Page 100 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
She had to do this. So Saphira pushed on.
Until a gust of wind blew against her, and she slipped.
Her stomach turned, heart stopping—but she caught herself at the last moment.
Snow fell off the side of the steps, and she looked over, watching the snow disappear into the clouds. She swallowed hard, pressing a hand to her chest. Saphira tried to stay calm, gathering up the courage to keep going, despite the fear beating through her.
And then she heard Aiden’s voice, calling her name. Saphira blinked. The voice was distant, so she must have imagined it.
But then she heard it again.
Saphira looked to the side, and through the clouds, there he was.
Aiden was riding Torch, Sparky in the dragon’s paw.
“Aiden!” she cried, surprised.
“Saphira, my god,” he said, voice ragged. Torch stopped beside the steps so that she was eye level with Aiden. His face was pale, his eyes shining. “Are you alright?” His voice broke. He surveyed her, inspecting for any damage. “Please, let’s go home.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, inspecting him as well. “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket?”
“You’re going to kill me,” Aiden said, ignoring her questions. “You don’t have to do this, you have nothing to prove. Sparky loves you; he’s just as much yours as he is mine. He’s the one who found you! And dragons can only track their riders; he could only do that because you are his.”
He broke off, emotional.
“Saphira, I love you.” His eyes welled with tears. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, voice thick with emotion.
“Please, let me take you home,” he begged. “I just want you to be safe. If anything happens to you, I will actually die.”
Guilt needled through her. She hated to see Aiden so worried; it was why she hadn’t told him she was doing this. She had thought she would be home by the time he realized she was missing.
“I’m sorry, Aiden,” she said, choking up. “But I have to do this—I have to prove it to myself, if no one else.”
Aiden’s face broke. He looked troubled as he thought something over, and she braced for him to argue with her, for him to try and force her to go home.
But he only released a long breath, resigned. “Okay.” He swallowed. “Even though it’s killing me, if this is something you are adamant about, I won’t stop you.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Saphira expected Aiden to fly back to Mount Echo then, but he surprised her by turning Torch to face upwards, parallel to her path.
“Let me watch your back, at least,” he said. “If you fall, I’ll be here to catch you, I promise.”
He was with her, supporting her, watching her. She felt a new sense of strength.
So she continued on.
Chapter 28
Slowly, painfully, Saphira climbed the rest of the way up, and this time, she wasn’t afraid. Aiden was right beside her, watching her with quiet concentration, and she knew that if she so much as slipped, he would leap out to catch her, even if it meant that he fell in the process.
Luckily, she made it to the top without any more hiccups.
Once she did, Aiden landed Torch, then leapt off, running straight to her. Sparky was behind him, coming out of Torch’s paw. Before she could even react, he swept her into his arms, hugging her tight.
He buried his nose against her neck, his breathing uneven. She could feel just how scared he was.
