

I enjoyed the sound of that—your dragon. Leera was mine now. I was a real rider, and in a few minutes, I'd be heading off to the Dragon Rider Academy. I could hardly believe it, but the proof was snoring right in front of me.

"Now," the elent continued, "your dragon should wake up in a few minutes. I suggest you say goodbye to your family soon, because we'll meet here and head out in an hour."

"R-right, I'll be here then."

Shooing away the rest of the spectators, he left with his dragon.

Near the stadium seats where the onlookers had been sitting, a party was in full swing. My parents were there, consoling Ashyr because she hadn't been chosen. I wasn't quite ready to face them yet.