Tessa’s POV:

  “Where did you hide my gem?” I asked Dirk.

  “I didn’t touch it.”

  The falsehood rang with an unpleasant tone across the mindlink. I wasn’t sure why he pretended to be innocent. It simply wasn’t possible to lie across the mindlink. I pinned my ear tufts back and growled at him. Restless from boredom, he half-raised his wings, more than ready for a wrestling match thanks to the rain that was keeping us inside.

  Mom muttered, “Take your squabbling outside. I’m trying to nap. He hid it in the sunburst vine on the windowsill.”

  “Thanks!” At the rate everyone kept hiding it, Taureen was going to have to put a tracking device in that thing.

  I flew over to the front door where a sunburst vine grew in a big pot. Peering through the sprawling vines and fat leaves, something glimmered through the greenery. I quickly reclaimed the shiny gem and gazed at the rain on the other side of the glass.

  “Hey, Abby, are you enjoying the rain?”

  “You should really join us in these tunnels one day, just to see what it’s like. You wouldn’t be so smug.”

  “I already know I wouldn’t like it, but I would do it if you joined me here for a sleepover the next night.”

  “Uh huh. Dad may not mind the idea of me eventually joining the Kymari, but if I try anything before my first birthday, he will probably blow a gasket.”

  “What’s a gasket?” Weird rings of flimsy material appeared in my mind, thoroughly confusing me.

  “Dad uses the phrase all the time. I think it’s a seal on something under pressure. Like one of those seed pods that pop open when you touch them.”

  “Those things always make me jump when they pop open. How’s Glen doing?”

  “Much better. The fever is almost gone, and he’s just tired now. He will probably join the Morning Song tomorrow morning, although he will have to take it easy.”

  “That’s a relief. What did you do today?”

  “Sang. Went for a bath. Wrestled with a few of the others and napped a bit before the rain trapped me underground. What about you?”

  “I got dragged through a haunted forest.” I sent a few images of the creepy trees.

  “What? Where was this?”

  Sending her images, I went over the entire training session. She asked quite a few questions, which I answered. Eventually we ran out of things to say, and Abby decided to take another nap.

  I let the mindlink fade as I returned to the living room with my gem and landed on a wall perch. Dirk rolled on the sand beneath the heat lamp, and when he bumped into Mom, she swatted him with her tail. The whip-like slap made him squawk and quickly give her some space. Dad didn’t even raise his head, relaxing on the other side of Mom.

  I remained on the wall perch since I wasn’t cold at the moment. Even with the two heat lamps side by side, it was too crowded for three of us to spread our wings to catch the warmth.

  The doorbell rang, and Taureen called out, “Come in.”

  I stared at the hallway, but when I saw Tkael’s broad shoulders, I sighed in disappointment and turned my attention back to the gem in my hands. I hadn’t seen Soranto for three days now. How long would it take him to think about things? At the very least, he could come and visit while thinking. It was strange how much I missed him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Taureen greeted his friend. “Hello, Tkael. Nice to see you back, Soranto.”

  My head whipped around, and I gawked at the smaller Kymari who must have been behind Tkael.

  Soranto smiled as he took a seat. “I must say that I missed our visits. The evenings are lonely if Adeline and Maria aren’t around.”

  With a whistle of welcome, I launched off my perch to greet him. Part of my mind was worried that he would react like Tkael did, with polite courtesy. The other part of my mind was hopeful—surprisingly so. I landed on his shoulder and trilled at him, tilting my head cutely.

  He smiled at me and petted my back. “I also missed seeing this little one.”

  My ear tufts perked up at that comment. This was quite promising!

  Tkael watched in curiosity. “It looks like you have made up your mind. I thought it would take longer.”

  “It wasn’t an easy decision,” Soranto replied without any trace of his usual humor. “It would be a completely different lifestyle. Not just in the work I would be doing, but it would also mean a shift in my priorities.”

  “What are your family’s thoughts? The thought of an animal—even a bond animal—becoming the center of all your decisions can’t be easy.”

  “Predictably, Maria is all for it. Thankfully, she’s old enough that it won’t create any barriers for her. Even if I can’t leave the planet’s orbit, nothing is stopping her from taking a shuttle to visit her grandparents.”

  “And Adeline?”

  “On one hand, she thinks this is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. On the other hand, it would be a serious adjustment for both of us. Even the earliest videos of the fire lizards showed Tasha as an adult, so she is at least eleven years old now, and this is her first clutch that we know of. They could easily live for thirty, fifty, or eighty years. Possibly more. I won’t be able to leave the planet during that time—even if one of my family members is gravely ill.”

  “That is why I haven’t encouraged them,” Tkael admitted. “None of my relatives are on this planet. I go offworld at least once a month to visit them. It would be different if the fire lizards were allowed to leave this planet, but that likely won’t happen anytime soon.”

  Soranto shrugged slightly, taking care not to jostle me. “If Tessa chooses me, Adeline and I are fine with it. But, in the end, I’m not the only person she goes out of her way to greet. She’s quite friendly and has no problems making new friends.”

  I flew back up to my perch to grab my gem. Instead of taking it to Soranto, I landed on the floor in front of him, just out of his reach. I rolled it around on the floor a few times, taunting him.

  He stretched out his foot, but I swiftly rolled the gem out of his reach. Once he focused on the conversation at hand, I rolled it just within reach again. I kept edging closer and skipping away whenever he tried to touch it.

  Using my tail to bring the shimmering ball with me, I edged closer. My jaw was open in a slight grin at the new game. I wasn’t about to let him get the gem easily—he was going to have to work for the privilege. When he leaned forward, I skipped back, taking the gem with me.

  Grabbing the leather cord, I let it dangle from my jaws as I jumped around a few times. I used the cord to swing it around in big circles and didn’t see him lean forward again.

  His hands scooped me up. “Got you!”

  I squawked in surprise, dropping my gem as I twisted my head around and gently bit the base of his thumb. There wasn’t enough pressure to break the skin, but I had a firm grip.

  “You are definitely your mother’s daughter. What kind of savages are they raising in this household?” Soranto sounded far too amused considering that I still had a good hold of his hand.

  I snorted and grabbed his wrist, letting my claws lightly prick his skin. He set me on his lap, or rather, attempted to as I hung upside down from his wrist. With a snicker, I looped my tail around his arm to help support my weight, still not letting go.

  His other hand managed to snag the gem off the floor. He sat up and held it up as he took a good look at it—somehow completely forgetting about the bright scarlet dragonet dangling from his arm. Being ignored was not in my plans.

  I lightly kicked with my back feet, drawing his attention back to me. Setting the gem on the cushion beside him, he began tickling me. I squirmed and squawked, and it was only seconds before I let go of his thumb and dropped to his lap.

  Rolling onto my back, I swatted his fingers with my hands. My claws were sheathed, and I was being careful with them. He grabbed my gem and dangled it above me. As I reached for it, he pulled back, playing the exact same game I had just tormented him with.

  It took a few tries before I managed to grab it, and with both of my hands occupied, it gave him another opening to tickle me.

  “You sure are a cute little tyke,” he murmured.

  Taureen brought out the cleaning kit, and I went to grab a scouring pad and a vial of oil. There was no point in waiting for my turn when I could get Soranto to do it. He seemed happy to clean and oil my scales.

  The evening continued to progress much like it normally did. It was nice to have the feeling of normalcy back.