Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 14: The Trouble With Leera

If only the cost of all this luxury were a little less, I might be able to enjoy it. I trudged into my closet to unpack my trunk.

The closet was nearly as large as my old room. Uniforms hung on a rod, and black work boots sat beneath them. Opposite the uniforms sat a massive, dark-wooded chest and a stand large enough for a dragon-sized saddle. The chest was filled with a variety of dragon-care products—brushes, scale wax, flame feeder, blunting cream, and a fair number of things I didn't even recognize.

As I unpacked my trunk, I noticed I was still wearing my singed shirt and Mother's shawl. I changed into a clean outfit and went back into the bedroom with the few books I'd brought from home. My trunk had only been big enough to store my favorite volumes, but I didn't think I would run out of reading material. The bookshelf was already filled with colorful leather-bound volumes. I put my books up on the top shelf and took a green volume the Academy had provided.

"Are you unpacked already?" Liz's voice nearly gave me a heart attack.

I spun around, nearly tripping over Leera's tail. When I saw Liz in the doorway, it took a moment to remember what she'd asked. "I just finished." Smelling smoke, I glanced at the book in my hand. It was sizzling. Gritting my teeth against the urge to shout, I threw it down and stomped out the burgeoning fire. "Bad dragon. No flaming indoors."

Leera lifted her head to glare at me, almost as if she knew I was blaming her for my own mistake.

"Are you okay?" Liz asked.

"Of course I am. Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"We were going to go flying before dinner. Do you want to come?"

"Sure."

"Meet you in the entrance room, then." She skipped out of sight down the hall.

I picked up the singed book. It was kinda ashy but still readable. I put it back on the shelf.

I moved around Leera to stand by her head. "Up."

She blinked lazily.

"Come on, we're going flying." I gestured for her to stand.

She snorted and laid her head down on her front paws.

"Get up, not lay down." Why couldn't she just listen to me? Keeping my secret was going to be hard enough without a stubborn dragon causing me trouble at every turn. "Please get up."

No response.

"Just get up, you big lizard," I said in my best commanding voice.

She growled and spit a thin stream of fire at my feet.

Jumping back, I decided we wouldn't be going flying. I went to the hangar room to tell the others that I'd decided to stay. When I came back, I couldn't get the door open. The knob turned fine, but it was like something heavy was pressing against the other side. After a monumental push, I managed to get the door open maybe half a foot before it slammed shut. I'd seen green scales through the gap.

"Let me in," I said, low enough that the others couldn't hear me from down the hall.

Leera growled, and I kicked the door. Giving up, I sat down against the wall. Frustration and fear boiled inside me, making me wish more than ever that I was normal, that I could just go and fly with my friends without the threat of discovery looming over my head.

But I was what I was, a fact that wouldn't be so crushing if I'd just done what my parents told me and stayed home. One stupid mistake, and I could never go back to how I'd been before. Yes, I'd had powers, but they hadn't surfaced every single time I was so much as a little startled. They'd never really been a danger to me before. Now they were, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt oddly cold. I started shivering as I wiped tears from my eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Sarafin asked.

Prip, he was sneaky. I hadn't even noticed him come up the stairs. He was wearing a flowered apron that almost made me smile.

"No." I started to stand.

He offered me a hand up, and I noticed he was still wearing the black leather gloves he'd been wearing at the ceremony. That was odd. When I took his hand, he looked surprised. I quickly stood and let go of his hand.

His brows furrowed. "Are you sure you're okay? You feel so cold."

I crossed my arms and looked at my feet. "I'm fine. Why are you up here anyway?"

"I was getting a bag of flour I brought with me from Marysburg. Why are you sitting out here?"

"It's just... Leera won't let me in my room." When I said it like that, it sounded ridiculous. Not that having a giant lizard sleeping in my room wasn't already absurd, but still.

"Have you spoken with her about it?"

"She won't listen to me."

"Leera wouldn't act like that if she didn't have a reason. If you talked it out with her, you could probably resolve your problems."

How he expected me to get a dragon to understand why she should open the door for a paltor was beyond me, but I couldn't afford to mention the details of my particular situation.

"I'll try that."

He nodded and went into his room to get the flour. I pretended to be talking with Leera until he went back downstairs. Then I went and hid in Tawny's room.