Page 126 of Kingdom of Dance

“Reka, Dannsair,” Zinnia gasped. “Thank you.”

Impulsively, she threw her arms around Dannsair’s scaled front. Her hands barely reached the dragon’s front legs, but she laid her head against the purple scales, taking comfort from their warmth.

“Have you still not learned to be cautious and respectful around dragons?” Dannsair asked, sounding faintly amused.

Zinnia pulled back, grinning up at the reptilian face above her. “I guess I’m a slow learner.”

“You cannot afford to be,” Dannsair said comfortably. “Not with such a short lifespan.”

“My life is going to be much longer than I’d come to expect,” Zinnia said fervently. “Again, thank you.” She looked between them anxiously. “Will you get in trouble with the elders for what you did?”

“What will be, will be,” said Reka philosophically. He certainly didn’t look perturbed.

Dannsair inclined her head. “I am grieved that we did not know of your imprisonment,” she said, and Reka made a noise of agreement.

“It’s over now,” Zinnia said. She looked at them uncertainly. “Right? Idric won’t come back, will he?”

“He will not,” Reka reassured her. “He has been banished, and his return will be barred.”

The last vestige of tension drained from Zinnia’s shoulders. There were no words to describe her relief, and she didn’t try to find any.

“You rattled them, you know,” Reka commented. “The elders.”

“Irattledthem?” Zinnia demanded.

“Not just you,” Dannsair agreed. “All of you. The power displayed today was remarkable. For humans—only two—to be able to hold off a dragon is…surprising.”

“We were barely holding him off,” said Obsidian grimly. “We couldn’t have done so indefinitely, and we couldn’t have held back his fire without your intervention.” He bowed to the creatures. “For which I add my thanks to Zinnia’s.”

The dragons both inclined their heads in acknowledgment.

“Nevertheless,” Reka said calmly, “your power is growing. In a few short generations, there is no telling what humans may be capable of.” His eyes passed to Zinnia. “I don’t know if you comprehend what you did today—unlikely, as I do not fully comprehend it, and my intellect far surpasses yours.”

Zinnia exchanged an amused look with Obsidian, taking this unflattering observation in good part.

“It was truly incredible to behold your triumph over Idric’s magic,” Reka continued. “For you to be able to activate your spark, and use it to actually fight for you against the invasion of the foreign magic…I do not know if any human has ever unlocked the secrets of their spark before.”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’ve unlocked any secrets,” Zinnia said wryly. “You’re absolutely right that I don’t understand what I did, and I doubt I could figure out how to do it again. I just grasped that however he might manipulate me, Idric couldn’t actually compel me—it was like I discovered an…inherent freedom that couldn’t be taken from me. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

“That explanation is as good as any, I would say,” Reka commented. “I would even call it surprisingly sophisticated for a human.” His eyes were solemn as they rested on her face. “Another description would be to say you called on a power older and stronger than our magic. You awoke something unquenchable within you.”

Dannsair nodded. “Unquenchable…or put another way, eternal. Dragons must choose whether to last in our own forms, or to last through passing our seed to offspring, relinquishing our forms to do so. You are allowed no such choice, and yet you were all made with something eternal within you, something that endures regardless even of your deaths. Your spark, your spirit…it is your birthright. It is an image of something beautiful, and it calls to us, although we do not understand it.”

Zinnia and Obsidian exchanged another look, unsure how to respond. Zinnia felt a little awed, but also strengthened somehow. It was strange how all this talk of ethereal, intangible spirits made her feel more solid, more confident than she’d ever felt before.

Reka let out a sigh, tiny sparks flying from his jaws. “Regardless of how we describe the incident, the fact remains that one of the elders witnessed it. And it will be the subject of much rumination within the colony, of that I have no doubt.”

“Rekavidur,” Dannsair said placidly, “I believe our purpose for attending this wedding is complete. We never congratulated the bride and groom, but in the circumstances, I am sure Zinnia will be willing to convey our felicitations.” She gave Zinnia a calm smile. “We will look forward to our next meeting, down by the shore.”

And just like that, the two dragons took to the air, leaving Zinnia and Obsidian alone in the trampled garden.

Once the pair faded from sight, Zinnia turned slowly to find Obsidian watching her with those intense dark eyes.

“Thanks for saving my life,” she said matter-of-factly. “Again.”

He didn’t smile. “Thanks for somehow not dying,” he responded curtly. “Again.”

She grimaced. “I would like some peace and quiet for a while, I think.”

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