“i will too! i will bite anyone who tries to hurt my rider!” she promised.
I felt a surge of love for her wash over me. She was already showing the protective, possessive instincts that made dragons so unique.
“You won’t have to bite anyone,” I told her. “You don’t have to protect me—I’ll be the one protecting you. I can’t wait to meet you, little…” I trailed off because I hadn’t thought of a name for her yet. It was tradition that a rider should name his dragon when he or she broke the shell. I would have to think of something good for her—something regal and grand and befitting her fiery temper.
But my little drakeling surprised me again.
“L’eesha,” she informed me. “L’eesha is my name and i am coming out soon! i will order the other eggs to hurry so we can hatch together and meet our new riders.”
I had never heard of a drakeling naming herself—or of one who could order the other drakelings from inside her egg. Was my little one having delusions of grandeur?
Maybe so, but her imperious nature made her absolutely irresistible to me. I couldn’t wait to hug her and cuddle her and feed her and bathe her and immerse myself in her completely.
“soon,” I heard her promise. “soon i will break the shell. be ready for me, Auri. i am coming!”
So she knew my name as well as her own. What a marvelously clever little creature she was! I felt like a proud mother as I cradled her little egg in my arms. It was so small it fit in my lap, and I didn’t even care that the sands were too hot against my bottom as I sat to hold and stroke the golden egg.
Soon she would be mine and I would be hers. In the meantime, all I could do was wait for Hatching Day and hope that my fierce little drakeling was strong enough to break through the shell and find me.
36
AURORA
No one believed me about the golden egg.
All of us had spent hours in the Hatching Grounds, getting to know our eggs. Classes had been suspended for a time but at last Master Yarsmouth had shooed us out, saying, “Enough now. The eggs need to rest and gain strength so they can hatch.”
We would be allowed to visit once a day, he promised. Every First-year I knew was already planning when he could come back to spend more time with his egg.
Jorn-o and the rest of my friends gave me sidelong looks when I sat down at our table for lunch that day, but no one said a word.
“Tell me about your dragon,” I said to my best friend, hoping he would snap out of it. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
He frowned.
“I don’t know yet—you can’t tell until they hatch.”
“You can’t?” I asked uncertainly.
“No, of course not.” Leaper frowned at me. “Why? Did your egg tell you what sex it was?”
“Well…yes.” I shrugged uncomfortably. “She’s a girl and her name is L’eesha.”
“What?” Toady exclaimed and I saw him and Bugs exchange a skeptical look.
“You already named her?” Bugs demanded.
“No. She named herself,” I said, lifting my chin.
Jorn-o gave me a pitying look.
“Auri, you know that’s just not possible. At this stage, the drakelings are like babies. They’re not smart enough to say more than a word or two and they’re certainly not smart enough to think of a name for themselves.”
“A dragon would have to be some kind of genius to name itself while it was still in the egg!” Leaper agreed, frowning.
“Well she’s been waiting for over a century for her rider—I’m sure that gave her more time to mature,” I said, feeling put on the defensive. “Anyway, what did your drakelings say to you?”
Jorn-o shrugged.
