Page 75 of Scalebound

“So there’s not a set ability or ‘maxz’?” Damian also questioned.

“Unfortunately, no. You will have to find it out with yourself and Belle.” I was trying to process what that meant.

“So, how do I accomplish that?” How was I supposed to figure out whatmaxzwe had together?

“Don’t you have your ownmaxz, Belle? Is it different?”

“TheMachmuabreed normally depends on their riders. It’s not that difficult to understand,” Angie stated, continuing to make me feel stupid.

“You never told me this? You have no maxz? Is that why your father made you leave your division? It was never about your hurt foot, was it?”

Belle’s head hung low. She was in regret.

“Belle, zemoumai5,”I apologized.“I didn’t mean to be so brash. I just have felt very betrayed recently.”She knew thatI was talking about Damian. The intensity from Angie wasn’t helping, either.

I didn’t want to process that Damian had betrayed me. All I could think about was that our relationship meant nothing to him. I shook my head, pushing the thoughts away. I knew we were trying to move on from it, but it was still difficult.“Zemoumai,”I apologized again.“It’s not about you. You know that I will always take you as you are. Whoever or whatever you are,”I said, realizing that was all I had ever wished someone would say to me—especially my parents.

“There’s something else I should tell you.”

“What else is there, Belle?”I was serious when I said that I would be there for her, no matter who or what she was.

“My name is not Blue Belle,”she said, sadness dripping in her voice. I always assumed this. Blue Belle was not in theSatas Lermalanguage. However, if she wanted to be called something else, I didn’t mind–especially since it was her connected name I had heard when she saved me.

“What’s your real name?”I asked, curious to know why sweet small Belle would ever change her name.

“Nashmeii6,”she whispered, entirely ashamed by the name her division had given her.

Nothing.

Her name was nothing.

“Belle, you’re my everything,”I said, holding what I could of her body between my arms. “Uanai7,” I repeated.“I am going to call you my ua. My everything.”Emotions were rising in her golden eyes, shimmering like golden dewdrops on delicate petals. The weight of them hung heavy in the air, threatening to overflow like a river breaking through its dam. My arms raised, brushing against her scales in an attempt to comfort her.

“Let’s do this,” I said out loud, ready to prove how invincible Belle was to the world.

1.Maxzq (Mahz-eck): Abilities

2.Clanstan (Clawn-stahn): Ice

3.Maxz (Mahz): Ability

4.Machmuax (Mock-mwah): Connection

5.Zemoumai (Ehm-ow-may): Sorry

6.Nashmeii (Nosh-mee): Nothing

7.Uanai (Wah-nay): Everything

Chapter fifty-one

AURELIA

“First, for themaxz1to work, you must physically touch the dragon. This is why it is referred to as Scalebound. It is the connection with your dragon. Your dragon could, however, use themaxzwithout you, besides Belle,” she said, referring to Belle and me. That meant that any other dragon could use its own abilities, but for the rider to use them, they had to be riding or touching the dragon.

Angie was about to show us an example with her dragon–part of theMaimaux2 breed–which was the color of sunflowers, her yellow scales glowing in the light. Her snout pointed to a sharp tip, almost like a bird's beak.

I remembered studying theMaimauxbreed, not realizing it was also the name of the element ‘wind.’ I remembered reading about their beaks and how they didn’t have any teeth in their mouth until their throat, where there was a pit of razor-sharp teeth along the sides of their esophagus.

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