Reiss’ shock had an intellectual quality to it. This was one of the facts he never would have imagined, even with the Ebony Dragon’s dark past.

Caron was more surprised by the fact that Vassilis was in the know about this while Reiss wasn’t.

But Ginger’s perturbed face told of his genuine bewilderment at the facts he’d just heard.

The Argent, Violet, Azure, and Vermillion Dragons had attempted to kill Draggard-Phoenix?

And they had used the Perfect Execution, a Pieyro tailor-made for slaying the strongest dragon in ancient story?

Ginger’s face lost all color. All this on its own might have only warranted an intellectually-inspired kind of shock, but for him, it deserved more than that. This made everything he’d experienced in the Beginner’s Den make a morsel of sense.

Ginger hadn’t wanted it to make sense. If it did, then that would prove that he was losing his mind.

Why were those dragons asking him to use Perfect Execution on them then? Why did they think he could have known about it, let alone use it?

Why had that dragon urged him? Why did it say it could show him how to use it?

There was some sinister answer, Ginger imagined. He started to sweat again. He suddenly remembered Ira jumping between him and his friends and asking him (Ginger) how many Pieyro he knew.

The plump dragonling’s sweat turned cold.

“But… why would the other Elders try to kill the Ebony Dragon? I know he did some heinous things, but didn’t he do equally as much good?” Reiss asked, but then he shook his head as though revising his thoughts. “Those dragons Ginger saw… then… were they real? Ginger couldn’t have known about the Perfect Execution, right?”

Vassilis glared at the plump dragonling.

“No. No one can communicate with dragons once they pass. You must have known about the Perfect Execution beforehand. I don’t know how, but I’ll find out sooner or later,” he declared.

“How did you know about it if it’s some ancient power no one can perform?” Caron hissed at him and blocked his path to Ginger. Reiss could have answered that question through simple deductions he had made, but Vassilis was quicker.

“You might be strong, but you sure are slow, aren’t you?” Vassilis said with a condescending look over Caron. “My ancestor, the Vermillion Dragon Avecsalot created the Perfect Execution. Every dragon from my family knows about it. It would be a disgrace to not carry that achievement of our ancestor in our hearts, even if we can’t tell just anyone about it. It’s a big deal for an outsider who isn’t a mature dragon to randomly have that knowledge. My family might even get involved if I tell them.”

“You will do no such thing,” Ira suddenly intervened. He had been appraising Ginger thoroughly until now.

Vassilis looked rebellious.

“What’s stopping me? Do you have any idea how much trouble Ginger could cause if he started spreading information about something like that in the school? There’s a reason not just any dragon knows about the Perfect Execution.”

“If it comes to that, it would be my responsibility,” Ira said, and his face grew dark. There was blatant threat written over it. “And listen here, little imp. You better watch your tone with me. I’m not an insignificant dragon you can threaten with your family name. As long as you are here within the school walls, you will listen to what I say, especially with regard to this matter. You’re welcome to do otherwise, of course. I’d like to see how well your family does when infringing upon Phoenix’s school.”

For a moment, it looked like Vassilis was about to hiss another confident retort. He must have thought better of it because he remained silent and looked the other way.

Ira nodded in approval and then turned to Ginger and the rest and said:

“I think we’ve just about had enough of Mr. Vassilis. I graced him with the answers he desired, satisfactory or not” – he slapped the dragonling’s shoulder hard – “so I’ll escort him back to the dormitories and clean the mess there… somehow. You three wait here.”

No doubt, Vassilis wanted to stay and learn more about everything to do with Ginger, but he knew he wouldn’t be allowed, especially after he had just declared his inclination to make trouble for the dragonling with his family.

Unbeknownst to him, Reiss would have loved for him to stay and explain the massive piece of information left unexplained – about the assassination attempt on the Ebony Dragon. Somehow, Ira and Vassilis had just glossed over it even though it seemed to be a piece of history most wouldn’t know but would love to.

Soon, the gatekeeper and the high-born dragon had left the office, leaving the three friends on their own.

Ginger exploded with anxiety immediately.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me! At first, I thought all I had to worry about was… but I don’t understand anymore!” he cried, his hands trembling. He stopped the tears when they threatened to spill from him.

Reiss and Caron rushed to sit beside him on the mattress, but neither knew what to say to comfort the plump dragonling. Ginger hugged his legs, trying to find a semblance of stability and calm.

It came to Reiss right then. He thought it was the only thing he could say to prompt some kind of relief for everyone. At the very least, it could dispel the swelling, uncomfortable silence.

“Ira seemed to imply that there’s something… unusual about you, Ginger. Something that explains your sleepwalking,” he said, and he tried to sound like his usual, calm self. “Truth be told – and I guess you know too – I’ve always known there’s something else about you. Something special. I don’t need to know what it is, of course.”

“I’m just saying, if you saw dragons that were asking you for the Perfect Execution, I believe it was real. It was no illusion. But… I think there’s a good reason for it. Believe me, this is all terrifying for me too. I can hardly even believe it’s feasible at all, but… don’t judge it as some evil influence without understanding it first. I know in the Wild, it may be better to think like that, but for now – while you’re here in Ravi – try to give it a pragmatic analysis.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Ginger looked at his friend. At first, he wanted to shout at him, telling him he didn’t understand.

You didn’t see how they looked at me. You didn’t see how they begged; how desperate they were. There were even children, crying to be killed. What could be good about that?

But Ginger kept it all in and thought it through.

Maybe Reiss was right.

Before he was thrust into the midst of the dragons, they had simply been begging from afar, pleading. Some part of him had even been responding to their emotions before he fully woke up.

‘Could it be a good thing?’ Ginger thought, and then another sentiment crashed into him

Was this the moment? Was he supposed to tell his friends about his secret now?

As he had thought, Reiss was aware that he was keeping a lot from him. While the dwarfish dragonling didn’t mind, Ginger did. But he hesitated. Would that mean that he would have to explain what happened with his father, and his mother and brother too?

He quivered at the thought.

“Fillys found out.”

Ginger and Reiss turned, almost in sync, to Caron. She had donned a look fitting for someone at a funeral for a close relative.

“What?” said Ginger.

“That day we went to the Beginner’s Den, I looked all rough because… Fillys told everyone in my dorm room about where I come from. I don’t know how she found out, but she did, and for a while, I felt hopeless. I let her walk all over me. I was…scared,” Caron said. She hung her head but then thought better of it. She looked straight at Reiss and then at Ginger. “I am from Moira, in Retrors City.”

Only Reiss reacted appropriately. Different from the “What?” Ginger gave, confused, the small dragonling looked at Caron as though she had been sheared off all her youthful skin.

Ginger realized from his reaction that something about this Moira place was terribly bad.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

Reiss was hesitant to explain. He withheld everything he wanted to say regarding this revelation. He almost felt the need to ask Caron for permission to give Ginger an elaborate explanation.

“Uh, Ginger,” he gathered the courage to say, “Moira is er… something like an orphanage. It’s barely even that, honestly.”

Ginger’s head snapped to Caron.

“You…” he began, dumbfounded.

“Yeah,” said Caron with a shrug, but she was anything but indifferent to the matter. “I don’t know my parents, and for the most part, I don’t remember how I got that orphanage in the first place.”

Studying the expression on Ginger’s face, Reiss sighed and explained the last bit of context Ginger was missing.

“Moira is not an orphanage for dragons, Ginger. And Retrors isn’t a place where dragons linger,” he said to him.

The plump dragonling was flabbergasted.

Caron had been raised among non-dragons?

Recalling how powerless he had been in Good Yield Street when he first came to Ravi, Ginger wondered just how Caron had lived in a city full of non-dragons. She didn’t have Kardia by then, so she couldn’t deter anyone with her draconic presence.

If she was raised in such a place without any means to defend herself…

Reiss gave Caron a look that was difficult to unravel.

“You had to hide the fact that you were a dragon, didn’t you? If anyone knew, they would have killed you before you could mature. Dragons don’t take so kindly to finding their spawn in likely places, especially a place like Retrors,” he said to her.

And indeed, it was true.

It was very common for small towns that invited associations of dragons to pick up lost dragon children they had saved or raised to be rewarded with hot fire. It would be even worse if young dragon corpses were discovered in a thriving city of non-dragons.

As this was the trend since old times, no one tolerated a lost dragon child. Most were killed on discovery in the name of warding away the wrath of the Qin Asha.

Caron nodded at Reiss’ inference. Her eyes suddenly found the mattress a little more interesting than her friends’ faces.

“I couldn’t have done it on my own. There was a matron there who helped me keep myself hidden. My eyes could be explained away as some genetic trait I inherited from some obscure non-dragon race, but the more I grew, the more it became obvious that I wasn’t like the others. The matron wasn’t especially warm. I didn’t even know her name, but she did her best to keep me safe. She’s the one who arranged for me to find a spot here. She had great connections, the sort that were best left unquestioned. She even gave me a crash course on hygiene and etiquette before I came. I had to fit in.” She looked at Ginger and almost managed a smile. “I was smuggled in, just like you.”

Ginger almost smirked. He couldn’t decide if all this made him feel better or worse.

It now made sense to him why Caron had joined him and Reiss after the Second Burning.

Because he and I are both special, Ginger remembered her say that day.

The redhead hadn’t really been referring to their talents, but their backgrounds. She had disguised the meaning of her words, though. She felt a connection to Ginger, who also didn’t seem to fit in.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all about this before,” she said to the two boys. “I…I’d started to feel out of sorts… Out of place. I just wanted to bury everything about Moira behind me. It was selfish of me. I realize that now. I should have stuck to my original idea for why I decided to join you two.” She jerked, looked at Ginger, and crossed her arms. “But I’m not saying all this to make you tell us anything you really shouldn’t. I promise.”

And indeed, it was far from being her intent.

“I have two souls.”

“…”

“…”

Caron and Reiss had no words. Even their reactions were a little lacking.

“Er… what?” Reiss said. He genuinely didn’t know if he had heard Ginger right.

“I was born with two souls. It wasn’t supposed to happen. I had a twin and somewhere along my mother’s pregnancy… both our souls gathered in one body. I’m not even sure which one I am, really,” he said with a frown. “According to Ira, my other soul is young and reacts to things that cause interesting changes to it. That’s why I went to Professor Alexandros’ office that night… and that’s why I went to the Beginner’s Den this time, I think.”

Reiss held his large forehead. He looked at Ginger’s chest and then his face, perhaps hoping to get a glimpse of this second soul.

“No way. You have two…”

Caron, on the other hand, had squinted her eyes.

“Two souls?” she said, lacking a better question. Then she reeled. “So that’s why you have Alien and Pooling Kardia!”

Right then, Ira walked into the small, messy office. He gave a sigh when he saw the dragonlings. Seeing the expressions on their faces, he grinned.

“Looks like I arrived at the perfect time. Sharing our secrets, are we?” he said.

Ginger suddenly remembered that Ira had told him not to share his dual-soul nature with anyone. His eyes went round.

“I didn’—” he began.

“Eh, might as well. Not much use in hiding it now, especially from friends. They’ve seen too much,” Ira cut him off before sitting on the mattress.

“Besides, there’s something even more interesting than your secrets at the moment.” He grew solemn and leaned closer to Ginger. “I sensed your Kardia readying to cast an advanced Pieyro earlier when you woke up. You’ve likely already learned the Perfect Execution, Ginger.”

It was a shockfest right after.

Ginger shuddered while his friends gaped. Reiss even cried, “WHAT?”

But Ira disregarded their surprise.

“You couldn’t have learned such a thing alone, especially without even knowing what it was. Someone taught it to you, right?” he asked the plump dragonling.