After their first day of training together, Viliant received a lift from Evander over to the warrior's official training grounds. With his wings too tired to do anything else, Viliant let them whip behind him.

  Arenis poked his head over his big brother's shoulder, peeking at Viliant in Evander's claws. The wind would have carried his voice away, but that did not stop Arenis from being annoying over telepathy. Our training was too intense for you, huh, Viliant?

  No way. Viliant did not bother to tell Arenis off any stronger than that simple statement. The coddled fire dragonet had no idea what it even meant to survive, much less what he would do in Viliant's circumstances.

  Tuck your wings against your back, Evander commented. It'll help you recover faster and keep them in good shape. The vast, strong wings of the orange dragon gave a downbeat.

  Viliant squirmed in Evander's grip to take his advice. The black dragonet tucked his glossy wings against his ribs, so as to avoid the long spines on his back. Thanks, Viliant murmured to Evander.

  Already, the persistent ache in his wings began to subside now that the wind no longer buffeted his smooth wing flaps constantly. Viliant expected to feel more sore tomorrow, but he hoped it would not inhibit another day of training.

  Viliant watched the trees disappearing behind the rise of a cliffside. Higher still, the barren terrain flattened into a plateau. Water trickled over some orange streaks in the rock, like rusted iron. Viliant doubted his guess was right, but he had no idea what else might thrive in boiling water.

  A circle of dragons arranged themselves between some wide, bubbling pools. At the center of their attention, a pink dragonette hovered in the air. A blinding light flashed over her chest plate, and an inferno erupted around Fia. The fiery explosion consumed all the dragon warriors who had gathered to watch her.

  Viliant's eyes widened despite his discomfort from the heat. "Fia...!" His hoarse voice barely rasped out a sound.

  Few gaps billowed between the dense flames of her inferno. Fia's eyes shined like blue stars, bright enough to cut through the light of her own blue flames.

  Stunned into silence, Viliant did not know what to think about Fia's new show of power. Red fire... black fire.... Now blue fire? Over the tether of telepathy, Viliant was unsettled by how the other fire dragons did not know what to make of it either.

  Arenis was thrilled just to watch Fia. Let's go, Fia! That's my best friend! When the excited fire dragonet became aware of Viliant's curiosity, Arenis reverted to his uppity attitude. And just so you don't forget.... I'm her best friend! Not you. Such derision oozed from the mind of Arenis, it inspired Viliant to jam the telepathic signal into the other dragonet's receptors as hard as possible. A sudden yip sounded from Arenis on Evander's back, but the adult dragon was too consumed by the fire in front of him to care.

  So blue fire really is possible, Evander observed, perhaps the first time that he had seen such a thing in his life. While Evander was amazed, his reaction was more ordered than his dragonet brother. I'll make my fire burn blue too, one day....

  A soft sigh huffed past Viliant's fangs. He found himself finally able to unclench his jaw. Wait. Was I that worried about Fia? Even here? The simple knowledge that her fire had reached a more desirable state among her clan brought Viliant some relief.

  Evander glided along the fringes of the plateau before he dove to join the other warriors.

  A spurt of boiling, steaming water launched into the air behind them. The same phenomena happened all around the circle of dragons. Viliant swung his head to watch the geysers erupt on all sides.

  While Evander slowed his descent, he offered an easy out for the shadow dragonet in his claws. Let me know if it gets too hot for you, Viliant.

  I'm used to Fia's flames, Viliant retorted. Her intensity always risked burning someone as cold as him. Her light-hearted attitude always seemed too bright for someone mired in so much darkness. Wanting to be alone with his thoughts, Viliant receded from all telepathy except one lingering line, waiting for Fia to notice him.

  The firestorm with a hot, blue core swirled around Fia like a vortex. As the flames slowed their rotation, they were shredded more by the brisk wind on the plateau. Fia's feet lowered closer to the ground, but she did not touch down yet.

  Rather, Viliant's claws skidded against the rock first when Evander let go of him. The orange dragon landed just a couple steps ahead. Evander waited with a raised wing, an invitation to attend the warrior's meeting under his guidance.

  Viliant straightened his neck, lifted his own wings, and bristled the spines along his back. Just because he walked underneath Evander's wing, that did not mean Viliant had to make himself small. Unlike Diwa, Evander's vast wingspan accommodated Viliant without any concessions on his part.

  Evander connected with the other fire dragons over telepathy who blocked themselves off from outsiders. The young warrior bore the criticism of sidelong glances from every other dragon, as he stepped forth with Viliant under his wing. Even so, some of the warriors parted and made room for Evander's arrival. The orange dragon stood near one of the elder's right wingtip.

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  In the moment, Viliant only had eyes for Fia, so he stared straight ahead.

  Fia's legs buckled as soon as she landed back on her feet. The pink dragonette swaggered from side to side to stand up. Her mind presented an open invitation to telepathy.

  No…. she moaned.

  Viliant stood rigid in silence, not wanting to disrupt her with his presence.

  No, Fia reiterated, fighting to hang on. I can't pass out! My trial… I need to pass…. The pink dragonette's neck swayed until she finally thumped on the ground.

  Not again! Viliant gasped out of exasperation. An aspect of fear surged through him, as Viliant recalled how Fia had been vulnerable after she had used that technique against the Dragon Slayer to escape the coliseum. Before the black and red elder dragon could take a step forward, Viliant dashed ahead. His claws scratched to a stop along the plateau's rocky surface. The shadow dragonet lurked defensively over Fia's unconscious form, growling at any dragon who dared to step closer.

  Relax, Viliant. A familiar dragon—Evander—pushed his way into a telepathic connection with him.

  Another adult dragon was close to follow. This is Fia's father, Vicente reported to Viliant calmly. The large claws of the red dragon approached him from behind. Stand under my wing, Viliant. Let's not interfere with Fia's trial.

  That remark made Viliant's stomach twist like he had eaten some rotten meat. Oh. Viliant had not even considered how his defense of Fia might be considered an interference by the dragon warriors. Slowly, he crept backward until the tip of his tail brushed against the long claws of Vicente.

  Thanks for always protecting my daughter. Although Vicente did not tilt his head down to acknowledge Viliant, the deep blue eyes of the red dragon observed him from up high.

  Of course. Viliant retreated from telepathy to stand in silence with Vicente and the rest of the dragon warriors. Across the circle, he now had a clear view of Evander behind the red and black dragon that yielded the attention from all the turned heads.

  The black and red dragon, Elder Kivo, beat his wings to aid his jump closer to Fia's crumpled body. He sat on his hind haunches, stooping his serpentine neck to peer down at Fia. A hunch entered his neck as he looked up to Viliant instead. "I have a question for you, Fia's shadow."

  "Yes?" Viliant's voice caught in his tight throat.

  "Has this happened before?" The elder dragon's eyes bore down on Viliant like hard lumps of coal.

  For Viliant's mind, simple thanks to his youth, it was impossible to read Elder Kivo. Even so, Viliant wracked his brain for the desired answer to his question. This intention floated across their telepathic connection, unintended by the dragonet.

  Answer honestly, Elder Kivo implored him with a stern growl.

  "Yes!" Viliant let his memory from the past flow outward. This happened the first time I saw Fia unleash all her power against the Dragon Slayer! She stayed conscious long enough to glide out of the coliseum with me. Viliant shared that detail, hoping her passing out would not count against her.

  Elder Kivo's tail swished behind him over the rocks. "How… long… does it usually take for her to wake up?"

  Viliant grimaced and flattened all his back spines. "I don't know," he said aloud, expanding on his simple answer over telepathy. The first time it took a couple hours.

  After a couple thumps of his tail, Elder Kivo switched his attention to Vicente. "Take your daughter home. The warriors will discuss what we saw here today in the meantime. Bring Fia before the Elder Council tomorrow morning for the final verdict."

  Vicente stooped his long neck in a bow. "Very well. Thank you, Elder Kivo." Keeping Viliant under his wing, Vicente scooped up Fia's limp body. He nestled her in the gentle, closed grip of his claws. The red dragon flew off without even offering to take Viliant with him.

  Wait! I wanted to go with Fia. Viliant bounded across the center of the warrior's circle, dashing back underneath Evander's wing.

  Without looking back at him, Vicente disappeared with Fia in the sky.

  I'm sure you'll see her later, Evander reassured Viliant, lifting up his wing a little bit to peer at the shadow dragonet. Why don't you run along with Arenis?

  Viliant understood that neither of the dragonets were welcome any longer in the circle of warriors, so he skulked off.

  That was so cool! Arenis skipped obnoxiously close to Viliant's tail. I can't believe we saw Fia's fire turn blue! She's gonna become a warrior for sure, and it won't be long until I'm one too!

  Viliant stopped abruptly, turning to snarl at Arenis when he stepped on his tail. Beat it, dragonfly.

  Arenis narrowed his eyes, and a tendril of smoke drifted from his nostrils. And here I was going to ask if you wanted to play with me and my friends.

  By a cluster of rocks, two other dragonets lingered a safe distance away from Viliant and Arenis. One had bright yellow scales while the other had pale scales that blended in with the plateau.

  I only play with Fia. Viliant marched back toward the dragon huts on the mountainside, so he could visit her sooner rather than later. He snipped the telepathic link with Arenis and disallowed the other, curious dragonets from any connection with him.

  "Fine!" Arenis shouted after Viliant. "Be that way. I never wanted you to play with us anyway." The red dragonet lurched over to the other two dragonets, running off with them over the plateau.

  Viliant kept his eyes trained ahead, taking the long way back to Fia. He hoped to be there by the time that she woke up.

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