Tessa’s POV:

  I sat alertly on Taureen’s wrist as a dozen children listened avidly to his explanation of the various bond animal species, what they did, why they were treated differently, and how to recognize them by the marks on their harnesses or collars.

  He was just starting to talk about the fire lizards. “The fire lizards are a recent addition to the list of species deemed valuable enough to become bond animals. Does anyone know what the bonded fire lizards do?”

  A boy raised his hand, and when Taureen nodded at him, he piped up, “They can smell sicora and crawlers.”

  “Exactly. Every galactic cycle, thousands of cities have to be quarantined inside powerful shields and burned down due to sicora and crawler outbreaks. The fire lizards are able to check all the spaceships and greatly reduce the risk of that happening on this planet.”

  A girl raised her hand, and when prompted, she asked, “Are the fire lizards only on this planet?”

  “Yes, they are a native species that has only been found in this city so far. As far as we can tell, there are fewer than two hundred of them left. They likely did not fare well when the Votaks invaded and colonized the planet. The Votaks wiped out over half of the animal species before we noticed that they had infiltrated this star system.”

  I tilted my head as I realized that it was the same white aliens that Mom and Dad had told us about. The Blood Memories knew almost nothing about them though.

  Taureen explained how the fire lizard handlers would walk through every incoming ship and frequently patrolled the city, then asked, “Are there any more questions before we give a small demonstration?”

  He looked around, but none of the eager children raised their hands or asked questions. He pulled something out of his pocket and passed it to the teacher.

  “There is a piece of crawler skin inside. I’ll take Tasha and Tessa out of the room while you hide it. Just remove the airtight lid and put the vial somewhere. Knock on the door when you want us to come back inside.”

  Taureen went into the hallway and closed the door behind us. I shifted my weight on Taureen’s wrist, eager to go back inside. Finding the source of the smell was becoming more and more like a game all the time. One that I really loved.

  It seemed to take forever before there was a knock at the door. Taureen went back inside. Tran and Vick were still standing along the wall, right where they had been the entire time. My ear tufts went back as I growled lowly. Mom also growled as she stood up and partially opened her wings in agitation.

  If I hadn’t known it was just a piece of skin in the vial, I would have thought that there was one in the room. The scent was much stronger than it had been in the marketplace.

  Taureen held his wrist up higher, bringing me closer to his face. “Tessa, go on. Find it.”

  I leapt into the air, eager to prove my skills. Besides, the sooner I found that vial, the sooner they would put the lid on and contain the smell that made me want to scratch something. A quick circle of the room easily pinpointed the teacher’s desk. I hovered above it with some difficulty as I pointedly stared.

  “Tessa, to fist.”

  I flew back to land on his wrist, turning around to keep the desk in my sight, just like Mom had done in the marketplace this morning. He walked over and held me in front of each drawer. I hissed at the middle one. He opened it and held up the small vial for the class to see.

  He put the lid back on and twisted a dial on the airtight lid to firmly seal it before putting it in his belt pouch. I caught a glimpse of my shiny in the same pouch and hoped that the vial wouldn’t make it smell bad.

  After thanking the class and teacher for letting us visit, we left the school. I jumped onto his shoulder and laid down to relax and enjoy the sights. This stretch of the sidewalk was pretty empty except for the occasional shuttle on the road beside us. A small bird sang merrily in a tree above us.

  “Hey, Mom. Can we join the wild flock for the Morning Song one day?”

  “I don’t see why not. The hardest part will be getting Dirk up.”

  “Don’t worry. I can jump on him. If he wants to try and catch me, he’ll have to get up.”

  I didn’t even have to see her rolling her eyes since I could feel it through the mindlink as she said, “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. If there’s one thing he willingly gets up for, it’s the Morning Song. What prompted this sudden interest to sing with the flock?”

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  “When I was talking with other bonded dragonets, it’s pretty much the only thing they miss from the park, so I’d like to try it.”

  “We can go. It’s a unique experience.”

  “Thanks. What do you know about Soranto?”

  Mom peered around Taureen’s neck as she gave me a long look. “A bit. May I inquire why you are asking?”

  I suddenly recalled that Mom didn’t seem to like Soranto very much, and I lowered my ear tufts slightly as I replied, “Well… I’ve been thinking really hard the last two days about a handler. So far, Soranto is my favorite.”

  She regarded me steadily, not looking particularly surprised.

  “I’m not going to decide right away,” I hastily reassured her. “I’ll take my time, but I was hoping that you could tell me more about him.”

  She rearranged her wings with a heavy sigh. “You always did like him, so I’m not overly surprised that he is at the top of your list. He’s some sort of repair tech who works with electronics and equipment of some sort. You met his wife and daughter. His house is about a twenty-minute walk from our place.”

  My ear tufts perked up hopefully as I committed the details to memory.

  She tilted her head considerately. “He isn’t nearly as serious as most Kymari. He is quite persistent though. His reflexes are slower than Taureen’s, although he doesn’t care if he gets scratched.”

  “Uh, how do you know that?”

  Her amusement rang clearly across the mindlink. “Because he always tried to pet me in the past. Thankfully, he gave up several years ago. In the early days, I didn’t like anyone touching me. Believe it or not, I actually don’t mind him. I just pretend to loathe his presence. It’s our little game. But take your time in choosing. It’s a big decision.”

  “I will.” I sighed in relief, happy that she wasn’t completely against my choice.

  ***

  We finished our patrol right as rain clouds began rolling in. They were dark enough to cancel our trip to the park. We got home just as it started raining, and I flew over to the heat lamp to dry off and warm up.

  After relaxing for a while, I yawned. “Hey, Abby. What’s up?”

  “At the moment, dirt,” she replied, reminding me that the flock usually retreated to their burrows to avoid getting wet and chilled. They took fruit with them or stashed dried stuff inside so they didn’t have to go out.

  “I’m beginning to think you guys are actually chipmunks with the amount of time you spend underground.”

  “I am not a chipmunk. I have scales, not fur. What are you up to, besides annoying me?”

  I sent a mental image of the heat lamp above me.

  “Ugh. You just have to rub it in, don’t you? What did you end up doing today?”

  I told her about the marketplace, the glittering gem, and the crawler scent. I was in the middle of showing her the classroom demonstration when Dirk grabbed my gem and raced off.

  “Hey! That’s mine! Bring it back!”

  “Go get him!” Abby egged me on, eager for excitement, even if it was only through the mindlink.

  I was happy to oblige and took off after him, bent on revenge and retrieving my treasure. Things got more complicated when Mom and Dad joined the “game”.

  By the time I finally got my hands on my gem, Tkael was knocking on the door. I flew up to a wall perch to cool down and catch my breath. My sparkling trinket was also safer up here with me than within the reach of my dear family at the moment.

  It wasn’t long before Soranto showed up as well. I examined him as he cheerfully took off his coat and hung it up to dry, not the least bit bothered by the rain.

  As he sat in his usual chair, I swooped down to land on the center table with my gem dangling below my jaws. Just to taunt him, I tossed my head lightly to show it off before flying up to another wall perch.

  Mom commented, “Taureen, Tessa mentioned that she is considering Soranto as a potential handler. Can you mention the possibility? I somehow don’t think it’s crossed his mind considering how Keegan and I usually react to him.”

  My ear tufts perked up as I tilted my head. Soranto had a faint smirk as he examined my treasure, probably thinking about ways to lure me closer since I was playing keep-away.

  Without missing a beat, Taureen softly murmured, “She missed you. Yesterday evening, she kept glancing at the door as if waiting for you.”

  Had I really done that? I might have. It was hard to remember. Soranto’s smirk dropped as his head whipped around to stare blankly at his friend. His startled gaze moved back to me before he closed his eyes in deep thought. Silence reigned for several long minutes, growing more and more uncomfortable.

  The troubled expression on his face worried me. I abandoned the trinket on my perch and flew down to land on his knee. Stretching my neck up, I trilled softly at him. His eyes finally opened as the corner of his lips quirked up, but it was a sad smile.

  He moved his gaze to Taureen, and when he spoke, his quiet voice was pained. “It never occurred to me that she’d grow attached. I was just happy that a fire lizard came to me. I’m an equipment engineer, not part of the defense or fighter groups. It would be a huge adjustment—I already have a wife and child. I have never had to put anything ahead of them, but a bond animal requires true dedication. I don’t think I’m ready for something like this.”

  He gently picked me up as he got to his feet and placed me on the cushion where he had been sitting. I looked up in worry, able to sense his conflicted emotions and the edge of distress.

  “I’m sorry to leave so suddenly, but I really need to think about this.”

  “I can understand,” Taureen replied kindly. “Keep in touch.”

  “I will. Thanks.” He swiftly walked down the hallway before putting on his coat and slipping out the door.

  This wasn’t the outcome I had expected. Nor had I realized that his distress and sadness would cause me inner turmoil as well. Mom crooned a “come here” from where she rested under the heat lamp. My body moved automatically, even though my mind was stuck in the past.

  She held her wing up, and I curled up underneath it, leaning against her. Her tail wrapped around me comfortingly as she draped her wing over me. I was almost half as big as her now, so her wing wasn’t able to completely cover me like it used to.

  “Oh, my poor baby,” Mom murmured sadly. “I didn’t know he was going to react like that, or I would have asked Taureen to have a quiet word with him.”

  At least I wasn’t the only one who had been caught off-guard, not that it helped any. I closed my eyes, wishing I could block out the pained look on Soranto’s face when he realized that our friendship could potentially affect his entire family.

  At some point, I fell asleep with a heavy heart.