And as I was climbing up the long tunnel that led out of the mountain, Jasper yelled after me, ‘Don’t forget to give my letter to the princess!’
Grandfather was still shaking his head over that as I emerged into the open air, to the spot where he’d been waiting for me. ‘Oh, my hatchlings. What you’ve both come to …’
But he held out one massive forefoot, just like always, and I curled myself happily against his warm, scaly chest as both of his forelegs closed around me, holding me safe behind his giant claws.
A moment later, his great wings were beating against the air. We flew up together into the cold, clear sky in the early twilight, soaring high above the mountainside towards Drachenburg.
In a few years – well, possibly as many as thirty years, if Mother really did have her way – I’d finally be able to fly myself back and forth from our mountain to the city. Perhaps I ought to have been furious about how long I would have to wait. In the old days, after all, it had driven me wild not to be allowed to rely on my own wings yet. But just now, after everything that I’d been through …
The truth was, it felt absolutely fine to look down at the trees and the mountainside below from the shelter of my grandfather’s big claws, with his strong wings sweeping out around us as darkness crept across the sky. In fact, as I looked down on that rocky mountainside where my life had changed forever, I had to admit: if I ever saw that rascally food mage again …
Well, I certainly wouldn’t thank him. I was a dragon, not a worm! But I wouldn’t flame him either … because I wouldn’t change what I had now for the world.
Soon, of course, Grandfather would be leaving me again, in the city square closest to the Chocolate Heart, which was always cleared in preparation for his arrival. But even after he flew away, I wouldn’t mind being apart from my family any more. After all, I knew I’d be back on my next afternoon off, in only seven days. And in the meantime …
Mmm. When I closed my eyes, I could already imagine what would be waiting for me in the kitchen of the Chocolate Heart when I walked back inside in my human form tonight.
The smell of roasting cocoa beans would fill the air, and Marina would be standing by the stove, ready to teach me a new recipe.
Resting in my grandfather’s claws, I breathed a happy line of smoke from my nose and dreamed of chocolate all the way home.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you so much to my older son for asking me to tell him the story of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart as I wrote it, for drawing dozens of fabulous alternative book covers along the way and for talking so enthusiastically about the story with me as we sat eating chocolate cakes in our favourite cafe. I love sharing my stories with you! And I can’t wait for you to share your own stories with the world.
Thank you to both of my sons for sharing and expanding my love of dragons and for helping me to wrestle with our obstreperous printer until it finally spat out working copies for my edits. You guys made me laugh and have fun with the process … and my edits got done in time after all. Whew!
Thank you so much to everyone who beta-read raw, first-draft chapters of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart and cheered me on: Patrick Samphire, Jenn Reese, Deva Fagan, Rene Sears and Beth Bernobich. I can’t even tell you guys just how much your support meant to me! And I’m so grateful to everyone who critiqued all or part of the finished manuscript: Ying Lee, Patrick Samphire, Deva Fagan, R.J. Anderson, Susie Day, David Burgis, Laura Florand, Jenn Reese and Tricia Sullivan. I appreciate your help so much!
I owe a huge debt of thanks to my fabulous agent, Molly Ker Hawn, for believing in my book and in me, for giving me such great edits pre-submission and for selling this book so beautifully. Thank you, Molly! There isn’t enough chocolate in the world to show all of my appreciation.
Thank you so much to my wonderful editors, Ellen Holgate and Sarah Shumway, for giving Aventurine a perfect home at Bloomsbury, and for helping me to tell her story as well as possible. I’m so grateful for the smart, thoughtful and thorough edits and for the great brain-storming help. And thank you so much to Vicky Leech for your fabulous organisational skills (and great taste in chocolate, too)!
I owe a big thanks to Talya Baker for careful copy-editing of the manuscript, and to Helen Vick for managing the editorial process and sharing wonderful musical recommendations.
Thank you so much to the Royal Literary Foundation, without whose generous support I would never have been able to write this book in the first place.
And, as always, thank you so much to my husband, Patrick Samphire, for supporting me every step of the way – and for making me the best hot chocolates, always. I’m so lucky to be married to you!
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi and Sydney
First published in Great Britain in February 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
This electronic edition published in September 2016
www.bloomsbury.com
BLOOMSBURY is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Text copyright © Stephanie Burgis Samphire 2017
Illustrations copyright © Freya Hartas 2017
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 4088 8030 2
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