Fiella
Iwas going to kill Kizzi.
Not actually, of course. But spiritually, I wanted to flay the bitch.
I needed a cider. Or five.
“Not up there! Get down!” I shouted for what felt like the hundredth time. Ember was now perched on top of my highest shelf, nestled between a delicate glass bowl and a few ancient scrolls.
Things the dragon could destroy in an instant.
Ember simply swished his tail, making direct eye contact. Stubborn little shit.
“At least don’t breathe on the scrolls. They’reveryflammable.”
“I don’t think he knows what flammable means,” Redd said gently.
I glared at him.
“Or maybe he does. Dragons are very intelligent, according to legends.”
I huffed out a sigh. “This is hopeless.”
“It’s not hopeless, love. He’s just a baby. He’s curious.”
“He’s going to destroy our cottage! After everything we went through to fix my shop…” Panic swirled in my chest, choking off my air and halting my words.
“He’s not going to destroy anything. The cottage is protected, remember? He’s not going to destroy anything.” Redd wrapped a reassuring arm around my shoulders, squeezing me into his side. I breathed a little easier.
A tiny voice chimed in from up on the shelf next to the dragon. “It’s going to be alright, Fiella!”
I think that sprite was Scarlett. It was actually really nice, having tiny folk around that were always willing to help and reassure at a moment’s notice. Kizzi should have been more grateful.
“You think so?” I asked.
“The fates will it, so it will be,” she said sagely.
“That sounds very wise,” Redd muttered under his breath.
“Just the truth,” Scarlett responded.
Redd flinched, clearly not expecting the sprite to be able to hear him from the perch across the room.
We kept forgetting that the sprites were inherently magical, and that none of us really knew what they were capable of.
He cleared his throat. “Right. Well. I guess we should just go about our day as usual?”
“How are we supposed to act normal when we have a fire breathing beast in our cottage?” I wailed.
“We haven’t actually seen Ember breathe any fire,” Redd said calmly. “He might have to grow into that.”
I choked. I hadn’t even considered what would happen when the dragon grew. How big did dragons even get? Would he even fit inside the cottage anymore?
Redd grabbed me by my upper arms, shaking me gently to catch my attention. “Stop spiraling. We can do this.Youcan do this.”
“We can’t!”
“We can. You wanted this. Just remember how excited you were when Kizzi brought the eggs back. You were meant for this. You know that.”
