“He’ll get his special abilities, and that’ll tell us.” The boy absently scratched under his dragon’s chin with a fingertip before continuing. “If he breathes fire, obviously he’s a red. If he shoots a bolt of lightning at something, he’s a yellow. That kind of thing.”
“My uncle is also a dragon rider,” Liza murmured. “He’s told me that riders develop their abilities before their dragons do.”
“Dragon riders have abilities?” Will asked, leaning forward.
“Not like the dragons do,” she clarified. “But red dragon riders don’t get burned except in extreme heat. Blue riders never need to wear a coat, even in the Frozen Peaks, because cold doesn’t bother them. Green riders can’t be poisoned, and yellow riders can’t be shocked.”
“It’s true,” Rin said from her seat at the corner of the table. She had her new red dragon cradled in her arm like a baby. “Since I bonded with him, I don’t feel nearly as hot as I did when we first got her. It’s like, I can still feel the heat, but it feels the way heat does when you’ve been outside in the cold too long. It feels nice.” She raised her eyes to Will with a small smile. “But I don’t think any of that matters right now. We should all just be happy that our dragons chose us. Let’s enjoy the moment.”
Will smiled back at her. Then he realized he was no longer as hot as he had felt before. The warm air surrounding him no longer felt like a midsummer day, more like a gentle spring evening. The heat radiating from the stone under his feet felt like the temperature of a pleasantly hot bath, not like burning pavement.
He’d thought he was more comfortable because he had cooled down from running to the hatching ground and had finally drunk some water, but could it be that his dragon was a red and Will was developing supernatural resistance to heat?
“If he’s a green, he won’t show any abilities until you go to the Poison Plains,” Liza said. “That’s why it’s safe for us to be around the green hatchlings for now. Once they go to their dragonhold, only their riders can get near them.”
“Why’s that?” Will asked. He glanced to the bench in the dark corner of the courtyard where Anri was sitting quietly with her little green dragon in her lap.
“Are you dense?” the boy with the green hatchling asked with a laugh. “Green dragons are poisonous. They swim in poison for fun. If you touch one, what do you think will happen to you?”
Will was still looking at Anri, so he didn’t notice the sound of approaching footsteps behind him. “That’s right. Bathing in and drinking the toxic water gives greens their poison,” Perrin said, sounding like a teacher giving a lecture. “They are perfectly safe to interact with until then, though.”
Will scooted around to smile up at the blue dragon rider. Perrin patted Will on the shoulder and grinned proudly. “Congratulations, dragon rider. Boreas and I were fairly certain that you would bond with a hatchling today, but I never dreamed something like this would happen.” He gestured to the milky white dragon tucked under Will’s chin.
“I didn’t either,” Will admitted with a nervous chuckle.
Perrin nodded. “I came to let you know that a few of my friends and I have been flying around the coast looking for signs of your uncle.”
Will jumped up so quickly he accidentally woke his dragon. The little white dragon lifted his head, blinking his golden eyes at Perrin. A swirl of sleepy confusion tickled the back of Will’s mind.
“You did! Did you find anything?”
Perrin shook his head sadly. “We discovered the wreckage of the raft your family arrived on, but nothing else so far.”
Will’s face fell.
His dragon crooned worriedly, and Will stroked his soft head.
“Don’t give up hope yet,” Perrin said. “There is still much coastline to search. That’s why I also notified the team that’s setting up the rings for this year’s coastal race in the dragon games. They’re happy to stay on the lookout for anything unusual as well.”
Will nodded to Perrin. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. I’m sure my whole family does.”
Perrin gazed thoughtfully at Will’s dragon, then draped an arm over his shoulder. “Come with me a moment.”
Will followed as Perrin drew him away from the table to a quiet place near the mountain wall.
“I know you probably aren’t thinking about much except your new friend right now,” Perrin said, “but you should know that the dragon and city lords are deep in discussion about you and your exceptional hatchling.”
“They are?” Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t all that surprising. The way everyone in Avria talked about the white dragon from long ago like he was some sort of savior, it would surprise him if everyone wasn’t shocked that his dragon was white.
“Most of the lords assume your dragon has a medical condition,” Perrin continued.
“What?” Will glared around, looking for these lords so he could give them a piece of his mind.
Perrin chuckled. “But many of the common folk are spreading rumors that your dragon is a white dragon, like the one of legend, and a sign of some kind.”
Will’s eyes snapped back to Perrin.
“The lords are worried that if people believe he’s a white dragon, they’ll expect you to do something foolish like set yourself up as king. Or they’ll convince people that the rumors of the swarmers' return are true.”
“I would never try to take over Avria!” Will protested.
Another man approached from behind Perrin. Deep chested and gray-haired, he took a deep gulp from the mug in his calloused hand before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “Then you’d better choose what color to call your dragon now.”
“Choose his color?” Will asked, looking down at the creamy white wings of the dragon in his arms.
“We need to stop these rumors in their tracks. It would be foolish for the common folk to believe your dragon marks you as some kind of leader or hero. And it would be a disaster if they believed he signals the return of the swarmers.”
Will remembered how Anri believed the swarmers might return someday, but he decided against saying anything about that. This guy was agitated enough already. “How can I choose a color for him? He doesn’t look like he’s any color.”
Will’s dragon was wobbling his head back and forth, looking at the other little dragons in the other children’s arms. He gazed up into Will’s face with a worried chirp. Do I need to look like them?
“No! Of course not,” Will assured him. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
“Well, he has to be one of the four normal colors, no matter what’s wrong with him,” the old rider continued, gruffly.
“Lamar, we don’t know that anything is wrong with the boy’s dragon,” Perrin said quietly.
“If you can figure out what color he is now, all the better,” Lamar continued, ignoring Perrin. “But if not, it’d be best to tell everyone he’s a pale yellow until you do.”
“Now hold on just a minute.” A woman approached from behind Will.
Will turned and saw that she was much slighter than Lamar, but she carried herself in a way that made her seem to take up a lot of space.
“If the boy’s dragon isn’t a true yellow, there’s no way he or his rider will enjoy living at Lightning Cliffs Dragonhold,” she said, glaring at Lamar.
“He’d be better off there than if he came to the Poison Plains when his dragon isn’t a green,” Lamar growled.
Perrin looked between the two with his lips pressed together in irritation while yet another dragon rider joined them, gently pushing apart Lamar and the woman with a frown.
“Trinley, Lamar, you shouldn’t fight about the boy’s dragon as if he’s a nuisance.” The newcomer was tall and very muscular, like he was a weightlifter. His massive size would have seemed intimidating, but his face was gentle, and his eyes sparkled with kindness.
The two quarreling dragon riders shot the newcomer irritated scowls.
He ignored them and regarded Will with
a friendly smile. “You two are welcome to stay at Fire Mountain Dragonhold if you would like to.”
Perrin, who was leaning against the wall, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That is a kind offer, Brom, but a dragon and rider would hardly feel welcome if they were constantly left out of the lava falls and fireball training routines.”
“Well, of course we wouldn’t require them to train with the others!” Brom paused and nodded with a sigh. “And I suppose I see how that would make them feel left out.”
“The best thing we can do now,” Perrin said, “is let the boy and his dragon go through their basic training here and see what happens. If his dragon doesn’t show any distinguishing abilities or features by the time they’ve finished, let them decide for themselves where they’ll go.”
“But that will take a year! And we need to dispel these rumors immediately!” Lamar snapped.
They continued arguing among themselves and didn’t even seem to notice when Will crept backwards and slinked away with his dragon in his arms.
A little farther down the wall, he found Anri still sitting by herself on a bench. Her little green dragon was curled up on her lap like a cat while Trouble scurried over the ground searching for crumbs of food.
“Hey, Anri,” Will said.
She looked up and smiled softly. “Hi, Will.”
“Can we join you? I’m getting a little overwhelmed with . . . everything.”
In answer, she scooted over to make space for him. “I saw the dragonlords crowding around you,” she said. “What did they want?”
“The dragonlords? Those were the dragonlords?”
“Yes, didn’t you know? Lamar, Brom, Trinley, and Perrin are the four dragonlords. Lexi, Rin, and I met them yesterday.”
Will blinked and gulped. It had never occurred to him that his friend, Perrin, was anyone important. It seemed like Perrin had wanted to keep it that way, or he would have told him.
“I feel bad for Lexi,” Anri said, sounding like the emotion confused her. “I know she’ll be able to go home, and nothing bad will happen to her because she didn’t bond with a dragon, but she really wanted to.”
“Is that why you’re over here by yourself?” Will asked.
Anri shrugged and gently stroked her dragon’s wings with her fingertips. “I’ve never liked parties much. Too many people. Too much noise. I never know what to say, or do, or who to talk to, or what to talk to them about.” She took a deep breath. “I’m mostly worried about my dragon.”
“Why? Is something wrong with her?” Will reached out in alarm.
“No, nothing . . . not really.” She stared at her dragon’s bright green hide, shining like an emerald in the dark. “I’m worried about when she gets her poison.” She looked at Will with tears glistening in her eyes. “Green dragons aren’t safe for people to be around. Only green riders can be around green dragons. I’m afraid I’ll never see my family again, or my friends. I’ll never be able to take my little brother, Jaze, flying. When we go to the Poison Plains—”
“I’ll always be your friend, Anri. You saved my life, you know. That’s not the kind of thing a little poison can erase.”
She chuckled. “And at the same time, I’m so happy to be with her. I’m so grateful she chose me. I’m happier than I ever remember being in my life, even before my father died.”
“I know what you mean.” The little white dragon nestled his head under Will’s chin again, and Will gently stroked his folded wings.
“They were arguing about which dragonhold we should go to,” Will said, nodding his head toward the dragonlords. “Maybe we should go to the Poison Plains to keep you company.”
Anri smiled crookedly. “That would be nice. But don’t forget that if your dragon isn’t a green, the Poison Plains will kill you both.”
She gave his dragon a thoughtful look. “We have a year of training before we go to our dragonholds. Maybe he’ll end up being a green after all.”
Will’s dragon squirmed in his sleep, and Will looked down at his creamy white hide. “Even if he isn’t a green, we can still visit one another, right?”
Anri arched an eyebrow at him.
“Maybe not in the Poison Plains, but we’re dragon riders now. When our dragons are big enough to fly with us, we can go anywhere, can’t we? I’m sure you can see your family again, and your friends. Just because your dragon is a green doesn’t mean you have to stay away from the people you care about. I plan to visit my family as soon as I can. I’m sure they’d like to meet you, too.”
Anri took a deep breath, watching her dragon sleep. When she looked up, she had a small, sad smile on her lips. “I’d like that.”
Will grinned at her.
“So, are you ready for the naming ceremony?” Anri asked him.
Will’s grin shifted to a wince. He’d found out shortly after leaving the hatching ground that they required new dragon riders to name their dragons in a special ceremony the night of Hatching Day.
Most kids had several names they’d been thinking about for years while they searched for their dragon eggs, like parents preparing for the arrival of a new baby.
“I still don’t know what to name him,” he admitted. “Everything I think of sounds cheesy or doesn’t fit.”
Little flickers of emotion, echoes of dreams, fluttered from the little dragon sleeping in his arms. He was glad his dragon was getting the rest he needed, but he kind of wished he would wake up. Maybe his dragon would have an opinion on some of Will’s name ideas.
“I’m sure you’ll think of the perfect name when the time comes.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Will chuckled nervously and ran his free hand through his hair.
He sat and chatted with Anri for a little while longer until his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything that day.
There was still some time before the naming ceremony, so he stood to wander around the stalls of food. He offered to bring some back to Anri, but she said she wasn’t hungry and wanted to sit quietly for a while, so he left her to her thoughts.
Vendor stalls selling every kind of fantastic food imaginable filled the concourse, and every one of them was offering their food for free to the new dragon riders.
The cook at one stall was searing heavily seasoned chunks of shufflo meat over glowing coals. The sign on the cart read, “Flame steaks.” It made sense when Will noticed a thick layer of black seasoning coating the meat. The pungent smell burned in his nose like wasabi and made his eyes water.
Another stall held stacks of barrels filled with various frothing beverages. The stall owner served his drinks in tapered cups made from hollow shufflo horns.
Will finally stopped at a stall with enormous pots simmering over glowing coals. The sign overhead read “Luck Toddy,” and the delicious smells billowing out with the steam made Will’s mouth water.
This stall seemed to be both a game and a place to get a meal. Will watched as people approached in groups and took turns jabbing long skewers into the pots, then cheering and congratulating one another if they pulled out large chunks of food on the end.
When Will approached, the owner saw the white dragon sleeping against Will’s chest and his eyes widened. The others around the stall stared and whispered among themselves, too.
“I–I’m honored, dragon rider!” the owner stammered.
Will felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Thanks. So, um . . . your food smells great. How does it work?”
The man beamed and handed over a long-handled skewer. “Just jab it in a pot. Whatever you get is what you get.”
Will made his way to the steaming, bubbling pots, and the owner followed him with a wooden bowl. The crowd continued murmuring and pointing, which made him feel exceedingly uncomfortable, but he was too hungry to back out now.
Will stabbed his skewer in and brought it out with a piece of onion, a wad of green vegetable, and a chunk of sausage on the end.
The crowd cheered.
“Well done
!” the stall owner said, helping Will get his food into the bowl.
Will hastily thanked him and took his prize back to the courtyard. The families of the other new riders were crowded around the table he’d been sitting at before, so he took the first empty seat he could find.
“I have the perfect name for my dragon picked out,” one boy was saying. His green dragon perched on his shoulder, watching everyone with brilliant blue eyes.
“Me, too,” chimed a girl with a blue hatchling in her arms. “I’ve had a name in mind for years, and he fits it perfectly.”
“I have lots of ideas,” a boy holding a little red dragon said. “But I don’t know if any of them are good enough. She’s just so perfect!”
“Tell me about it,” Will mumbled. He took a bite of sausage from his bowl and sucked in a breath when the hot, delicious meat juices filled his mouth. It was amazing!
The other kids looked up at him. “Do you know what you’ll name your dragon?” asked the boy with the red hatchling.
Will shook his head as he chewed his meat and vegetables. “I don’t even know what kind of names dragons are supposed to have,” he said around his mouthful of food.
“Oh, you know. Their names usually have to do with their color or their abilities. Like Frostfang for a blue dragon or Snakebite for a green,” the boy said.
“But don’t try to pass your dragon off as a green,” the boy with the green hatchling warned. “Everyone knows greens are the best. And there’s obviously something wrong with yours. Nobody will believe it’s a green.”
“Hey!”
“That’s rude!”
“What do you know?”
The other kids all scolded the green rider at the same time. He just shrugged at them like they were trying to deny the truth.
Just then, an adult in leather riding clothes flopped into a seat at their table. His skin was deep bronze, and he kept his black braided hair tied back. He flashed a brilliant, friendly smile around at them. “How are we all doing at this table?” he asked.
The other kids looked at one another, surprised and mildly confused.
Secret of the Dragon Egg (Dragon Riders of Avria Book 1) Page 21
