Chapter 17

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Tessa's POV:

I slowly spread my wings as I watched the sun. It was going to be my first time trying to fly with the Morning Song, although Dirk had decided to remain on the driftwood this morning.

The sun slowly rose as the call grew stronger. My ear tufts twitched in my growing excitement and nervousness. The light began to shimmer as Mom and Dad took to the air. I was a wingbeat behind them, watching them closely so I knew what I should be doing.

They spun, twirled, and flitted almost magically as they danced in a small section of the air. I struggled to try and do what they were doing, but I wasn't fast enough to even attempt to keep up. They were also doing different aerial maneuvers that somehow flowed together and seemed to fit perfectly.

I felt sad and almost lost, unable to follow their rhythm regardless of how hard I tried. Their sweet song pierced the air in a way that made my heart long to know what they were singing about. I couldn't see it or understand it.

Close to despair and almost ready to give up, I closed my eyes.

Then I felt it. It was the Morning Song's call.

It had been here since I started. I just hadn't been listening to it.

Taking a deep breath, I ignored what Mom and Dad were doing as I tried to follow the Morning Song's flow without thinking about how I was going to do it.

It was like my wings had a mind of their own, and my voice produced sounds that I hadn't known I could make. I still couldn't quite keep up to the pace of the song, but I was trying. The Song flowed through my heart and filled my mind.

Now I could see that Mom and Dad counted as participants on this aerial dancefloor. I wasn't supposed to do exactly what they were doing. That was part of what made it so special.

I had never known such joy and happiness as I felt right now.

My wings were growing tired, but I couldn't even think of resting during such a glorious moment. My voice was a bit breathless as it wove almost perfectly among Mom and Dad's song. The small errors didn't matter, though. I was flying and singing to a rhythm that only the dragonets could hear.

Before I realized it, the Song faded and disappeared, leaving me to glide through the air in confusion at the sudden lack of its guidance. I blinked slowly as I tried to get my mind working again.

Mom flew beside me as I glided towards a big, smooth rock and landed on it. I shook my head, trying to shake off the lingering effects of the song. My head felt really full and weird. It was hard to even think.

A sharp pain above my leg made me squawk and jump backwards, falling off the rock and rolling into the grass. I stared at Mom in shock – she had bitten me! I checked the sore spot and was relieved to see that her teeth hadn't left a mark on my scales. That didn't change how much it had hurt, though.

She jumped down beside me and nuzzled me apologetically. "Sorry. That was the quickest way to snap you out of the trance. It often happens the first time or two someone flies the Morning Song."

I blinked in surprise as I realized that my head was now clear. Getting to my feet, I rubbed my head along her neck as a thank you before we trotted together through the grass towards Taureen and Aeria. I could see bowls of fruit already waiting for us.

I really hoped that I didn't get stuck in that trance tomorrow. I didn't want to get bit again.


       I crouched down as I stalked through the grass towards my unsuspecting target. It paused in its cleaning, and I froze, hoping that it wouldn't notice my red scales. It watched the area for a few moments before it resumed cleaning its face with its front legs.

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