Page 63 of Stolen By Dragons

"Welcome," she began, her voice carrying easily over the excited chatter of people and dragons alike. "We have much to discuss about the path forward."

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to the two Dracarians standing before us. The table they usually sat at with other Dracarians was empty, and I wondered where they all were. Even the dragons seemed to sense the importance of the moment, settling onto shoulders or nearby perches.

Eirian stepped forward, his presence commanding attention without effort. "Your training will continue," he announced, "but with a new focus. You will be working alongside your dragons, learning to guide and direct their abilities."

A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd. Beside me, Zephyr grinned, his silver dragon performing a delighted loop-de-loop above his head.

"To facilitate this," Eirian continued, his voice cutting through the excited whispers, "we will be altering your living quarters to better accommodate your dragons. Each room will be equipped with a water station, and your dragons will join you here for meals each day."

I glanced at my dragon, wondering how it would adapt to living in my room. It had been one thing to have it with me for a night, but permanently? The thought was both exciting and daunting.

Elowen took over, her tone serious. "The training area will be released from the Keep's magic, allowing your dragons to use their breath abilities. It is crucial that you learn to guide them in this. The prophecy spoke of riders, and it seems that role has fallen to you."

A laugh cut through the room, sharp and disbelieving. I turned to see one of the others, a tall man with a mop of brown hair, shaking his head. "Riders? How is that possible? They're barely bigger than house-cats!"

His dragon, a russet-colored creature, chirped indignantly at the comparison.

Elowen's expression remained calm, but I saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. "We don't know how quickly they will grow," she admitted. "But we must have faith in the old magic. It has brought us this far."

Her words hung in the air, a reminder of how much was unknown, how much we were relying on prophecy and ancient magic. I felt a weight settle in my stomach. We were meant to save two worlds, and we were pinning our hopes on creatures that, at the moment, could probably fit in a large handbag.

As we made our way to the training area for our first session with the dragons after food, I couldn't shake the sense of nervous anticipation mixed with the ever-growing guilt as Chris remained by my side. My dragon, still perched on my shoulder, seemed to pick up on my mood, nuzzling against my cheek with a soft chirp.

"It's okay," I murmured, reaching up to stroke its scales.

Maybe its strength could help me come clean to Chris. Did I need to end things with him? What did my moment with Ossian mean? Was it just what he’d said, some feeding thing? Or was it something more? Did he have feelings for me as well?

I was just beyond grateful he hadn’t tried to approach me yet. I prayed it stayed that way while I figured all of this out. Hell, maybe I needed to talk to him and see what the deal was before talking to Chris. What it had been, if anything.

I shoved down my messy thoughts as we reached the training area, which had been transformed since our last visit. The space now featured various obstacles and targets in the air, presumably for the dragons to practice their abilities. The air felt different too, charged with a kind of energy that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

"Alright, everyone," Eirian called out once we had assembled, several other Dracarians littered around the area watchfully. "Let's see what your dragons can do. Focus on connecting with them, guiding them to use their abilities."

All around me, people began encouraging their dragons. Chris's earth dragon stomped its foot, causing a small mound of dirt to rise from the ground. Lydia's water dragon spat a perfect sphere of water into the air, where it hovered like a suspended raindrop.

I turned to my own dragon, which had fluttered down to stand before me. "Okay," I said softly, trying to projectconfidence I didn't feel. "Let's give this a try. Can you show me what you can do?"

The dragon tilted its head, regarding me with those deep purple eyes, but did nothing. I felt a flicker of frustration, quickly followed by worry. Was I doing something wrong?

"Come on," I urged, trying to project encouragement. "I know you can do something amazing."

Still nothing. The frustration grew as I watched the other dragons performing increasingly impressive feats and maneuvering through the obstacles set out for them in the air.

I found Ossian across the room, his dragon spewing flames tinged with black, but his gaze caught mine, and a smile touched his lips, making my stomach flip.

No, I needed to focus on my dragon and this impending battle, not my stupid feelings.

Lydia, noticing my struggle, came over with her dragon, her face etched with concern. "Having trouble?" she asked gently. “You seem off, is it just all of this?”

I nodded, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice. "It won't do anything. I don't know if I'm not explaining it right, or..." I wanted to focus on one issue at a time, and explaining my dramas with the two men was not something I felt up to doing right now.

"Maybe seeing another dragon might help," she suggested kindly. "Show Aria's dragon what you can do," she instructed her own.

The water dragon turned to mine, creating another floating sphere of water. My dragon watched with what looked like polite interest, but made no move to mimic the display.

As the training session wore on, I couldn't help but notice that some of the dragons seemed to be growing before our very eyes. This hadn’t gone unnoticed by Eirian, who was walkingthrough the group, talking with those whose dragons seemed to have grown most, a smile now on his face.

The other Dracarians looked just as eager about this change, and Zephyr was grinning as he pointed out the obvious change in his dragon to us.

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