thick skin and an elastic heart

Chapter 9

Valentina was little more than a distant figure in pale blue, and the crowd screamed and yelled. Juliana hugged the egg tighter to her chest as she leaned forward on the bench.

Valentina raised her wand over her head.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then the walls around the enclosure turned silver and reflective. Juliana gasped. The walls were forty-foot high mirrors, reflecting the pit and the dragon. The crowd went crazy, rattling the arena.

The green dragon roared again, shaking its head at the many reflections of itself. It spun in a circle, sending its large tail crashing onto the ground. Thick, brown clouds of dust billowed into the air. The eggs sat unharmed beneath its gigantic body. The mirrors reflected off each other, giving the illusion of multiple dragons, each roaring and stomping.

The furious dragon ignored Valentina and sent a jet of greenish-yellow fire at one of its reflections. Meanwhile, Valentina tapped her head with her wand, vanishing on the spot.

Juliana surged forward. Her eyes roamed the spot where Valentina had disappeared. She squinted, making out subtle movements. It was a disillusionment charm.

Juliana grinned.

While not entirely invisible, Valentina was chameleoned to her surroundings.

Juliana felt a surge of pride at Val's brilliance.

The crowd started yelling again, and the sound enraged the dragon. It twisted its head, another jet of fire bursting out near Val. The disillusionment charm flickered as Valentina summoned a shield charm against the flames. The shield blocked most of the fire, but not all of the heat. Juliana saw, rather than heard Valentina yell in pain and grabbed her arm. The crowd screamed and gasped. The fire finally stopped. The dragon inhaled, head pulling back. Before it could start again, Valentina grasped the golden egg with her good arm, causing the gong to resound around the arena.

The task was over.

The dragon snapped its jaws and roared in a fury. The handlers ran into the arena and immediately stunned the dragon. A mediwizard met Valentina as she staggered towards the arena entrance. She kept the egg wrapped in her left arm, the other limp by her side.

Juliana raced for the exits. She darted down the stairwells, just as Valentina enter a smaller tent Juliana hadn't noticed earlier, a red cross stitched over the entrance.

She pushed aside the flap and entered the medical tent.

"Val!" she called out.

"Juls?" The curtain slid aside. Valentina's robes were half off, leaving her in just a bra. A mediwizard was liberally applying a thick orange paste to Valentina's arm, which was bright red and bloody looking.

"Val!" Juliana breathed, squeezing past the mediwizard and to the other girl's side. She set her egg down in the corner, beside Valentina's. "I saw you compete. You did amazing! Are you alright?" Juliana's hands hovered around Valentina; unsure whether she should touch her.

Valentina smiled, reaching out with her uninjured arm and clasped their hands. "I'm fine. It just grazed my arm," she said, wincing as the mediwitch applied more ointment. She squeezed down on Juliana's hand. Despite her obvious pain, she was still smiling. "I'm just happy it didn't get my face," she joked.

"No, not your pretty face," Juliana played along, happy her friend was making jokes. She reached out her left hand and grazed her cheek with her thumb, gazing into Val's aqua eyes. Her eyes roved over her features, from her full lips to her cheekbones. "That'd be a tragedy."