Run and Touch the Sky

by Melissa Giorgio

  But, no, Senia was spitting mad as she lashed forward with her tail, narrowly avoiding hitting Aristo in the head. “Don’t ever speak to me again,” she hissed before storming out of his den.

  Aristo at least had the decency to seem embarrassed. “I thought she enjoyed my company.”

  Trey coughed uncomfortably and rolled his eyes when I glanced at him. Maybe I had this all wrong. Maybe Aristo wasn’t flirting; maybe he was just so full of himself that he genuinely thought allowing Senia to see him each day was a gift.

  It was probably that.

  Males.

  “Come on, Goose,” I said, clicking my tongue. The smaller dragon honked goodbye to his father and followed us outside the cave. I walked fast, hoping to find Senia before she took off. She was our ride home and it was way too hot to even consider walking down the mountain today.

  Behind me, Trey muttered, “Dragons are weird.”

  I couldn’t help but agree.

  ***

  Senia remained angry with all of us for weeks. Fortunately, it didn’t stop her from visiting with Goose nearly every day. I think she realized at this point it was impossible to keep us apart, no matter how furious she was that I’d accidentally named her nephew after a bird.

  As the weather grew hotter and the days longer, Goose grew bigger. First he was the size of a large dog, then a small horse. I missed the days where he could sit in my lap; if I’d known he’d grow so fast, I would have held him much more than I did.

  He didn’t speak, however. I’d asked Senia when she thought Goose would start talking, but she pretended like she didn’t hear me.

  “Maybe speech comes later,” Trey said. “Or maybe Senia doesn’t know. She was one of the last dragons to be hatched, remember?”

  That was true. I wouldn’t let it bother me. Goose would talk when he was ready to. Until then, I was perfectly fine deciphering his honks and facial expressions. I’d gotten very good at that, enough that Trey told me it was creepy, like I was able to read the dragon’s mind. Never mind that he was almost just as good at understanding Goose’s mannerisms. I may have—possibly—bonded with Goose, but Trey didn’t even need a bond to know what was going on. So who was actually the creepy one?

  Speaking of the bond… We actually didn’t speak of it. I was too afraid to ask Senia, let alone Aristo, about it. As much as Trey and I were convinced there was one between me and Goose, what if we were wrong? It wasn’t like we were dragon experts. Goose might have just imprinted on me; I was the first thing he’d seen after he’d hatched. I just… I’d gotten so used to the idea that Goose was mine, and I his, that the thought of being wrong was too painful to consider.

  All too soon the days began shortening, the air cooling. The trees in the forest began turning. From the top of the mountains, Senia said it looked like the city was ringed in fire. Bright splashes of oranges, reds, and yellows carpeted the ground as the leaves fell, which Goose loved playing in. Trey and I would spend hours building piles of leaves for the dragon to dive into with an excited honk that echoed off the trees. If the leaves were wet from the rain, they would stick to Goose’s body like feathers, which amused all of us to no end. While Trey and I were bent over laughing, Goose would sneak up behind us and shake his long, gray body like a dog, causing wet leaves to fly in all directions. Most ended up on us; from an early age, my dragon loved getting us dirty.

  “You really need to break him of this habit,” Trey complained as he peeled a yellow leaf off his nose. Goose danced around Trey’s feet, trying to snatch the leaf from my best friend’s hand.

  “Goose, don’t!” I said. “You can’t eat the leaves. They make your stomach hurt, remember?”

  Goose gave me a look that clearly said, “You’re no fun” and skulked away.

  “See?” I gestured toward the retreating dragon. “This is why I can’t tell him no about anything! Did you see the look he gave me?”

  “Since when are you so soft-hearted?” Trey asked as he shook a rock free from his boot. A couple of leaves fell out as well. “How did he get leaves in my boot?”

  “Soft-hearted? What about you?”

  Trey put his boot back on. “What about me?”

  “Remember the other day when you were starving and couldn’t wait to eat your sandwich, and Goose sat in front of you and begged and you handed it right over?”

  “I couldn’t say no!” Trey protested. “Have you seen how he looks at you when he begs? His eyes get all big and teary! Only a monster would say no to that.” Trey blinked. “Oh. I get it.”

  “I can’t say no to him because I feel bad,” I said. “He’ll never know his mother. And he got stuck with me.”

  “That is pretty bad,” Trey cracked. His eyes widened when I charged him, and even though he tried to move out of the way, he wasn’t fast enough. As Trey went flying into another leaf pile, Goose came running back, leapt into the air, and landed on top of Trey.

  “Goose!” I said, laughing. “Don’t squish Trey!”

  My dragon honked happily, his tail wagging and smacking against Trey’s face.

  “Ow. Goose. Ow! Stop it!” Trey tried to get up, but he couldn’t with the dragon lying across his torso. “Neri!”

  I clutched my chest dramatically. “But Trey, I can’t say no to Goose, not when he’s looking at me with those big, teary eyes!”

  “I hate you!”

  I waited a whole minute before whistling sharply. Goose got up and trotted over to my side, grinning. Trey slowly sat up, grumbling the entire time, which I ignored. “So, what do you say, buddy?” I asked Goose. “Want to try flying again?”

  Goose let out a high-pitched honk and raced away into the forest.

  I watched him go, sighing. When Senia finally decided to talk to me again, she kept her sentences short and to the point. She’d informed me she was trying to teach Goose how to fly. It usually came naturally to dragons, but my poor dragon had had an unfortunate incident involving an updraft and the sharp side of the mountain, and now he refused to try again. Senia had told him repeatedly that he wouldn’t be able to visit me in the winter if he didn’t know how to fly. She was fine with him walking down the mountain while the weather was still calm, but once the mountains were covered in ice and snow, it was flying or nothing. “And only on clear days,” Senia warned. “I’ll tie him up in his cave if I have to.”

  I had to agree with her on that. It was bad enough when Goose had walked down the mountain when he’d still been a hatchling. He could have slipped and fallen to his death or been eaten by a wild animal. Even though he’d grown so much since then, I still didn’t like the idea of him traveling when the weather conditions were poor. Secretly, I hoped he’d visit me and then a snowstorm would strike, grounding him in Meradell indefinitely. He could help me build snow forts and I’d teach him how to shovel by using his tail to sweep aside piles of snow. Something told me he’d love that.

  But I doubted that scenario, where Goose was trapped in the city due to a snowstorm, would ever happen, nor did I really want it to. Goose needed to learn how to fly, and putting it off would only harm him in the long run. Senia’s words weren’t getting through to Goose. Exasperated, she’d come to me for help, like I knew the first thing about flying.

  I’d tried gently asking him about it, but that approach hadn’t worked at all. Combine that with the fact that, not only could I not say no to my dragon, but I also couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to do, and the amount of progress we’d made was a big fat zero. Every morning when I woke up, I checked for frost on the ground with dread in my heart. The moment it snowed, Senia would keep Goose up in the mountains, and I wouldn’t see him again until the spring.

  In the past few weeks I’d been handling my grief better, but the thought of spending an entire winter away from Goose was enough to send me spiraling back to my dark place. I’d only just emerged and had no intention of returning, but what was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like I could chuck Goose off a mountain and
hope for the best. I needed help from someone who knew what they were doing when it came to dragons.

  Someone like Nicolas.

  We were civil now, not quite friends, but I’d seen him in the city a few times and we’d always stopped to talk. He’d asked about Goose and always reminded me I could come to him with any questions. Nicolas and Maya had flown with Aristo and Aster. Maybe Nicolas could offer me some pointers.

  “Oh no,” Trey said as he plucked a leaf from his hair. “I know that look. You just had an idea, and I’m not sure I want to hear it.”

  I took a deep breath and blurted out, “I want to see if Nic will help us teach Goose how to fly.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I don’t know what I’m doing!” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “All I’ve done is scare him, Trey. Nic’s actually been flying with Aristo. He knows more about it than I ever will. If he can help… I have to try.” I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to start crying. “I can’t go the entire winter without seeing Goose.”

  Trey’s expression softened. “All right. It’s a good idea, actually. Let’s go find Nic and see if he can help.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We stood on the beach, the sun a fiery orb already making its descent toward the horizon. By the time we’d coaxed Goose out of the forest, found Nicolas, explained my plan, and gathered up supplies, it was already late afternoon. We’d only have an hour, two tops, before sunset. Nicolas wasn’t worried. He was convinced we’d get Goose flying in no time, and if it took longer than he expected, he said the full moon would provide enough light for us to see by.

  “So, I’m no expert,” Nicolas said cautiously as we watched Goose splashing in the water, “but flying is second nature to dragons. He should pick it up in no time. We just need to help him get over his initial fear. That’s why we’re at the beach instead of the mountains. If you fell once, you wouldn’t want to try again, right?”

  I thought about my dizzying ascent by foot, and how hard it’d been to keep going. Then I tried to imagine falling and I shuddered. I would never leave the ground again.

  But if I wanted to continue seeing Goose, then I had to help him along. Truthfully, I was glad Nicolas had suggested the beach instead of the mountains. I’d only been back that one time, to tell Aristo how I’d accidentally named his son after a bird, and it’d been extremely difficult. Senia had kept us away from the cave where our sisters had died, but Maya’s presence was still everywhere. I kept thinking about all the things she’d promised to show me, and how we’d never have that chance now. Maybe, someday, I’d go back to explore, alongside Goose and Trey, but right now it was still too hard.

  I snapped out of my reverie as Goose leapt into the ocean, spraying the three of us with saltwater. As Trey complained loudly, Nicolas wiped his face clean. “Sorry,” I told him. “I should have warned you. Goose likes getting us dirty.”

  Nicolas grinned. “It’s all right. I like seeing him have fun. He’s like an oversized puppy.”

  “Goose, come here.” I waved him over, flinching when Goose shook his body, effectively drenching us again. Glaring at him, I asked, “Are you done?”

  Goose honked in affirmation.

  “You remember Nic, right?” I asked as Nicolas held up a hand. “He’s here to help you learn how to fly.”

  Goose’s face changed, growing fearful, and he turned to bolt.

  “Wait!” Trey and I jumped in front of him, already anticipating this. Goose honked and tried to veer around us, his eyes wide. It killed me, seeing him like that, and I put down my arms and let him charge down the beach. Sighing, I looked at Nicolas. “You see what I mean? You just mention the word to him and he’s gone.”

  Nicolas frowned. “Let’s go talk to him.”

  “What are you going to say?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll think of something.” The three of us trudged down the beach, the sand shifting quietly under our feet. Goose was curled up in a ball, and even his wings were pressed tightly against his back as he gave me a mournful look. My heart breaking, I ran up to him and pressed a kiss in the middle of his scaly forehead.

  “Sorry,” I whispered to him. “I’m only trying to help. I swear.”

  Goose grumbled in response.

  “Hey, Goose.” Nicolas sat down cross-legged in front of the dragon. Trey remained standing, staring out at the ocean, and I slid down next to Goose, pressing my back against his warm body. He shifted, moving his tail so it wrapped loosely around me. It was his way of saying he wasn’t mad at me.

  “I get that you’re scared,” Nicolas started. When Goose made an annoyed noise, Nicolas held up his hands. “Wait. Let me finish. It’s all right to be scared. Flying is a big deal. There’s nothing between you and the ground, and all you have to support you are those wings.”

  Goose snorted and I couldn’t help but agree. Was Nicolas trying to help Goose, or frighten him even further?

  “But that’s what makes it so amazing,” Nicolas continued. “The fact that you can fly with just those wings. Do you realize how lucky you are? You can go anywhere and see anything. Meanwhile, we humans have to walk everywhere. Or ride horses. Or get on a boat and sail out there for months on end and hope we don’t run out of fresh water before we reach land.” He pointed to the ocean. “Being a human is very tedious, you know.”

  “Don’t you feel bad for me?” I asked Goose, giving him a sad, sorry expression. My dragon rolled his eyes, but I could tell he was listening.

  Nicolas brushed some sand from his arm. “According to Neri, your aunt Senia is threatening to keep you in the mountains for the entire winter, and that’s just sad, Goose. Do you really want to spend three, four months trapped up there when you could be exploring Meradell and beyond with Neri, Trey, and me?”

  Cocking his head sideways, Goose gave me a look that said, I didn’t think of that.

  “Meradell is really pretty in the winter,” I said. “We can build a snow fort and have a snowball fight with Trey. He really likes it when you shove ice-cold snow down his coat.”

  “Hey!” Trey’s head snapped toward us. “I do not!”

  Goose laughed, his body vibrating next to mine.

  “It sounds nice, doesn’t it?” Nicolas asked. “And just think about the view! Meradell covered in a blanket of snow, like icing on a cake. Don’t you want to see that, Goose?” When my dragon didn’t answer, Nicolas prodded further. “Don’t you want to see Neri?”

  Goose wore a guilty expression. It’s not you, he seemed to be saying. I want to see you. But I’m scared.

  “I’m scared, too,” I said. “But I’ll be with you the entire time. And, when you’re a little older and bigger, I’ll ride on your back if you want.”

  When his blue eyes brightened, I realized I’d sparked his interest. Fighting back a smile, I exchanged a look with Nicolas. “So, what do you say, Goose?” Nicolas asked. “Want to try?”

  My dragon stood and stretched out his wings, testing them. There was a slight breeze that caused his wings to twitch. The red markings flashed in the setting sun and I couldn’t help but wonder how different things would be if Aster were still alive. Would she be the one teaching Goose how to fly?

  Maybe he wouldn’t be so frightened if he had her… instead of me.

  Goose’s tail whipped out, wrapping around my waist and pulling me to him. I stumbled, landing against his body. When I glanced up, Goose was staring at me, his blue eyes serious. In that unblinking stare, I could tell he was scolding me, as if he knew what I’d been thinking about.

  Across from us, Nicolas sucked in a sharp breath, breaking the spell. I pulled away from Goose, scolding him for tripping me to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. “Go on,” I told Goose. “Go learn how to fly.”

  He snorted, as if saying, We’re not done talking about this.

  After watching us for a moment longer, Nicolas raced down the beach and drew a line in the sand with his foot. Then he came back to us and instructed Go
ose to run up until that point. “When you reach the line, jump.”

  “Jump?” Trey asked skeptically. “That’s it? Jump and you’ll fly?”

  Nicolas flushed. “I’m… I’m not an expert here, you know! But that’s how I’ve seen the others take off!”

  “But what about his wings?” Trey shot back. “You didn’t even mention what he should do with those! Jumping isn’t what’s going to get him into the air!”

  “Obviously, he needs to use his wings!”

  “Then why didn’t you say so?”

  “Because that’s instinctual!” Nicolas threw his hands up.

  At this point, they were shouting at one another while Goose shrunk back, making himself smaller and smaller. I took one look at him and said, “Hey! Enough!”

  The boys followed my gaze to my dragon and immediately looked guilty.

  Embarrassed, Trey scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, Goose. We’re not yelling at you.”

  “He knows that.” I patted Goose. “Right? Your Uncle Trey and Uncle Nic just want to help.”

  “We’re his uncles now?” Trey asked.

  I ignored him. “But we’re not going to force you to do anything you’re not ready to do.” Goose was watching me, his head cocked sideways. “If you want to wait, we can wait.”

  “It’ll be winter before you know it,” Trey warned.

  “Trey!”

  “What?” He raised his brows innocently, but I caught a spark of mischief in his eyes. “It’s like Nic said, winter’s coming, and Goose will be stuck up in the mountains for all those long months with only Aristo and Senia and a bunch of other dragons for company. And how can they compare to us?” Trey shrugged and began walking away. “Hopefully, we won’t forget about you, Goose, but we might.”

  Holding my breath, I glanced at my dragon, sensing his irritation. His tail was swishing back and forth, carving a path in the sand, while his body was angled low to the ground, like he was ready to pounce. But already Trey was too far away; if Goose were to jump, he wouldn’t come close to landing on my friend. That seemed to annoy the dragon even further. With a low growl, he took off at a run, chasing after Trey. His footsteps were loud against the sand and Trey turned, shouting in surprise as the dragon bounded toward him. Goose’s wings were extended, flapping, and when the dragon leapt, instead of pouncing, he went airborne.