Food!

Foros took off after the rabbit he spotted, and Kaen started to laugh as Phillip watched his silver dragon tear off into the trees.

“He’s not going to catch that, is he?”

Shaking his head, Kaen smiled. “Not at all. See how he waddles? It will take at least a week before he can possibly catch one. Even then… After about two weeks, he should be okay with the task on his own. The problem is those creatures won’t fill him up. And I doubt he can fly over the mountain for a few months.”

Pammon thrummed as he watched his son trying to catch a rabbit that had disappeared so quickly into the trees.

Come back, my child. You needed to be more stealthy to get close. It heard you and saw you coming from too far away.

Ignoring Pammon’s advice, Foros continued to chase through the woods for a bit, trying to accomplish what not going to happen.

“When should I tell him to come back?” Phillip asked, a slight look of concern appearing as Foros disappeared behind trees.

“Give him a few more seconds, and then call out to him. You still haven’t managed to talk to him without using your words?”

Shaking his head, Phillip kept his eyes on the forest, tracking his dragon even though he couldn’t see him. “I try, but it feels like I’m just thinking, and he hasn’t responded at all. Was Pammon this stubborn?”

Pammon turned to look at the two dragon riders, and Kaen laughed.

“I would say he was worse, but Pammon might argue I was wrong,” Kaen replied, keeping an eye on his dragon. “All I can say is that both of you need to learn to work together. Let him be the dragon that he is. You be the rider you want to be. Thankfully, I never crushed Pammon’s spirit, and he never resented me for being bossy. We learned together without a real teacher.”

Phillip nodded and raised his hands to his mouth. “Foros! Come back!”

A frown appeared, and Kaen could see that Foros had ignored Phillip.

You were asked to come back. You need to return to your rider and listen to him.

But the rabbit! It is so close and–

I said come back.

Pammon’s tone echoed through Kaen’s mind as he listened to the two of them talk. A moment after Pammon had finished instructing his son, noise could be heard quickly coming through the trees.

Phillip smiled, and Kaen snorted, not sharing the knowledge of what had taken place.

A few more seconds passed, and a silver shape waddled briskly from the woods.

“You’ll get the next one,” Phillip said as he moved toward his dragon, who slinked slightly as Foros moved past Pammon.

He is your rider, and you are his dragon. You need to trust that he cares for you and wants the best for you. Sometimes, that means you must abandon a meal. Do you understand?

Kaen watched as the two dragons locked eyes, and Kaen felt a little tinge of sorrow for Foros, who bowed his head and let Phillip console him with some scratches.

Yes, sire.

Pammon leaned over, gently took his snout, and nuzzled the side of Foros, bringing a trill from the silver dragon.

I do not want to be harsh, but you must learn some things, and it will be hard. Just as your rider will have to train and practice, your mother and I have much to teach you. There is a threat, and we must fight together. One day, you will fly beside me and prove how strong you are.

Kaen watched as Foros raised his head and his chest puffed out.

Now apologize to Phillip and then get ready. We need to return to home.

Foros turned to his rider and rubbed his head against Phillip’s chest.

Forgive me for not coming when you called.

“You’re forgiven!” exclaimed Phillip. “I’m not mad, just concerned. I want you to be safe.”

Foros trilled as Phillip scratched his dragon’s head, and soon, both were playing and wrestling for a moment.

Why do I feel you are going to say I was worse than that?

Kaen smiled and moved up next to Pammon and scratched his side.

You were an eggling with a boy who had no clue how to help you be the dragon you needed to be. I wouldn’t trade a day or how they turned out.

Pammon bent his head and nudged Kaen playfully as they wrestled, laughing and thrumming as Pammon lifted Kaen off the ground and grabbed two horns along his snout.

After setting Kaen down, both turned and saw Phillip and Foros watching the two of them.

“One day, you will be like that,” Phillip whispered.

Soon, I hope.

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Pammon beat his wings as he carefully lowered Foros to the ground, letting him out from his talons. Flying through the sky with his son perched between his massive claws was a thrill for Pammon and Foros.

After Foros and Phillip were deposited, Kaen and Pammon repeated the process with Frederic and Tazorath.

She is much easier than her brother. Why is that?

Kaen shrugged as he watched Frederick and Tazorath laugh and play after being returned from their outing.

I think it is because her mother is not as strong-willed as Foros’s.

Pammon thrummed and ignored when the other dragons turned to look at the two of them.

Are you sure about bringing them tonight? It will be their first time around that many humans.

I have faith you can manage them. Besides, they need to meet Callie, Hess, and Sulenda, who will be there tonight as well.

You are a brave man… that girl is going to be challenging to manage with two new dragons.

Kaen nodded and chuckled.

The good news is that it falls to Hess and Sulenda to manage their child.

Thrumming louder, Pammon’s sides vibrated as both of them were thankful Callie was not their responsibility.

Ten minutes after Kaen had planned on starting what they would do, Callie had given in to the truth that she would not spend time with Foros or Tazorath. Both had been anxious as the little girl almost charged them.

Phillip and Frederick laughed at how each dragon seemed nervous when she raced toward them.

I remember that voice… there were moments I remember it outside my shell… it seemed to go on forever, Tazorath said as she peeked her redhead from behind Frederick’s side.

“That was because she spent a lot of time in the cave when you were an egg,” Frederick said, scratching Tazorath’s chin. “She was upset that you couldn’t be her dragon.”

But she doesn’t have… the thing inside your chest. How could I be her dragon without one?

Frederick shrugged and smiled. “I’m just glad you are mine.”

Holding the box that Sedel had given him, Kaen stood in the center of the massive garden of the keep. Kaen smiled as he gazed at everyone gathered, nodding as he acknowledged everyone he knew. Ava stood next to him, holding a small knife, ignoring the glances she received from those wondering what was about to happen.

“King Aldric and other esteemed guests and members of my family, I have a gift from the wood elves, and tonight, I am honored to be able to share it with you. It may not seem like much now, but know that what you are about to receive will prove itself over time.”

Opening the box, Kaen took out a seed as large as his palm and held it between his fingers.

Clearing his throat, Kaen did his best imitation of Aldric when he spoke in the throne room. “This is a seed from the tree that the wood elves live in and call their own. I am not allowed to say the tree's name, but you have heard it mentioned in stories and legends. This kingdom will have a treasure today because of the wood elves and their desire to mend bonds long lost.”

Kaen nodded at Ava, who handed him the knife after pulling it from the sheath. He cut an X on the outer part of the seed and then sliced open his palm. Squeezing the seed gently, his blood dripped out and onto the ground near his feet.

Some sounds of surprise and shock came from those watching, but Kaen ignored them, bending to his knees and then punching his fist into the ground.

His arm went deeper than his elbow, and he turned to Ava and smiled.

She leaned down and put her hand on the arm, holding the seed in the ground.

Ready?

You ask as if you cannot feel the power inside me.

I still like to ask.

Pammon thrummed softly as Kaen smiled.

Igniting his lifestone, Kaen closed his eyes and saw the world shift around him.

Power from Pammon flowed into him through their bond. Kaen felt the love and gift of Ava’s power coming through his arm.

All of it coursed inside him and then flowed through his arm into his palm. The seed shuddered and flexed, his hand flying open as the magic was sucked into the seed, thirsty for a power that would allow it to become what it was meant to be.

Roots grew and formed, seeking the nutrients in the soil and a place to dig deep. Water was close, and like a spider’s web, it went out searching for everything it needed to be what it was destined to become.

Kaen’s hand was pushed up from the ground as the tree trunk grew, seeking the air and space needed to live. He did not allow his hand to leave contact as the earth shuddered and a trunk pushed up and out.

In a minute, a seed had turned into a tree, standing over twenty feet tall, and its branches spreading quickly as leaves sprouted.

Kaen couldn’t hear the sound of those watching, unable to believe their eyes at the sight before them.

His arm shook from the power it felt like the seed had demanded, and his legs felt weak, but with Ava and Pammon lending their respective strengths, Kaen continued to pour more from his lifestone.

A torrent of blue fury blazed inside him, causing the tree to shudder as it grew again, its trunk stretching and expanding, the sound of bark shifting and evolving.

We need to stop! You cannot do what you are doing!

Kaen heard Pammon, yet his life seemed to ignore his friend as it burned. His body was giving out, and as the world started to spin, Pammon roared. Ava grabbed his arm with both hands, yanking him from contact with the trunk of the tree.

Falling to the ground, Kaen drew deep breaths, and he could hear Ava also panting.

What were you thinking? Why were you giving your life for that?

Pammon’s words and worry flowed through his mind, but something else existed. A connection that seemed to reach out to him.

Lying there in the grass, the tree and its canopy above him, Kaen saw the magic flowing through each branch and leaf. He could see Ava and the magic that flowed inside her. His two children and the spark of life moved within.

Can’t you hear it?

Pammon said nothing. Kaen felt the acknowledgment from his friend a moment later.

Is that really the forest? Is that really Sedel?

It is… somehow we have connected… The tree! They are connected.

You are foolish, but I can think of no other man I could imagine being my rider. Somehow, you have done what I doubt anyone else could do before.

“My love, are you ok?”

Kaen nodded, turning his lifestone off and being overwhelmed by the exhaustion it had held back. “I’m a little tired… thank you for stopping me,” he whispered.

Groaning, Ava leaned over and kissed him on his forehead. “Thank Pammon. He told me you were being an eggling.”

Kaen laughed and nodded. Finally, he opened his eyes and saw with his normal vision what had taken place.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, sitting up with Ava’s help.

She looked up and nodded.

There in the courtyard stood a tree that most would have thought was over fifty years old. Its four-foot wide trunk stretched upward, covered in white bark. Its white branches stretched outward, covered with leaves, the color of the brightest green most would ever see.

Kaen turned and looked at everyone in the courtyard. No one was looking at him, not even the dragons, as each stared at what he had just created.