What? Kierion shrugged.
And then he felt it. His tiredness vanished. Excitement pulsed through his veins. He wanted to run straight up the stairs onto the plateau.
“It’s the dragons. Come on.” Adelina snatched up his hand again, and they raced up the stairs.
Out on the plateau, Kierion’s heart pounded. The sky beyond was filled with flapping wings, sinuous necks and dragon maws shooting tiny flames of excitement. Scales flashed in the sun: emerald, copper, scarlet, violet, mustard, orange, blue and more. The whole sky seethed with color.
With thuds, dragons landed in the snow, flurries eddying with their wingbeats.
And then Kierion saw her. His dragon. His heart exploded wide open, and a rush of love enveloped him. He was swept up in a river of feeling, his feet moving effortlessly toward this golden-eyed beauty out on the plateau. Her purple scales glinted with gold specks as she approached him.
“Kierion, you were born to be my rider.”
No one had told him that imprinting was like this—a rush of emotion so intense, it could sweep you away; a harmony so sweet, you could cry; a dragon so exquisite, you’d give your life for her. “How did you know my name?”
“Since your prank with the arrows, all the dragons know your name. It caused quite a stir, you know.”
Kierion’s ears went red, yet again. “What’s your name?”
“I shall now be named Riona, in your honor—because it’s an honor to have a rider like you.”
“L-like me?”
Then Kierion had the oddest moment of his life—and he’d had plenty of odd moments. He saw himself as Riona did: tall, lean, with a shock of blond hair and blue-gray eyes. Pretty sea eyes, his Ma had called them. But it wasn’t his features that were strange; it was his face, etched with love as he gazed at his new friend.
He touched her snout. Her scales were warm and as supple as worn leather. He scratched her eye ridges, and she thrummed, like a purring cat. A shot of vicious pleasure ripped through his mind with an image of Riona devouring a cat. Her lip curled back and her fangs glinted.
“You’re smiling.” Kierion laughed. “You have a sense of humor, too.”
“And I like pranks, as much as you.”
Master Alyssa approached, holding a bowl of meat scraps.
“Thank you.” Kierion held some out for Riona.
Her snout tickled his palm as she snaffled them down. “Come on, Kierion, let’s fly.”
Riona’s impatience thrummed through Kierion. Stepping upon her extended foreleg, he climbed onto her back. She had no saddle, so he settled into a soft hollow between her spinal ridges and hung on tight. Riona’s haunches tensed, coiled with energy.
A voice rang out over the plateau. “Please wait before you fly.”
It was Ezaara, flying on Zaarusha, sitting tall in the saddle, holding a stick high in the air as the queen landed on the plateau. Hang on, there was something familiar about that stick. Kierion squinted against the sun. It was the cane Roberto had carved for Ezaara.
Riona’s body trembled beneath Kierion, full of suppressed energy. Other new riders were straddling their dragons, perched in the snow, ready to fly. With one short call, Ezaara had stopped them all.
“Welcome to the ranks of riders of fire,” Ezaara said. “In time, you’ll learn to harness the energy from your dragon to enhance your abilities. Some of you may inherit their gifts too. Use what they give you wisely. Now, before you fly, you must all pledge to serve our Honored Dragon Queen, Zaarusha, and Dragons’ Realm.” Ezaara held her staff high again.
Voices fired up, everyone chanted, “We pledge to serve our Honored Dragon Queen, Zaarusha, and Dragons’ Realm.”
“I pledge to serve my queen, Zaarusha, and Dragons’ Realm,” Riona said at the same time.
Zaarusha roared, accepting their allegiance.
A ripple of pride flowed through Kierion from Riona. He chuckled. “Your emotions are so glorious. You make the colors in my life brighter.”
“You inspire them, Kierion. Everything feels richer since we’ve imprinted. I can’t help sharing that with you.” Again, a rumble built in his mind.
At the back of the plateau, Sofia and Alban were perched on dragons, scowling.
Kierion couldn’t imagine them pledging to anyone. Sofia had been as sour as an unripe grape lately, and had poisoned Alban’s attitude, too. Behind them were the trainees who hadn’t imprinted yet, most trying bravely to smile and failing.
“Before you fly, please introduce your dragons to us,” the Queen’s Rider requested. “We’ll start with Gret.”
“Gret and Hagret.” Gret was sitting on a scarlet dragon.
“Adelina with Linaia.” Adelina sat smiling, on a fine blue mount, whose scales changed from light to dark as she moved.
“Lofty with Itziga.”
Their names didn’t match. Murmurs immediately broke out among the new riders.
Ezaara raised her staff again. “I know it appears Lofty is breaking the naming convention between rider and dragon because their names don’t have a common syllable, but he isn’t.” Ezaara laughed. “His true name is Fritz. My brother Tomaaz nicknamed him Lofty, back in Lush Valley because he’s so short.”
The towering Lofty, short? Everyone laughed. Lofty grinned and gestured at the next rider to continue.
It wasn’t until Ezaara laughed that Kierion realized something was wrong. When she’d arrived at the hold, Ezaara had laughed easily. Now it was forced. Dark shadows smudged her eyes, her shoulders were weighed down and her smile was brittle.
“Kierion with Riona.” He inclined his head.
Riona roared, and a tremor ran through him. “I want to fly,” she said.
“Not long.” As more riders introduced themselves and their dragons, Riona’s impatience grew, making Kierion itch to get going.
At last it was Sofia’s turn.
“Sofia and Aria.” Sofia’s dragon was also purple, but not as beautiful as Riona.
“Aria sings,” said Riona. “When she was tiny, her voice was awful, but now she’s
