“Yes,”Gabrielsaid.
I puffed out my chest. “We just got back from Stoneheart pack with him, he’smyf-”
“Stoneheart pack?” Lorenzo gasped, immediately drawing up. “You’re notserious?”
Gabriel’s eyes flitted back and forth between us, unsure. “Iam…?”
“Hey, don’t scare him!” I said to my brother, gently tightening my grip on Gabriel. “He’s already freaked out from everything that happened - and the flight, to boot - so go easy on him.” Lorenzo dipped his head again. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you, Gabriel. It’s just that... Well, we’re all well aware ofStoneheart’sways.”
“Except Dante, apparently,” Ruby added with a sidelong glance in mydirection.
I shrugged. “Hey, Ilearned.”
“I am from Stoneheart,”Gabrielsaid.
I could feel his limbs trembling and his heart beating rapidly within my grasp. I felt sympathyforhim.
“I see. I don’t know the story, but you’re brave to make it out,” Lorenzo said. He lifted his head once more, looking proper again. “Now, I assume you’ve volunteered to join Cinderhollowtribe?”
Gabriel gestured to come down, and I lowered him so he could slip off and land on the ground in front of Lorenzo. He stood inches from thebarrier.
“Yes, I… I want to live here,”Gabrielsaid.
“Then comeforward.”
Gabriel did so. He stood barely an inch from the barrier now. My muscles tensed anxiously. I knew what happened when outsiders touched it, and I didn’t want Gabriel togethurt.
“State your name,” Lorenzocommanded.
Gabriel didn’t flinch from his booming voice this time. “GabrielBrooks.”
“Gabriel Brooks, you will now be known as Gabriel Brooks of Drakinus,” Lorenzo said. He lowered his head, pushed it through the barrier, and touched Gabriel’s forehead with the tip of his snout. An almost invisible pulse of magic silver energy cascaded over Gabriel’s body from his head to his feet. When it was done, Lorenzo stepped back and gestured us inside with the spread ofhiswing.
“Welcome to Cinderhollow tribe,Gabriel.”
* * *
“So,I got to take on your last name?” Gabriel asked me with a little smirk onhislips.
Past the barrier, it was a short flight to my home. I’m sure Gabriel was sick and tired of flying already so I wanted to put him down for a bit, let him rest and get hisbearings.
“Sure did,” I replied with a grin. “The barrier will recognize you as one of us now, so you’re protectedfromit.”
“Oneofyou?”
“Yes. One of my family, theDrakinus.”
He rolled the name over on his tongue, then said, “As if it wasn’t clear enough you were adragon.”
I laughed at that. “Hey, it’s an old family name. It’s cheesy, but I didn’tchooseit.”
After passing the chasm that spanned from the barrier to the inside hollow, Gabriel gasped in awe as he looked around. Even though I was born and raised here, I never got tired of it. Huge outcrops of rocky mountains surrounded us on either side and below the chasm disappeared, replaced by sturdy ancient land. The hollow was older than time, said to be carved out by the first dragons’claws.
“Oh… Those buildings,” Gabrielmurmured.
I smiled with pride. We approached the inner sanctum of the hollow now, and everywhere stood old stone dens. Some were classic dragon-style dens, alcoves engraved into the cliff sides. Others were inspired by human cultures and built like castles, built from mountain rock and magic, and would outlast any humans that influenced them. The city was an amalgam of tastes and styles, yet still maintained a feeling of coherence andbeauty.
“What is that?” Gabrielasked.
