“Besides,” Tandor said after swallowing the last of hiscider. He leaned back in his chair with a contented groan. It creaked with the strain. “It’s getting late. We might as well call it a night, anyway. It’s been a magical day. And you’ve got a new friend to settle in.” He nodded to the box on the table in front of me.
The box that held my gift.
Myimpossiblegift.
A sleeping baby dragon.
I settled my hands over the box protectively—I couldn’t help myself.
The dragon was gifted to me (if you could even give a dragon as a gift, I still wasn’t sure about that part) by Fiella and Kizzi, the latter of whom had smuggled three dragons into Moonvale. It was a long, messy story, really, and I still wasn’t sure how they had pulled it off.
Those two were a force to be reckoned with, especially together. And especially when they set their minds to something ridiculous.
It was the biggest honor of my life, and I’d only received the dragon an hour ago. My gut twisted with the responsibility of it all.
I’d never had a pet before. Or a child. Or anything resembling the two. For years, I’d only taken care of myself.
And the occasional drunk patron at my pub, but that was entirely different.
My forehead broke out in a cold sweat. My fingers clenched absently against the cardboard, crinkling the surface. I fought the quell of panic that threatened to swallow me whole. What if I screwed it up? What if I didn’t raise the dragon right and it became a beast that destroyed the entire town and everyone I cared about?
What if it destroyedme?
Dragons were thought to be entirely unpredictable and had been extinct for thousands of years. Only recently had they made a miraculous return to the realm, thanks to Kizzi.
As far as we knew, the three baby dragons in Moonvale were the only three dragons in existence.
I reached for my goblet, swallowing a massive mouthful of cider. Those worries would get me nowhere.
“Are you sure you want me to…” I trailed off, glancing between the faces of Kizzi, Fiella, Redd, Tandor, and Mayor Tommins, all sitting at the table across from me. Dim lantern light illuminated the room, highlighting their peaceful expressions.
“Of course, kid. You’re the most responsible one here,” Tommins said matter-of-factly, his eyebrow furrowed, the first time he had spoken in a long while.
“You’ll be fine, Ginny,” Kizzi assured. “We thought this through.”
Fiella nodded encouragingly, grinning with her fangs bared.
None of them objected.
I sucked a deep breath in through my nose and shoved it out through my teeth. I lifted the lid of the box to check on the small green beast. He was curled up, his wings tucked around his body, snoring softly.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes.
So much power, so much potential. A miracle of a creature.
Gathering my courage, I shut the lid on the slumbering creature and stood. My chair scooted back with an audiblescrape. “Alright, then. On your way. I’ll lock up behind you all.”
The group slowly rose. A few tired groans echoed.
“Sure, boss. We’ll get out of your hair,” Tandor said as he reached over to squeeze my shoulder. “If you need backup with that one—” he nodded to the dragon, “—you know where to find us.”
“Send a letter to my shop. I’ll save you,” Fiella said with a wink.
I snorted out a laugh. “I’ll call for help if I need a rescue. Thank you.”
The two couples both had dragons in their care, from eggs that had hatched days before. The tiny creatures were more than a handful, and that was putting it lightly.
Mayor Tommins only objected minorly, these days. He’d grown fond of the dragons, too.
