I blushed. He was too much with his stupid grin and naked abs.
“Fine.” I draped his black T-shirt over Chaos’s body, causing him to stir in his sleep. The majority of the fabric covered him, but it did nothing to conceal the end of his tail sprawling down my chest. It’d have to do. “Let’s go.”
We snuck across the courtyard. No one was out on this beautiful night, and the shining stars reminded me of the white speckles on Chaos’s scales. The monotonous temperatures—besides the few scheduled rain and snow days—were getting tediously boring. We at least had storms on the island.
Something hit one of my tightly knotted buns, and it took me a moment to realize it was Chaos unraveling himself. A low growl emitted from him as he leapt onto the grass and prowled in the direction of the library.
“Chaos!” I whispered, grabbing Ender’s shirt, which had fallen, before giving chase. “No! Come back.”
“Good luck with that.” Ender huffed, picking up his pace. “He doesn’t listen well.”
“You can’t go in there!” I reached for Chaos, but he evaded my grasp. Slippery little fellow. I couldn’t use any magic on him—it would ruin the trust we had just built.
Using more command in my voice, I tried again. “Chaos. Stop.”
This time, the little black dragon turned abruptly. His narrow nose was in the air, sniffing, but in the direction of the dorms. A sneeze came from the dragon before he looked back at the library. He twirled once, sniffing the ground, and plopped hisbelly down before looking at me. One glance at Ender told me he was just as confused.
“Did you decide to listen to me, or did you lose whatever scent you had?” I knelt next to Chaos and stroked the top of his head, trailing down to his body. His neck was long and narrow, and his hard scales were smoother than expected. He chirped, and based on the complacent closing of his eyes, that told me it was a happy noise.
A door clicked shut somewhere and laughter floated on the night air. The courtyard was empty, but that didn’t mean for long. Ender nodded at me and we strode toward the gym—away from the dorms.
Chaos followed contently until we veered off from the gym, and he seemed to realize we were going in the woods. He flew to a nearby lone tree and sat on his rump.
“Hey!” I waved him down. “What are you doing up there? We need to keep you hidden and away from the main part of the campus.”
The dragon stuck his chin in the air, like a queen on a throne, and Ender laughed.
“Someone’s stubborn,” I mumbled.
“Much like someone I know,” Ender commented. I whirled to face him, and he held his hands up. “I didn’t say who that someone was.”
I rolled my eyes and faced the dragon. “Do you not want to go for a walk?”
Chaos chuffed, not making eye contact.Okay. Let’s try again.
“Do you want to go back to your spot in the woods?”
Another chuff.
“Do you want to stay here at the academy with me?”
Chaos gave me some serious side-eye but did not chuff. I turned to Ender. “It looks like he knows what he wants.”
“Yeah.” Ender studied the dragon. “I can see that. He’s a smart creature.”
“So it’s settled.” I rubbed my palms together. “He will stay in my dorm room, and we will tell Syd.” Ender merely looked at me, and I knew it was a foolish plan. “What? Do you have any other ideas to get him down and on board with going into the woods?”
“Yes!” Sydney shouted as Chaos blew fire from his mouth, chasing the short burst of fire that had come from Sydney’s palm. My palm tingled slightly with magic as I created water, dousing their flames and creating steam before it had a chance to create smoke.
“Knock it off before you two burn down the west dorms.” I waved a hand in the air, dispersing the steam.
“You still think having him in your room is a good idea?” Ender raised an eyebrow at me.
I gave him a small shove with my elbow. Instead of that pushing him away, he stepped closer—and I couldn’t help the small trill inside me as my arm brushed against his now covered stomach.
“What? This is the best idea ever!” Sydney moved her exuberant gaze off Chaos and to me. “Why didn’t you tell me about him sooner? You can’t keep a dragon hidden from a fire mage!”
Sydney had arrived shortly after we did. At first, all she noticed was that Ender and I were alone in the room; that was, until we stepped aside, revealing Chaos. I explained we had just been made aware of his sudden arrival, and after Sydney’s initialawestruck dialed down so she could speak, the little dragon and she hit it off quickly. All it took was a dancing fireball from Sydney, and Chaos decided it was playtime.
