A LAND OF FIRE AND SCALES: Keeper of the Stars (1)

Chapter 10

Azula. The name rang out in my head like the toll of a bell. My dragon did seem like an Azula. Glittering and shining, inside and out. A little gem perched in my hands.

After the ceremony had finished, we'd been given the rest of the day to bond with our hatchlings, free of classwork for an entire three hours.

As we walked away from the gorge, I glanced at Killian. 'How'd the meeting with the Guardian go?'

He looked at me for a long moment, as if debating whether to inform me of his experience, before saying, 'It was fine.'

I frowned. 'You met the Great Guardian and it was fine?'

He shrugged, his eyes reflecting a strange kind of emotion that I couldn't interpret. 'Yeah.'

'What's your hatchling's name, at least?' I said, raising an eyebrow.

'Sveerin,' he told me. 'Means loyalty in Draconian.'

I glanced at the ochre hatchling in his hands and nodded. 'Suits him.'

Killian took a look at my hatchling, fear still lurking in the corners of his eyes.

'Her name's Azula, if you were wondering,' I told him, 'after the Great Mother.'

He inclined his head slowly, like a broken manikin. 'I see.'

I narrowed my eyes at him as something deep inside of me snapped. 'If you're just going to say nothing like a blob of passive-aggressive darkness, then just excuse yourself.' I held Azula closer to my chest. 'She's my priority now, and if you aren't going to be supportive, then we can't be friends.'

He jerked back as if I'd hit him. 'I –' he began, before trailing off. For a moment, I thought he was going to criticise me, before he finished. 'I'll try.'

I inclined my head. 'That's all I ask of you. Just treat her kindly.'

Azula chirped happily as if she agreed.

'Do you want to pat her?' I added uncertainly, wondering if that was too much of a jump for him.

'Um,' he began, 'well, okay.' He leaned over and awkwardly scratched her ear, his body language still tense.

But at least he wasn't making irritating comments about how dangerous she was.

'Not too bad, huh?' I remarked as Azula began to nuzzle his finger. 'But be careful, she might scorch your hand off!'

'Ha, ha, very funny,' he said, rolling his eyes, but his face flickered with the traces of a smile.

'Well,' I said eventually, 'shall we go and do something?' I paused. 'Hey, we should go to the lake! Maybe we could have a picnic there.'

'And I'm joining you,' said Val, swaggering up to us. 'If there's the promise of food, that is.'

'Me too,' Anya added, jogging up to my side.

I grinned. 'Alright, how about we nab some food from the Mess Hall?'

Killian pumped his fist. 'Sounds like a plan.'

Once we'd found our way back to the dining area, we were pleased to find that food had already been set out on the tables, available for all who needed it. A large noticeboard on the side of the room shouted in bold letters, Today's Lunch: Dragonbreath-seared Pork Buns!

My stomach snarled in reciprocation, and I sprinted over to my seat. There were five plump buns squatting on the ceramic plate, just begging to be eaten. To the left of the plate was a bottle filled with milk, which puzzled me before I realised it was probably Azula's food formula. Leaning over the table, I wrapped it all up in a napkin before stuffing them all into the back pocket of my rucksack.

Once we'd all congregated, laden with food for ourselves and our dragons, we proceeded to amble out the doors into the pleasant sunshine. The light caught Azzy's scales and made them ripple like the Aurora Borealis, while Killian's hatchling Sveerin looked like a sweaty lump of butter. Sorry, Sveerin.

'Oh, crap, there are fire nettles everywhere,' Anya muttered as we halted at the grassy banks of the lake.

Fire nettles were small but powerful little blighters. If you touched one, your hand would itch for days. Folktales said that the Great Mother had created them to ward off humans who wanted to enter Dracona City. This was unfortunate for the humans who decided to support dragons, like me – but luckily, Val had thought ahead and had nabbed a tablecloth to sit on.

'That's better,' Val sighed, plonking herself down and setting out the food.

Azula squealed as I drew out the milk bottle. Food yum yum, she squawked as I lifted it to her muzzle.

'You're not going to serve yourself first?' Val grinned, gesturing to the pork buns.

I paused. 'She's my little sister. She comes before me,' I said. 'Surely you'd do the same for – for, uh–'

'Maelina,' Val finished, glancing down at her snowy white Wind-dragon. 'And, um, yeah, I guess.' To prove her point, she lifted the bottle to her hatchling's mouth.

Killian, on the other hand, was already stuffing his mouth, while Sveerin looked on hungrily.

Feeling a little sorry for him, I pooled out a few drops from my milkbottle into my hands and offered it to him. Sveerin let out a little chirp of happiness and drank his fill, fluttering his sandy yellow wings.

Killian glanced down at him impassively. 'Sorry, Sveerin,' he apologised, licking away the remains of pork bun from around his mouth. 'Next time, alright?'

As if in reply, Sveerin let out a giant burp, and we all burst into laughter.

I couldn't wait for the year ahead.