Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Selene
The dragon was twice the size of Aura—small for a dragon—but its round, feline-orange eyes made it look fierce as it bounded off the pipe and to the rooftop.
White specks sparkled like the stars above on its black scales.
Its white horns matched the spikes lining its tail and claws.
It looked like a baby dragon, but it carried itself like an adult as it stared directly past Ender and at me.
Aura hopped off the edge and prowled over in front of us, the dragon not even sparing a glance at her. Elemental Creatures class was in the spring semester, but I knew enough from my prior schooling to know that you never stared directly in a dragon’s eyes.
This was impossible—dragons were extinct.
Yet, we still learned about them. Their powers were random, usually consisting of scorching fire, but some could create water or air.
Some could even manipulate the earth around them.
But they were thought to have been killed off by the dark mages because they were natural enemies.
The dragon shifted, sitting straight up. It relaxed as it bounced on its front feet, tail giving a slight wag, like a happy dog. Its eyes shined as if it was excited to see me, and I naturally dropped the defensive magic that stirred as new, symphonic magic flitted under my skin.
“Ender.” I reached a hand out, lowering his arm. “He’s friendly.”
“I know.” Ender lowered his arm and glanced at me. At one simple glance, his acknowledgment was my own.
Somehow, I felt that he understood my natural reaction to this dragon—that he wasn’t a threat. To us.
Aura let a low growl escape and scampered back to us. No sooner had she sat at my feet than she yawned like she was ready to sleep.
“So.” Ender still stared at the dragon hesitantly. “How do we explain we went for a walk and came back with a dragon?”
“Maybe my dad—John,” I quickly corrected myself, “has an explanation. He seems to have a lot of secrets.”
“This dragon seems awfully fond of you,” Ender said as the dragon held my gaze and stretched his neck toward me.
“I’m not sure why.” A symphonic hum of magic lightly brushed along my skin. I stepped forward, reaching out a hand.
Suddenly, the hair on my arm stood on end and the dragon swirled around, growling. Aura jumped to all fours, hunched, and hissed toward the door. Dread struck my gut as I got a slight, awful whiff of burning skin.
“Get to the edge!” Ender shouted and we took off toward the opposite side of the door.
Movement caught my eye as vines wrapped around the ends of the parapet in front of us, and we froze.
Someone’s hands grabbed the vines and pulled themself over the edge and onto the roof.
Miss Lee stepped away from the ledge, brushing off her casual blue pants and blouse like it was just an ordinary day and she wasn’t a fugitive of the mage council.
“That proved to be quite difficult in my old age.” Miss Lee’s gaze fell on the dragon. “That’s peculiar.”
The dragon looked back, growling at her, but he must have decided whatever was behind that door was more of a threat because he turned his attention back toward it.
“What are you doing here?” Ender cautiously angled himself between Miss Lee and me, somehow keeping his eyes on the door too. As much as I wanted to wrap my own vines around her neck to see how she liked it, I needed my attention on the door.
“Making sure you stay safe,” she said. “I see you decided to come home.”
“This isn’t my home.” There was some pain behind Ender’s voice.
“Well, in the Far East. Much closer to the Philippines.” She took a step closer. “Did you figure out what you are to each other?”
There was a brief pause.
Ender glanced at me but looked away when the door to the roof swung open and a dark mage stepped through wearing a burgundy cloak.
The little dragon jumped, taking to the air as he spewed fire toward the intruder. A scream came from the dark mage as they pulled the cloak farther over them. Once the flames died, the dark mage lowered their cloak, undamaged.
Okay. So this mage had a fire-resistant cloak. Great.
The movement of their cloak revealed a shadowy face with wide eyes fixated on the dragon. The dark mage’s skin looked pale and crinkled, but nothing compared to the one who had attacked the academy.
The dark mage gained his composure and shot fire, the flames outlined with dark shadows, toward the dragon.
The rooftop became ten degrees warmer, but the dragon merely shielded himself with his wing.
Once the fire dissipated, the dragon shook his head, his obsidian scales shifting on his neck as he let out a low roar of annoyance.
“I’ve never seen fire—that level of fire—barely leave something untouched.” Ender stared at the dragon in wonder.
“One of the many reasons dark mages fear dragons,” Miss Lee said, still eyeing the dark mage whose narrowed gaze shifted between the dragon and us. “Even the little ones.”
“You brought a dark mage here.” I took a step back, keeping Miss Lee in my peripheral.
“No.” Miss Lee shook her head. “I merely followed them here. I would never harm my grandson.”
Ender cracked his neck and released an annoyed breath as he prepared to fight. A foreign anger touched with resentment filled my chest. I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to bring that emotion forward to examine it. Now wasn’t the time.
“Them?” I asked. “Is there more than this one?”
“Inside.” Miss Lee nodded.
My stomach dropped. My dad was inside.
I charged toward the dark mage.
“Selene!” Ender shouted, but I tuned him out.
The dark mage at the school appeared to have been more decrepit, which meant this one was less powerful but not to be underestimated.
They had patches of withered skin and narrow black veins but was not as decayed as the one at the academy.
How could they still be so powerful yet their body was dying?
I circled my hands around each other in a fluid motion as I ran, charging my air magic.
The black eyes of the mage greedily watched my advance.
Idiot. I wasn’t going to get close enough for him to touch me.
I sent my air magic across the rooftop and it slammed into the dark mage, knocking him to the side.
The dark mage attempted to stand, but I honed in on the moss growing near his feet. My magic absorbed into its rhizoids, rapidly growing their size and strength. The false roots sprouted, wrapping around his ankles and legs, pinning them to the rooftop.
I went to run by him so that Ender and I would surround him, but he incinerated the vines and lashed out with a powerful blast of heat.
Before I could use my magic as a shield, the fire soared around me as wind pushed outward.
Ender held out his hands, creating an outward funnel encasing me like a domed shield—something that took practice and energy.
Black obscured my view as leathery wings flapped in front of me. The little dragon landed on his hind feet, expanding his wings so I was hidden behind him. He turned his head, glancing at me over his shoulder. I stared at him in disbelief. He was protecting me.
He shrieked and flinched as a rust-colored dagger pierced his scales, smoke trailing from the wound.
He reached for it with his mouth but couldn’t quite reach.
Without hesitation, I stepped forward, pulling the knife from the him and tossing it away from the dark mage.
If I recalled correctly, there once was a weapon that could be created to harm dragons more easily.
I turned to face the dark mage, but thick emerald green vines wrapped around his torso as Miss Lee worked her magic.
I really despise those vines.
Aura stood at Ender’s feet, hissing, and Ender flung his arms forward, sending air magic at the mage. It sent the mage crashing into the parapet and down to his knees. Summoning my fire magic to my palms, I went to incinerate him, but the little dragon beat me to it.
The dark mage was unable to shield himself and the flames licked at his cloak, this time slowly melting it away until the fire reached the rest of him. I briefly wondered if the entire block could hear his screams, and I scrunched my nose at the nauseating smell of burnt flesh. I looked away.
Once the flames dispersed, I turned back to the dark mage, surprised to see his extremities weren’t as burnt as his core.
There hadn’t been a noticeable mark on his hands during the attack, and he hadn’t been as strong as the mages who had attacked Mom, Viv, and me, but I had to check.
I walked closer to the smoldering body, his face unrecognizable, and kicked his hand over.
Nothing. I held my breath and walked over to his other hand, pushing back the smoking cloak with my sneaker.
His palm was free of a black circle.
“Are you okay?” Ender came to my side, studying me.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Just checking to see if it had the same mark as the ones that killed my mom.”
Ender nodded and put a hand on my shoulder, the small gesture somehow comforting.
A cross between a whimper and a grumble came from behind us, and we turned to see the dragon trying to reach the wound on its shoulder.
“Hey. Hey … it’s okay.” I strode over to the dragon, resting a hand on his snout. He nuzzled into my hand, and I smiled.
Less than a second later, the dragon backed up, swaying his head in apparent agitation as he turned toward Miss Lee, who was picking up the dark mage’s dagger from the ground.
“It’ll be okay.” Miss Lee examined the dagger closely.
“What will be okay?” I put my arm out, trying to calm the dragon.
“Your dragon.” She nodded toward the dragon as she slowly set the dagger down, kicking it away from her.
“He’s not my dragon,” I said.
“You can tell yourself that.” She straightened. “The dagger was made with a dark mage’s familiar’s blood and not the blood of a dragon. It burns and harms them, but it doesn’t seep deadly toxin into their bloodstream.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ender walked over and stood between Miss Lee and me, his shoulders still tense.
“The familiar to a mage who becomes dark slowly dies, but if it’s sacrificed, its blood can be mixed with iron and forged into a weapon. It’s destructive to a dragon, but one nick doesn’t kill. A weapon mixed and enchanted with dragon blood would.”
“Ender, we need to go.” I nodded at the door. John and Priscilla were in danger if there was another dark mage.
Before we could leave, the door to the stairs swung open and John and Priscilla ran through, their concerned parental gazes scanning the rooftop.
“Sal.” John’s gaze landed on me as his chest heaved and brow wrinkled. He glanced at the lifeless body of the dark mage and ran over to me, resting his hands on my shoulders as he examined me. I tensed at the contact. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I studied the rips throughout his shirt, but he appeared to be okay. As he lowered his hands, I noticed black soot on his palms. Huh. Was he a fire mage? Normally, magic didn’t leave residue like that on your palms.
“That will need an explanation,” Priscilla said as she looked behind me. She had run over to Ender while John assessed me.
I turned, expecting to see Miss Lee, but she was gone.
There was only the dragon, who stood on all four limbs with Aura at his feet.
Aura’s tail swatted the dragon in the face before she trotted over to John.
The dragon snorted, a white fluff flying away, and then dipped his head toward me before taking off into the air.
Did the dragon just bow to me?