Weylin stared at the little dragon. It stared back at him, its head tilting to the side in a silent question. He couldn’t shake away the feeling of wrongness that plagued him. Those strange dreams—nightmares—only started after he had taken the little vermin in. Strangely enough, they only manifested when it was nearby. The night his sister had insisted on having a sleepover party with the dragon as its only guest was nightmare-free. In fact, aside that day, he couldn’t remember having a better night's sleep.

  His brows furrowed, suspicion and something else—something darker—brewing inside his chest. He had never heard of monsters attacking humans using dreams. But again, he wasn’t a knight. He didn’t have access to the temple’s all-encompassing monster encyclopedia. For all he knew, it was another of these monsters’ ways to weaken human minds and then feast on them at their weakest. And he, the foolish country pumpkin that he was, had led a monster to his doorstep. Endangering himself was one thing, but endangering the safety of both his mother and sister was unforgivable.

  He tightened his hold on his axe. Would he be able to get rid of it? And if he failed, would the monster trail its way back to his home and feast on his family after being done with him?

  With a startling realization, he remembered the little beast had refused all and every morsel of food his mother and sister had offered it. Was it laying off food so it could prepare for its bigger meal, him and his family?

  He took an instinctual step back at the sudden movement of the dragon. Its small feathery wings fluttered as it flew to him. He shifted his hold on the only weapon between him and the—most probably—attacking monster.

  Would one strike suffice to kill it? He doubted it. The dragon was far from being defenseless. The fact that it infiltrated deep into human territory was proof enough.

  How many humans did it kill? How many fields did it destroy with its strange powers? And here, Weylin was sheltering it when he should have notified the knights at first glance of the monster.

  The dragon must have felt the change in the air. It hovered above him, watching him with its eerie eyes. Weylin shuddered. They looked so human, as if a human, not a monster, was staring down at him.

  The dragon chirped. It tentatively approached him, its eyes fleeting to the axe gripped tightly in Weylin’s hands.

  Weylin made his decision and swung it at the monster. Just as he thought, it evaded his attack with ease, its wings taking it away from the battered steel’s reach. It watched him with an unimpressed look.

  “Go away, or I swear I’ll kill you. I’m giving you a chance to escape with your life. Leave and don’t come back.”

  It must have seen through his bluff, for it huffed, the static energy wafting from its mouth. But it didn’t attack him. It floated above him, watching him with contempt in its eyes. Still, it didn’t attack him.

  Was he wrong?

  Weylin stood there, watching as it glared at him, then flew away, disappearing between the lines of trees.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Weylin didn’t feel like training that day. He went directly home, shouldering the pile of wood. Too bad he would be skipping two days of training, what with tomorrow being market day. He would have to get up earlier than usual and make his way down to the town to sell all the wood he had chopped down.

  With a final glance at the forest, he made his way home.

  The dragon had truly left. Weylin didn’t think the damn thing would leave so easily. He had thought he would find it perched atop another tree branch, observing him. But it didn’t. He had looked around the forest, looking for any trace of the small monster, to no avail. It was as if it never existed. Weylin was a bit worried. Did he unleash the starving beast upon some unsuspecting, defenseless human? Maybe he should notify one of the knights tomorrow first thing after he reaches town.

  Yes, he should. He didn’t want to cause another’s misfortune, especially with how starving it must be. He might get a scolding for sheltering it for so long, but as long as it didn’t claim any unfortunate souls, he was in the clear. Though, maybe he should have taken care of it. How would he claim to want to be part of the order if he let such a small monster slip through his fingers? Even if a monster’s strength wasn’t proportional to its size. For all he knew, it was from the behemoth class despite its small size.

  Weylin opened the door to their home, dreading his sister’s reaction to the news. She had gotten quite attached to the damned thing. He feared she would be cross with him once she knew he had chased it away. Steeling himself, he stepped inside only to still in his place, dread invading his insides, freezing the breath in his chest.

  While he was searching for the damned thing, it had found its way back to his home. The dragon was inside, cradled in his sister’s arms.

  He didn’t know when he moved, but suddenly, he was in front of her, snatching the monster from her arms. She yelled, startled.

  “What is this thing doing here?” he hissed. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was far more dangerous than he thought.

  The monster twisted in his hand, angling its tail. Weylin leaned away at the last second to evade being slapped in the face.

  “Stop scaring Lia!” his sister yelled, jumping up and down, trying to snatch the monster from his grasp.

  “Lia?’ Weylin’s brows furrowed. “You named it?”

  “She named herself.” Nayla huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her feet in protest. “Give Lia back!”

  “It’s a monster! It’s not a pet!” Weylin said. He grimaced. He could already feel a raging headache on its way.

  “Lia is not a monster and certainly not a pet! She’s my friend!”

  Weylin snorted. “She will eat you alive if given the chance.”

  Nayla hesitated, her brows furrowing in thought. But before he could relish in the triumph of convincing his sister of the danger of keeping the monster in their home, the aforementioned beast huffed in distaste. It slipped from Weylin’s hands and jumped to his sister’s embrace, but not before dealing him a kick to the face with the strong muscles of its tail.

  Weylin glared at the beast. It stared back at him, nestled in Nayla’s safe embrace. His sister laughed, delighted.

  “See! Even Lia thinks you’re stupid.”

  As if to further agree with her, the monster chirped a happy, content sound.

  “Really now,” he growled. “How exactly did it name itself?”

  “I drew the letter in the ground, and Lia chose her name!” she announced, chest puffed proudly.

  He sighed. Things were getting difficult. Why were things getting difficult? All he wanted was to get rid of the monster before it made snacks out of them. But from the challenging look Nayla was throwing him, he doubted even the deity would be able to separate the two of them.

  Deity help him, why did he pick up the damn thing?