Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 42

*Katerina's POV*

Serepha landed on the top ledge while Andar and Rakota picked the one just above the clearing. After carefully scanning the tree line, Rakota crouched down to let me off.

"We'll be spending the night here," he told me.

Andar commented, "I'm going hunting. Mind keeping an eye on Randel while I'm gone?"

"Sure," Rakota replied.

"I'll bring something back for the humans," the green dragon said as he promptly took flight.

Randel shielded his eyes against the downwash from Andar's wings, then stretched and looked around. His eyes lit up when he spotted the huge pile of firewood below.

"I'll start the fire!" He ran the other way to get to the ramp, disappearing below the ledge as he descended to the meadow.

Rakota watched in disapproval and commented, "If he's not careful, he's going to burn down the entire forest."

I walked closer to the edge as my eyes trailed back to the pile of dry wood beside the firepit. "The firewood is too close for the kind of fires he likes to make."

It had only been two days since he accidentally burned down my shelter, and it had been twice as far away. If sparks landed in the dry branches, Randel could end up with a much larger fire than he bargained for.

Rakota sighed in resignation. "Shall we work together to ensure this doesn't become a problem?"

Preventing another fiery mishap was a good idea. "If you can move the big pile of firewood away, I can clean up all the smaller stuff."

He was silent for a long moment. "That should suffice."

His slightly frustrated tone had me glancing back at the red dragon, who was frowning at the rider setting fire to several twigs. Despite his words, he made no move to go down to the meadow. I was also reluctant to go down, but that was because the sun wouldn't set for at least five hours, and I didn't really feel like sitting and chatting with Randel for that long.

"Do young dragons get into this much mischief?" I asked, trying to delay the long hours to come.

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Probably more, actually."

"Do you have children?" I tentatively inquired, hoping he wouldn't take offense since he'd asked a lot of questions about my family. I knew dragons laid eggs, but nothing beyond that. The mental image of tiny baby dragons tumbling and wrestling like puppies seemed too cute to not ask about.

He sat down and wrapped his tail around his front feet contemplatively. "No, although Serepha and I are hoping to have some one day, preferably sooner rather than later. This actually ties into what I was going to ask you to help me with."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "How so?"

He lifted a hand and flexed his talons. "Hatchlings need help hatching, and our claws are far better suited to slicing a naga in half than helping a youngster break free. It takes weeks for their scales to harden, and until then, their hide is almost as delicate as your skin."

"They need help hatching?" I asked, although it made sense. Dragon eggs probably had very thick shells, and the parents would likely hurt their child if they tried to help it hatch. My blunt fingernails posed no threat to dragon scales, regardless of how soft they might be.

"Yes, and dragons have to rely on humans for that."

The lure of seeing a baby dragon warred with the risk of the dragons discovering I was a Wellspring. The internal battle didn't last long. I didn't dare be discovered.