Tessa’s POV:

  I rolled over and curled up in a different position, but even though I was tired, I just couldn’t fall back to sleep. Something just kept nagging at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch… My eyes flew open. The sunrise! My head swung toward the window even though I knew the sun would soon peek over the horizon. The faintest beginnings of the Morning Song had woken me.

  I wasn’t going to miss it!

  I staggered to my feet and noticed Aeria sitting beside the end table, waiting to carry me to the windowsill since I was too young to fly. I took several steps before pausing and turning my head to regard my still-sleeping brother. There was no way I was going to let him miss this!

  I pounced on him, “Dirk! Wake up! The sun is about to rise!”

  The blue dragonet didn’t like being woken up, and he growled, trying to swat me with his wing as he mumbled, “I was sleeping.”

  “Come on! You must see it!”

  “Go away. Let me sleep.”

  I nipped the tip of his wing. “No! Come see first! Then you can sleep all day!”

  With a faint growl, he reluctantly gave in, knowing that I wasn’t about to leave him alone. I turned and scrambled as fast as I could toward Aeria, who was waiting with her hands on the sand. Dirk took his sweet time lumbering over, looking confused as to why I was sitting on Aeria’s hand.

  “Climb on her hand. Hurry, or we’ll miss it!”

  He looked at me like I was losing my mind, but uneasily got onto her other hand. Aeria slowly stood up, and I held on tight—too eager to see the sun again to mind that I was so high up. Dirk wasn’t expecting it and clung on tightly with shaking arms as his eyes went wide in fear and surprise.

  This time, Aeria set us down on the wide windowsill. I wasted no time in staring out the window. The sun was too bright to look at directly, but it was an amazing sight. Today, the sky only had a few tiny clouds that glowed pink and orange against the blue backdrop of the sky.

  The Morning Song was just about to start! I couldn’t wait! I had practiced beating my wings a lot yesterday, so I was hoping I could flap the entire time. Outside, I could see Mom’s and Dad’s still forms sitting on a piece of driftwood, almost as motionless as statues.

  Dirk’s voice sounded stunned. “Whoa…”

  I looked at him in excitement. “See? It’s the sun!”

  He simply stared at the sunrise, beyond words. I turned back to the sun as its call got stronger, and I whistled eagerly, sensing that the dance should start soon. I couldn’t wait! I spread my wings in anticipation, ready for the sun to show me the dance we would be doing today.

  I still couldn’t fly, but I had practiced lots yesterday, so I should be able to flap the entire time. It was going to be hard, but I was determined. I really wanted to dance for the sun.

  The sun shimmered as the call suddenly got stronger. I trilled and started flapping my wings right as Mom and Dad leapt into the air to start their dance. Dirk’s wings started quivering; he could feel the sun’s call, but wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do yet.

  He glanced at me a few times before also starting to flap his wings and try to sing. He really needed more practice in the singing area… My wing hit Dirk’s, and I shuffled to the side, giving him room to flap in his attempt to match the pattern and flow of the Morning Song.

  I lost track of time as the Morning Song claimed my attention. When the call faded, I was breathing hard and my wings were trembling, but I had done it! I had flapped the whole time! Dirk flopped down, too tired to keep trying, although he kept staring toward the sun as if he couldn’t bear to look away.

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  The sun cleared the horizon. The Song was over. My heart still felt like it was ringing even as I sat down heavily. I was both happy and sad; sad that it was over, but happy that I had seen it and had been a part of it.

  With a groan, Dirk folded his wings. He looked more tired than I felt. Aeria picked him up in both hands before walking over to the end table and placing him below the heat lamp, leaving me on the windowsill for the moment.

  I took the chance to look around the room from this direction. Couches and chairs were against all of the walls, while two corners had end tables. There was a coffee table in front of the couch where Taureen usually sat. The words seemed strange, although the hidden memories easily identified them.

  I peeked over the edge of the windowsill, and my eyes widened as I realized how high up I was. The windowsill was higher than the end table! Part of my mind heard the hidden memories tell me the distance was something that an adult dragonet could jump—and the other part of my mind completely refused to believe it.

  I shook my head to dismiss my circling thoughts and whistled to catch Aeria’s attention. In my distraction, I hadn’t realized that she was already returning for me and mere steps away. She gently picked me up and started walking back.

  Even though I was tired, I wasn’t ready for a nap. I wanted to practice beating my wings, but the end table was too small. Dirk would object if I accidentally hit him with my wing again.

  A thought occurred to me, and I walked to the edge of the end table and peered at the fluffy-looking stuff on the floor. There was lots of room down there. Was I allowed on the floor? I couldn’t recall seeing Mom or Dad on the floor before.

  Well, the easiest way to find out was to ask. I couldn’t mindspeak with Aeria or Taureen yet since we weren’t related, but there were other ways of communicating. Lifting my head, I whistled at Aeria before pointedly looking down.

  She paused before asking, “You want to go on the floor?”

  I trilled an affirmative as my ear tufts perked up in growing excitement. She offered her hand, and I quickly climbed on. When she lowered me to the ground, I jumped off. I squawked and did the hot-potato paw dance as my feet sunk into the weird spongey stuff. This did not feel like sand!

  A stifled sound from behind had me glancing back as Aeria raised a hand to her lips to smother a laugh. I also realized I wasn’t completely sinking into the soft stuff. There was something harder under it. I half-unfurled my wings as I tiptoed across the bizarre floor.

  I sniffed the fuzzy stuff and snorted at the vaguely dusty smell. Tilting my head, I examined the hidden memories for their insight. Carpet. What strange stuff. I simply could not fathom why Kymari would cut up bits of soft things and tie them together just to walk on. Sand was much better.

  My steps were tentative as I slowly got used to the odd carpet stuff under my feet. Aeria sat on the floor to keep me company. I couldn’t see Dirk from down here, but I was pretty sure he was sleeping by now.

  I looked under the couch, but the tiny gap was even too small for me to squeeze into. I wandered under the coffee table, gazing up at the odd wood pattern on the underside in curiosity. My head kept turning as I gazed around, wondering which spot I wanted to explore first.

  My ear tufts perked up as I started getting more excited. There was so much space! And I didn’t have to worry about falling off the edge! With a warbling chirp, I hopped forward to see how far I could jump. The fuzzy floor allowed my claws to dig in more than the sand did, and it was kind of bouncy.

  It was fun. I kept bounding around, seeing how far I could jump. I stumbled a few times as my claws caught on the carpet, but I soon got the hang of it. I could jump much farther than I thought!

  Just to see how far I could go, I crouched down before leaping with all my strength. My wings popped open and beat down on their own accord—pushing me farther than I had managed so far.

  My head came up with my new discovery—I could use my wings to jump even further! I bounced around a few more times, each time letting my wings open and push me farther.

  Pausing to catch my breath, I examined the coffee table beside me. If I could use my wings to make me go further across the floor, could I also use my wings to make me jump higher?

  I backed up a few steps as I took a closer look at how high the table was. The distance roughly matched my last jump.

  I crouched down and readied myself. I had never tried to jump up before. Aeria shifted closer, although I wasn’t sure why. She was more than tall enough to see on top of the coffee table even though she was sitting on the floor.

  I took a deep breath before jumping as high as I could. My wings unfurled and beat down as I tried to propel myself upwards. The table seemed to be approaching really fast, but I wasn’t quite there yet.

  One wingbeat wasn’t going to be enough.

  I struggled to get my wings back up before I started to fall. My wings bit into the air once more, sending me closer to the top of the table. I made it! I felt a jolt run through my arms as I grabbed onto the table top with my hands—but my feet had nothing but air underneath them!

  I squealed in alarm as I started sliding backward. Aeria swiftly moved her hand under my scrambling back legs, letting me scamper onto the coffee table where I lay down and panted.

  Apparently, jumping up needed more wingbeats than jumping across the floor.

  Aeria got to her feet and picked me up. “I think that’s enough for now. You should have some breakfast and take a nap.”

  Food and a nap sounded really good right about now. After my nap, I might have to see if I could sneak over to see if the couch felt like the carpet did…