Theo placed the explosive ore down with fire-aligned pseudo magical ore.
“Everyone, plug your ears and get down!” he shouted.
Liam shielded me with his own body. Next to me, Bal got down too, and Lord Reineke covered the three of us protectively.
“Three! Two! One!”
I heard a loud explosion, and a blast of wind shot out from the side passage. The sound reverberated through the cave as stones and sand blew past on the hot wind. Lord Reineke’s body glowed gold, acting like a barrier that caused debris to bounce off with a high-pitched noise.
The cavern was filled with a cloud of dust, blocking our vision. I gasped and coughed when I breathed it in, so Mr. Dragon blew it away with a huff of his nose.
After that, everything was silent. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Theo staggered over to peer into the tunnel.
“It... It worked! It’s open! Thank you, Lord Reineke!”
Bal and the knights cheered loudly, then headed through the new passage.
“I can see a light down there!” Bal exclaimed.
“The tunnel connects to another cave that leads outside!”
“Let’s go take a look!”
The knights’ joyful shouts filled the cave.
“I can’t believe it...” Mr. Dragon groaned.
“Well? Terrific, isn’t it?” Lord Reineke laughed haughtily.
The dragon scoffed at the spirit’s provocation and stood up. Lord Reineke, Liam, and I followed after his earthshaking steps into the tunnel.
Mr. Dragon passed through the opening left behind by the explosion into the second cave. His back got stuck on the upper edge, but he forced his way through, causing more earth and rock to crumble down as he widened the hole.
Bal and the knights took the lead, pushing forward toward the light.
“Wow! Amazing!” Bal shouted from up ahead, and the rest of us hurried to catch up.
When we stepped out of the cave, we saw a massive field tapering out before us. A thin layer of snow coated the young green grass.
“This is an old crater,” Mr. Dragon muttered.
“A crater?” I asked.
“This mountain used to erupt often,” Lord Reineke said. “But it hasn’t happened for the past five hundred years.”
Liam gasped. “So the legend from the archives about the sacred mountains spouting fire was true.”
Mr. Dragon took in a deep breath and spread his wings, causing the knights to fall over from surprise. Everyone gazed up at his majestic form, now in full display. He flapped his wings, kicking up a whirlwind. As the sun shone down on him, the shadow of his wings danced along the ground.
Dr. Guillotin emerged from the cave.
“How do your wings feel?”
“Still a bit stiff.”
I conveyed the dragon’s words to the doctor.
“Then let’s begin your daily rehabilitation. Please come out here during the day and do some push-ups. Also, exercise your wings by opening and closing them.”
“A dragon doing push-ups?” Bal murmured, quickly looking away as his shoulders shook with the effort of holding in his laugh.
I couldn’t help grinning at that mental picture as well.
The knights started doing push-ups in front of the dragon to demonstrate.
However, Dr. Guillotin paid his surroundings no mind as he gave the dragon a serious look.
“You can’t just go flying off on your own, you know?”
“Because you’ll all get in trouble if I’m found?”
When I translated, the doctor looked a little surprised at first, then laughed.
“No. It’s because you might fall down and hurt yourself. If you get a serious injury, you’ll be in pain, darling dragon,” he explained in a kind tone of voice.
“Right... I see,” Mr. Dragon replied reluctantly.
I repeated his words, but Dr. Guillotin looked down at the dragon’s tail dubiously. It was wagging, as the dragon couldn’t hide his eagerness to fly.
“I understand how you feel, but sometimes the seemingly roundabout way is the true shortcut.”
“I get it already, so stop acting so arrogant.”
Mr. Dragon let out an angry huff, and Dr. Guillotin simply shrugged in response.
“He’s being mean to me, isn’t he?” the doctor asked me.
I hesitated, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, I’m not angry. In fact, I’m glad that I’m starting to understand his feelings,” Dr. Guillotin said with a grin.
Liam once again cast the cloaking spell over the entrance to the crater so that the dragon could exercise in peace. The area was big, however, so he needed to borrow some of Lord Reineke’s power and draw a circle with the pseudo magical ore.
From then on, Mr. Dragon dedicated himself to his daily rehabilitation.
A month later, on a half-moon night, I clung to the dragon’s neck atop his back. Liam was behind me, embracing me tightly while also holding onto the dragon. His warmth against my back reassured me. And Lord Reineke, who was now able to change size at will, was behind Liam in his giant form, his paws on each side of us to keep us safe. Liam leaned back against him, sinking into the fox’s fluffy chest.
Mr. Dragon’s shiny white scales felt hard and smooth. Without thinking, I brushed my tail against him, and he let out a deep, rumbly giggle.
“That tickles, Lune!”
“Oh! Sorry!”
I made my tail stop moving.
“What happened?” Liam asked.
“I brushed my tail against Mr. Dragon, but he told me to stop because it tickles.”
“I see. Well, I’d never say something like that,” Liam responded sullenly, burying his face between my fox ears.
I smacked his leg with my tail, but he caught it.
“Got you, you naughty tail!”
“Brother?!” I exclaimed in surprise.
Liam tucked my tail against his chest.
“See? Now it can’t do any mischief,” he said with a smile, which made me happy too.
“Stop flirting while you’re in my arms,” demanded the displeased Lord Reineke.
Mr. Dragon nodded in agreement.
But we’re not flirting, I thought with a shrug as Liam and I exchanged grins before falling silent.
The dragon began walking to the crater, the ground shaking beneath him. When he stepped out from the dark cave, a warm breeze hit my cheeks. I looked up at the sky and saw the half-moon.
Mr. Dragon let out a roar. It sounded like a storm, shaking the trees and shrubbery all around us. Cherry blossoms fluttered down, and birds jolted awake and flew off.
“Shh! Please, Mr. Dragon! You’ll wake everyone up!” I said.
The dragon smirked. Liam smiled wryly as well, then pulled out his sword and drew a circle in the air.
“Lord of Darkness, Nott! Conceal the dragon!”
A purple magical circle shone against the starry sky. As it lowered onto us, a momentary feeling of discomfort overcame me. The dragon’s white body turned dark, and a membrane the same shade of purple as my brother’s hair enveloped me and Lord Reineke. This was Liam’s dark magic—it made me feel calm and safe.
“I cast a cloaking spell on us, and nobody will be able to hear the dragon’s roars either. Go on, dragon! Fly at will!”
Mr. Dragon flapped his wings, blasting air against the surrounding greenery. Even a concealment spell couldn’t hide such a physical shock wave.
“Here we go!”
With a powerful kick, the dragon leaped into the air.
“Aah!” I screamed, closing my eyes and desperately clinging onto the dragon.
Liam held me tightly, while Lord Reineke’s paws were straining with effort.
“Open your eyes, Lune.”
At Lord Reineke’s words, I peeked over my shoulder and saw that he was smiling at me. The wind swept my silver hair back, causing it to get mixed up in Liam’s. Flower petals danced across the spring breeze, and the scent of flowers pooled at the basin of the mountains. I looked up at the sky, to a spot where a river of stars seemed to divide the sky in two.
“Oh! How beautiful!”
“That’s the Milky Way,” Liam said.
My breath hitched at the stunning sight.
The dragon rose higher and higher until he broke through the clouds, spinning around beneath the moonlight. He whirled across the sky as if letting out his frustration at not being able to fly for so long.
Whenever I’d look up at the sky from the basin, the mountains surrounded it like a picture frame, making it look small and narrow. But from atop the dragon’s back, the sky seemed to stretch on for eternity.
“Lune, look,” Liam said, pointing down.
Although not as bright as the night sky, the Renard domain below us was also dotted with lights. But those lamps were precious, so they were used sparingly. I then noticed that the mountain trail was lit up by what must’ve been torches. There was a line of people, all making their way toward the capital.
“Is that Dr. Guillotin’s group?” I asked.
“It is,” Liam answered.
Hearing that, Mr. Dragon sharply turned toward the group. We would see the doctor off under the cover of night.
The dragon aimed directly at Dr. Guillotin and dove down. The wind shrieked in my ears, and the trees along the trail warped under the pressure. Flower petals shot up into the air and forest animals scattered in panic.
Dr. Guillotin held down his green hair while looking around frantically. The dragon spat something at him that looked like a rock. It hit the man in the head, but then he caught it in both hands. He scrutinized it for a moment, then quickly hid it in his breast pocket. Wide-eyed, he looked up at the sky.
He shouldn’t be able to see us because of Liam’s magic...right?
But it was startling that he seemed to be staring right at us. He then smiled, bowed deeply, and gave us a small wave. Though he probably couldn’t actually see us, Liam and I waved back while Lord Reineke wagged his tail. Satisfied, Mr. Dragon swooped back around and began flying away.
“What did you give him?” I asked.
The dragon grinned. “A dragon bone.”
“A bone?!”
Dragon bone was a fabled miracle drug that Dr. Guillotin had always wanted. Supposedly, it would double the effects of any medicine it was added to.
“Much as I hated it, that man did look after me. It’s my farewell gift to him,” Mr. Dragon said with a scoff.
Lord Reineke laughed at that.
“Wait, did the dragon give Dr. Guillotin a dragon bone? As in, the legendary medicine?” asked the confused Liam.
“Yep! Mr. Dragon said it was a farewell gift because Dr. Guillotin looked after him,” I explained.
“I said I hated it!” the dragon emphasized grumpily.
“I see. Well, I hope Dr. Guillotin succeeds in the capital,” Liam said.
“It’ll be lonely without him, but I want him to do his best out there.”
Liam and I nodded at each other while the dragon carried us further and further from the trail.
On the edge of the mountains, I could see a castle illuminated in the distance. It was the residence of House Renard.
“That’s our home,” brother said.
His words filled me with joy.
“Our home...” I repeated, and he nodded.
Once Mr. Dragon had his fill of soaring across the sky, he set the three of us down in front of Renard Castle and returned to his nest.