Page 101 of A Lick of Flame

She makes a soft rumbling noise and lowers her head further. I step up to her and put my hand on her cheek. She rumbles again, making a purring noise as I run my hand over her scales. “It is you, girl. It…it’s…how? You’re all grown up.” I feel her happiness at seeing me. Her joy. I feel her strength flowing through me. I feel something weird…a buzzing in my veins. It must be her, too.

My eyes are stinging with tears of happiness at seeing her. I also feel relief; if she is fully grown, then my death might not end her. Orion is safe, too. My death will no longer have a knock-on effect on those I love, and I am grateful.

I look at Orion, who is having a moment with his own dragon. I watch as he rubs his hand gently over her scales, a look of pure joy and wonder in his eyes. He whispers something to her, and Delphine purrs, nuzzling against his hand. It warms my heart because I know how worried he has been about their relationship.

I turn back to Raila, my heart swelling with emotion. “You are so beautiful.”

She nuzzles at my belly, making these noises that remind me of when she was a baby less than a week ago. This doesn’t make any kind of sense. How did it happen? I stroke her scales.

“Delphine was never upset with me,” Orion says, coming to stand next to me. “It turns out that she was busy raising a North Star.”

“You need to stop talking in riddles and tell me what’s going on.” I turn to face him.

Orion is beaming. He is smiling from ear to ear. His eyes are bright and shining.

“Is everything okay over there?” Xander asks.

“Let’s go,” Thesha urges.

“Thesh seems to think that you’re both fine and about to have a moment. She’s saying we should leave you to it,” he says, his voice raised.

“Let’s go already,” Thesha admonishes him.

“We are about to have a moment. A huge moment,” Orion says without looking away from my face. He is still smiling.

“I told you,” Thesha whisper-shouts.

“Stop pulling on my arm,” Xander growls.

Orion and I laugh, but I am the first to turn serious. “Are you going to tell me what happened to Raila?”

“It turns out that Raila is a Polaris dragon. She is the North Star. Every few hundred years, one is born.” He sighs. “It mostly happens during troubled times…so I guess it shouldn’t be such a shock that she is here. They are wonderful creatures. They’re enormously powerful. No wonder Bellatrix was so nervous. You’re right; she was scared stiff. Scared of what your dragon might do to her if she put so much as a foot wrong. Raila is a Polaris. This is huge and so incredibly special.”

“Is that why she is already fully grown?”

“Yes, she has been born again. That is, if myths and legends are to be believed. They say that a Polaris never really dies but comes back again and again. That is why they grow so quickly. It’s why Delphine has been…distracted. Why my magic was so depleted, and my connection to her was almost nonexistent. She was giving everything to Raila. It makes perfect sense.”

“Why was Raila so afraid?”

“She was going through the last of her transformation from whelp to adult. It could not have been easy on her. You felt it more acutely since your bond with her is so much stronger now that…” He stops talking.

“Now that…?” I lift my brows, waiting.

Delphine nudges Orion, causing him to take a step away from me. Then she nuzzles against my belly. She seems to be sniffing, making chuffing noises.

“Um…what is she doing?” I’m not concerned. I’m not afraid of her.

Then Raila is there, too. Delphine pulls back, and Raila does the same; she sniffs at my belly.

“Good girl,” Orion says, rubbing his dragon between her horns. She arches her back and purrs loudly, reminding me of a cat.

Then she turns back to me, locking eyes with me.

I get a sharp pain across my back. My eyes widen, and I make a choking sound. My legs are about to buckle when Orion grabs me. The pain subsides in the very next moment.

“Are you alright, love?” Orion asks.

“Yes,” I push out, trying to catch my breath. That’s when I realize what just happened. “She accepted me. Your dragon…she chose me.”

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