Remy

  As expected, the next attack took pce at night. But we were ready.

  I rode on Narcisse. Basil and Renan flew alongside us. There was chaos in the air. The dragons roared and hissed as they fought each other. I saw another rider's dragon being bitten in the wing, but at the same time, a bck dragon snapped at me. I hurled magic at him, the sand I called blinded him for a few moments.

  There were an unexpected number of bck dragons. Even more so than in the previous attack. Most of the time, at most, one attacked. Sometimes three, if a mother brought her cubs. But now? Maybe around a hundred? Had they pnned this? Why? That's not how bck dragons usually behave. Narcisse pounced on a bck dragon, and another tried to pull me off his back. I smmed him with fire magic and sand as Renan lunged at the attacker. The attack of the bck beasts seemed coordinated. This, too, was unusual for them.

  'Where do they all come from!', Basil scolded. 'Since when do bck dragons coordinate with each other? They can't stand each other either!'

  'Good question!' Renan killed the dragon that had attacked me. With one st cry, the monster plunged down the cliffs. I noticed one of Harper's sisters being attacked by several dragons. Narcisse had successfully fended off his attacker. "Narcisse! To Max!", I ordered.

  'Of course!', growled the dragon, following my instructions. We flew to Max. Basil and Renan followed us and attacked. Max spat fire and bit the attackers, but they could not be shaken off. We arrived just in time. A dragon struck with the fatal blow, but Basil bit his neck and killed him instead.

  'Thank you!', Max snorted agitatedly. 'What's going on here?'

  'We don't know!', Narcisse growled.

  The battle sted several hours. It was difficult for us to keep the attackers away from the city and the caves. In the end, many of the white dragons were wounded, and ten had lost their lives. Twenty were seriously injured and would be fighting for their lives in the next few hours. This was a hard blow for the group of white dragons.

  Many of the bck dragons were dead, others fled. Basil was slightly injured. Renan accompanied him home. Narcisse and I, along with the other wizards and their dragons, cared for the badly injured.

  Dragons healed quickly, but some of the injuries were severe, so they took longer. The dragons were exhausted. We tried to help them with healing magic to save their lives. They were scattered in front of caves, on cliffs. My help came too te for one dragon. There was nothing more I could do. Now there were eleven dead dragons.

  Did Lou make it through the night well?

  Was he afraid?

  How had he managed to befriend a dragon? And even Harper, of all possibilities! I knew the young dragon. He was proud and usually in a bad mood. At least when I met him. He was impetuous, impudent, and exceedingly curious. Maybe that was the reason.

  Lou and a dragon.

  Perhaps this friendship would be useful to the boy. But he couldn't stay in the mountains. In the end, he was a snack for most dragons should they get very hungry. I couldn't risk that. But I couldn't bring Lou to his family either. Even though I would have liked to do so. Lou was almost a child. He needed his family, even if they didn't deserve him.

  Could I take him with me? My parents would freak out. But I was pnning to leave my parent's house anyway. The Bck Dragons... What had changed their behavior? And... Could I use it for my pns?

  Usually, they were loners.

  'You're pnning something!', growled Narcisse. We had just taken care of the st dragon.

  "Absolutely! This strange attack... Are you ready for an adventure?" I asked him.

  Narcisse nodded. "Certainly. With you, always. You know that. Do I have to dress up first?" He winked at me and held out a blood-stained wing. It wasn't his blood. "Does red look good on me?"

  I smirked. "Narcisse!"

  "What?" He snorted. "Fine! The adventure?"

  "Let's get Lou. We'll bring him to me." I stroked his muzzle.

  Narcisse snorted in amusement and nudged me. Blood clung to his white scales. "Are you sure Harper will let us take him voluntarily?"

  "That's why I called it an adventure." I grimaced. "I feel like ... Veit... will not be pleased."

  In fact, he wasn't.

  When we flew to his parents' cave shortly after sunrise, he was anything but pleased.

  Lou whimpered and hid under Harper's wings. Presumably, he hadn't slept at all. Or just a little. Harper, on the other hand, seemed wide awake.

  For the most part, his family had survived the fight well. Only his father had been seriously injured in the first fight. But the wounds were almost completely healed. He would survive it. "Narcisse? Don't get too close to the human!", he warned. "He gets frightened when we get closer. Especially when he sees our heads."

  I sighed. Of course, he had seen the eyes of a terrifying death.

  "I'm careful!", grumbled Narcisse. "Why would I want to scare him?" The dragons spoke loudly, as their constant growling and hissing when communicating telepathically frightened Lou even more.

  Harper growled softly. Very quiet. He was, as feared, very unreasonable. I tried the most reasonable arguments, but the young dragon only showed me his sharp teeth.

  There was something cute about the sight. "Veit! Be reasonable", I tried again.

  Harper lifted his chin defiantly. "I'm reasonable! These people in your city are no good for him!"

  Sighing, I stroked Narcisse's wings. My dear friend was getting impatient. 'Harper!', he growled. This time telepathically. 'He could end up as food! Or tumble down the cliffs. And he's human! Not a dragon!'

  Harper's siblings watched the whole thing with relish. Their brother's defiance seemed to amuse them. I'd rather they help! And Haper's parents? From time to time, they talked to their stubborn son. But that didn't help either.

  'Boy! Narcisse and Remy are right. Let him take your friend!' Hallie tried again as she licked Bojan's wounds to clean them. Bojan snorted.

  Harper growled softly. 'No. If he is neither safe here nor there, then he can stay here! At least we don't want to hurt him! I take care of him. He's safe here! I'll make sure of that! Vivi stays!' Said Vivi did not comment. He hadn't been able to hear the st part of the discussion. Only the angry hiss of the angry dragons. But under Haper's wing, there was silence. Lou didn't whimper anymore. Was he too exhausted?

  This promised to be a long discussion. I was far too tired for such a teenage tantrum. "Veit? Lou needs a warm bed", I said, yawning. "The stone floor is too cold. And he's only wearing rags! I have clean clothes." Heavens, I also needed a warm bed and clean clothes.

  sasi