“I understand,”she repeated, keeping her thoughts to herself as she added,I understand that my worth extends only as far as my usefulness to you, and that you never really loved me—not in a way that means anything. You don’t turn people you love into swans.
Boris was already striding away, apparently unconcerned with hearing her response.
Which is fine. The sooner he goes away, the better. Now I just need to figure out what to do with a baby dragon.
Once her father was safely out of sight, Odessa stood. The dragon darted forward between her legs, stumbling over his oversized claws and nearly tripping over his long, ridged tail as he turned in a tight circle to face her. He tilted his head, blinking round, impossibly blue eyes, and chirped.
“Are you hungry?”Talking to him like any of her other animal charges came as instinctively as breathing.“I’m not sure what kind of diet you need, though I’m assuming one of the carnivorous variety.”
The dragon’s head tilted from side to side like a curious pup hearing an unfamiliar sound, and suddenly her mind was filled with a bright, child-like voice.
“Hungry.”
She stumbled backwards in surprise, falling on her feathered rear.“You can talk?”
“Hungry,”he repeated.
“I guess that answers that question. What kind of food do you like?”
“Food.”
“That’s entirely unhelpful.”She waddled in the direction of the woods.“Come on. I’m sure we can find you something. Just don’t tell the other animals that you’re getting fed in the middle of the day. They might claim it’s special treatment.”
He followed behind, wagging his rear end back and forth to mimic her waddle.“Special.”
If she weren’t a swan, Odessa would have grinned.“Yes, I think you are.”
Several hours later,she was beginning to regret her choice to keep the little dragon. She sank wearily to the ground under a bush, watching with exhausted amusement as the hatchling cavorted around the small clearing, chasing a large orange butterfly. His black scales shimmered in the afternoon sun, catching rainbows of light as he turned this way and that. He had finally figured out the use of his legs, and he moved with a lithe, feline grace when he wasn’t trying to mimic her waddle.
She had followed him on a meandering path through the woods as he ate his fill of berries, nuts, and whatever insects he could find. She was surprised, at first, that he showed no interest in hunting anything more substantial, but then again, he was the size of an 8-week old kitten.
It’s not as if I have a significant amount of dragon knowledge or experience to draw from—if you had asked me yesterday, I would have said they were creatures of legend. I’ll just trust that his instincts are correct.
Morning turned into afternoon, and after a quick snooze in a spot of sunshine with the dragon curled up beside her, Odessa roused them both.
“Come on, little one. It’s time to get back.”
He yawned and stretched, extending his obsidian claws.“Where?”
“Back to my home. I have to be ready to work tonight.”
“Home?”He waddled after her as she led him back through the woods to the lake.
“It’s where I live. Where you can live, too, if you want.”She paused, looking over her shoulder at him.“Though I think it’s about time we gave you a name. Unless you have one already?”
His wide blue eyes were clueless as he blinked.
“Right then. Well, what about—hey, come back here!”
Something scurried away in the brush beside them, and the dragon scampered off after it. He tore through the low branches and leaves faster than Odessa could keep up. She followed his trail of broken twigs to the lake, then stopped short.
The stranger from the night before had returned. He looked much healthier than when she had last seen him, pale and lifeless as Dmitri carried him away. Color had returned to his cheeks, and even from a distance she could see the bright curiosity in his eyes as he crouched down, holding out a welcoming hand to the dragon.
The hatchling inched forward, sniffing, and the next thing Odessa knew, the stranger had snatched up her dragon and was cradling him to his chest.
Oh no, you don’t.
Without thinking twice, she puffed out her chest, spread her wings wide, and charged.
