A story about Sang, the first ever female to receive the mark of a dragon. Entering a world where males reign supreme, she struggles to prove that a woman has what it takes to be a great rider. Even if the dragon she's paired with is stubborn, moody...
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Sang
"No."
"Why not? You do realize that me being your rider requires me to actually ride you, right?" I asked with an exhausted sigh. Even if my nerves were jumbled, excitement flowed heavily in my veins.
"No." The stubborn dragon turned away from me, his icy eyes slit in irritation.
All of this started earlier that morning, and based on the sun's position in the clear blue sky, it was about mid-afternoon. That meant that I had spent hours trying to convince Gideon to fly with me.
I hadn't talked with the other riders for four days, which meant that I only had three more days until Gideon and I needed to depart. I already decided that going with them would be my best option, so I spent every precious minute with my Zalfari family.
I felt a sharp pang in my chest every time I thought of having to leave them. Henry, Janice, Wil, and Derek were my safe haven. Although none of them knew the extent to which I was mistreated in my own home, they very well knew that I didn't have the best life, so they sought out to give me one. They became my family when my very own blood wouldn't.
Shaking my head to chase away the depressing thoughts clouding my brain, I focused on the task at hand.
"Why do you refuse to fly with me?"
"Little One not ready."
"What do you mean I'm not ready?" I scowled and crossed my arms. "You're the one that's refusing. We leave in three days, and if you haven't noticed, we can't do that without me learning to fly with you."
Gideon's head tilted to side as he ran assessing eyes over my small frame. I shuffled awkwardly on my feet, waiting for the assessment to be over with.
"Little One has odd, shaky emotions. I do not like it. Little One is not ready."
Understanding dawned on me and my irritation melted. Warmth swelled up in my chest. Instead of being stubborn, he was only looking out for me. I sometimes forgot that the bond worked both ways and that he could feel my emotions just as well as I could feel his.
"That's called nervousness, Gideon. It's not always a bad emotion. Did you feel shaky when you flew for the first time? Did you have any thoughts that maybe you would fall and die?"
He blinked. "No."
I shook my head in disbelief. Of course I got a dragon who was not only stubborn, slightly homicidal, and overly protective, but also fearless. That wasn't exactly the best combination, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
"Just trust me, I'm ready. Feel this?" I intentionally pushed my excitement through the bond and watched as his eyes lit up. This emotion, he understood. The thrill of adventure was something he was used to. It wasn't foreign to him, unlike those inexplainable human emotions I carried.
