Page 42 of Monster's Pet

“We should get ready,” Rhiannon said, petting Dip on her eye ridges. “Are the dragons coming with us?”

“I’ll ask Lilia when she comes to get changed,” I said.

“See you in ten,” Rhiannon said as she left me alone in my room.

I put away my textbook before grabbing fleece-lined jeans, thick woolen socks, and a dark blue sweater, layering them over thinner nylon clothing. I was sweating by the time I was ready to go.

Lilia and Hazel burst into the room and hurried to get ready so that I wouldn’t die of the heat. I wrapped a scarf around my neck and pulled on thick mittens before grabbing my skates, which would attach with buckles over my boots.

“And you thoughtIwas going to be the one slowing you all down,” I teased.

“Hush,” Hazel said, pulling on her third sweater. “I’m almost ready.”

“Just two more layers?”

Lilia laughed. “Do you two want to come skating with us?” she asked her dragons.

Pinkie Pie chirped and swooped down to curl around her neck like a living scarf. Dip, much to my surprise, landed on my shoulder and gripped my ear with one tiny claw.

“Aw, she loves you,” Lilia said with a smile. “Don’t get too attached, Dip darling. You’re still coming home with me.”

Dip squeaked and bobbed her head a couple times, as if she were agreeing with Lilia, and I wondered exactly how much these dragonettes understood.

“Okay, I’m ready!” Hazel announced.

I stifled my laughter. “But can you move?”

My friend looked about five times thicker, thanks to her many layers.

“Mostly,” she admitted.

“You can always take off layers if you need to, I suppose,” I said, opening the door. “Let’s meet the others.”

Everyone else was waiting in the common room at the top of the stairs, and they stood up from chairs when we arrived.

“What took you so long?” Aiden greeted me. “Get lost in the spell after Rhiannon left?”

“No. I’ll have you know I was ready five minutes before these two even got to our room. I’m sweltering! Let’s get outside before I melt into a puddle!”

Our group piled down the stairs and out the castle, heading for the waterfront. The Dragon Polo arena was steaming in the cold air, the water heated for the safety of the dragons and their riders. The air inside the arena was warmed as well, so that nobody froze to death from icy winds.

We, however, were heading for a section of the sea nearby. It wasn’t connected to the sports arena, to prevent accidents. This area was an inlet, stabilized from any waves and frozen solid all the way to the seabed. No danger of cracked or bumpy ice.

We buckled our skates onto our boots and joined our schoolmates on the ice.

My ankles wobbled a bit as I got used to the gliding motion.

Aiden took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You okay?” he asked in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I tried to smile reassuringly at him, but I think it came out as a grimace. “Not used to being on skates.”

He grinned. “Wait, hang on... Did we just find something else that I’m better at than you?”

I wanted to swat at him, but he was too far away and I’d probably fall flat on my ass. “I’m far from perfect,” I grumbled.

“You’re perfect for me,” Aiden said, doing something fancy with his feet until he was skating backward in front of me. He grabbed my second hand and pressed a kiss to the exposed skin at my wrist. “I don’t mind being better than you at one or two things.”

“I don’t mind you being better either,” I said, trying to explain myself. “I just don’t like not being good at them in general.”

---