Once I reached the hallway and was out of sight, my walk picked up into a steady run.
The oak tables in the cafeteria were bare and there were no flames lit, the black stone ceiling making the vast space even darker. It was two hours past dinner, and I hadn’t passed anyone on my way here. The majority of students were back at the dorms, gym, or in the library because it was a school night.
A small sound came from the kitchen, light creeping underneath the white-swirled marble door. Nothing in the academy building was conventional. I called my magic, its warmth tingling along my fingertips as I pushed open the surprisingly light door. The last time I had been on the other side of these doors was after the rock creature attack.
I stilled, standing straight as I disarmed my magic. My hand instantly went to my mouth to smother a laugh at the scene before me. Ender waved his hands while whisper-yelling at the black dragon, who was jumping from the racks hanging from the heightened ceiling. Pans clattered to the floor and Ender rubbed his hands down his face. The normally clean stone countertops and marble floor were littered with cutlery and dinnerware, and across the kitchen, the fridge doors hung wide open.
The dragon paused, looking back at me with what looked like a piece of chicken dangling from his mouth as the rack he dangled on swayed.
“What’s going on?” I suppressed my laugh and swore the little dragon smiled at me.
“Good question.” Ender sighed. “I found him trailing me on my run, but I left him in the forest. After I showered, I was on my way to find you, but the next thing I know, this little guy was following me again.”
The dragon growled, as if he didn't like being called little.
“I see why you sent an SOS.” I nodded at the mess. “This is why you missed dinner?”
“Yes. Then when he showed up outside the main building, I was trying to keep him hidden, but he kept trying to go find you—at least that was what I thought—until he found his way inside and found the kitchen.” Ender winced as a utensil clanked to the floor and the dragon turned himself around.
The dragon tilted his head back and swallowed his meal before leaping off the rack, landing on his feet and bounding over to me, sniffing at my feet with a low grumble before relaxing. He jumped, using his wings to guide himself, landing on my shoulder—which almost caused me to lose my balance—and nuzzling his cool scales into my neck. The weight on one shoulder was heavy, but his cool tail draped at the back of my neck and across my other shoulder mildly helped with dispersing his weight. Regardless, he wasnotmeant to be a shoulder dragon like the Labrador Retriever inMarley & Methought he was a lap dog…
It took a good five minutes of frozen shock as the dragon adjusted itself before I could even think about speaking, and given Ender’s blatant stare and hanging jaw, he too was in shock.
“I didn't hear my phone earlier,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb what appeared to be a now sleeping dragon, his body now wrapped around my neck from shoulder to shoulder and his tail dangling to my feet. My shoulders throbbed, but I didn’t dare wake him.
“I figured as much.” Ender looked around, finally taking his eyes off my new dragon scarf. “It is utter chaos in here.”
“Chaos.” I grinned and stroked the dragon’s chin, its body warming as it snuggled closer. “It suits you.”
Chapter Forty-One
Selene
“Youcan’texactlykeephim in your room,” Ender called as I exited the kitchen and entered the cafeteria hall.
“Why can't I?” I paused, glancing at the still sleeping dragon on my shoulder. There was something about him that felt familiar.
“I doubt our teachers have ever seen a dragon. Imagine how the students will react.” Ender came to stand in front of me, taking my hands in his. “It will not go over well with everything else going on. It may even put a bigger target on you.” His touch was welcoming, and his contact sent warm vibrations to my core.
My brain spaced as I began thinking about how the touch of his cool hands burned and I almost forgot what we were talking about.Dragon.There was a dragon on my shoulder. A veryheavydragon. I blinked, collecting my thoughts. It was wild how Ender’s simple touch could throw me off track.
Sydney wouldn’t tell anyone, but he was right. There would be more disorder than what was left in the kitchen. Speaking of … we’d have to clean it up so we wouldn’t raise suspicion. I had just been about to leave, excited to bring Chaos to my room.
“Where did you say you found him in the woods?” I walked back into the kitchen, Ender seeming thankful I had stopped my hasty exit. As if on cue, Chaos woke and hopped off my shoulder, landing on the island.
Ender revisited his encounter as we started cleaning while Chaos ate another piece of chicken and watched us like a cat observing his servant humans clean up his mess.
Things cleaned up easily, seeing how the place had basically been created for ease of being wiped down. Our air magic helped with efficiency; it looked like a wizard shop with the utensils flying around in the air. Besides gathering the fallen utensils, pots, and pans, we had to scrub the sole trail of chicken Florentine from the fridge to the island. Something about doing something so trivial with Ender squeezed my heart—in a good way.
Chaos eventually perched himself back on my shoulders and slept quietly during the rest of our magical cleaning frenzy. I would need to do shoulder workouts if this was going to be a habit. Once everything was back to how it was, besides the missing chicken, we left.
“What if someone is looking out their window?” I stared at the exit to the courtyard, now suddenly nervous to leave the cafeteria. We had agreed to take him back out to the woods where Ender had found him.
“Here.” Ender grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing those smooth abs that took me entirely too long to look away from. “Wrap this over your shoulders.”
“Umm… I don’t think Chaos will want to don your sweaty shirt, nor will it cover all of him.” I took the fabric between mypointer and thumb, holding it out as if it was contaminated. “What makes you thinkIwould want to wear your sweaty shirt?”
“Hmm.” Ender flashed me a smile. “Here I thought you would want my sweat on you?”
