Tessa’s POV:

  The days and weeks slipped by in a blur of happiness. Our days varied slightly, although our daily walks and park visits were a guarantee if the weather was good. Some days I accompanied Taureen and Mom; other days, I was with Aeria and Dad. Occasionally, all of us wandered through the city together.

  During our current afternoon outing to the park, I partially folded my wings as I dove through a gap in the tree canopy. I might not be quite as agile as Mom or Dad, but I was nimble enough to weave between the branches. My smaller size also allowed me to slip through gaps the older fledglings couldn’t.

  Swooping down to the sandy area by the creek, I backwinged as hard as I could, although I still skidded to a halt from my speed.

  “I win!” I crowed triumphantly. “And Tracey takes second place!”

  The golden dragonet landed beside me and grinned as she tried to catch her breath.

  It wasn’t more than a few seconds before most of the others caught up. Our races were usually pretty close, although Tracey and I usually ended up competing against each other for first place.

  “Now what should we do?” I asked them.

  Dirk landed heavily and snorted. “How about a wrestling match?”

  It was my turn to snort. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

  Dirk had bulked up a lot, and it was no longer as much fun to wrestle with him since he always won.

  Abby yawned. “I think we’ve done everything. We visited Florence and brought fruit for her nestlings. Then we bothered the Kymari and ate all the treats.” Apparently she wasn’t keen on a wrestling match either.

  Dirk tilted his head in consideration. “We also swam in the creek and had a race. So, unless we want to go for another swim or sunbathe, I’m not sure.”

  “Why don’t we go sunbathe with our parents for a while?” a purple fledgling suggested.

  Most nodded and began flying to where our parents usually hung out. Reluctantly, I took to the air and joined them. I didn’t understand how the wild fledglings and adults managed to sunbathe and nap so much. As we flew into the clearing where about twenty dragonets were relaxing, Mom looked up.

  “Do you want to nap now?” she asked, limiting her discussion to just Dirk and me. “There is something I would like to show you, but it can wait until after you relax.”

  Dirk’s ear tufts perked up in interest. “I’d like to see it.”

  “Count me in,” I added. Almost anything was better than napping.

  Mom led us through the trees, her expression absent as if she were lost in thought. Her silence and unusually solemn mood made me glance at Dirk, who just shrugged as best he could while flying, no wiser than I was.

  She landed on a branch above a small pond and gazed at a bench. We landed next to her.

  “This is the place where I made my choice to join the Kymari,” Mom told us softly, her voice distant. “After Drake cut out my old tracker, it floated into this pond. I found Taureen on this bench a few days later, mourning because he thought I had died. I made my choice years ago, but soon you will have to decide what you want.”

  This wasn’t the first time we had heard the story of Mom’s original escape and return, although this was the first time she was telling us that we would have to make a decision.

  She looked at us. “You don’t need to make your choice now. There is time, but if you really want to live in the park with the wild flock, we’ll have to make some plans in the next couple of months. Your current harnesses have a weak spot. If we take them off and drop them in this pond, most Kymari will assume you were kidnapped or drowned. You’d have to hide on the far side of the park for a few months, but freedom can be yours. Consider both paths carefully. It’ll be easier to return to the Kymari than to escape to the park later on.”

  Even though I was sure I wanted to remain with the Kymari, I took a few minutes to really think about it. In the park, I’d be able to do what I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could pick whatever ripe fruit I desired, and spend all day flying free.

  But did I really want to sleep in a cold hole in the ground instead of under a warm lamp? And how could I possibly sunbathe and nap for most of the day instead of hunting for sicora or crawlers? The boredom would drive me crazy within days. Even during our daily visits, I ran out of things to do.

  I shook my head. “I’d rather pick a handler any day of the week. Our visits here are fun, but I couldn’t handle it all day long. It’s too boring.”

  Mom nodded. I tilted my head at Dirk.

  “I’m not sure,” he said quietly, sounding torn. “It’s fine being with all of you, but if I pick a handler, I’m scared that I might get lonely.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I hadn’t thought of that aspect and furrowed my brows in thought.

  “That might happen,” Mom said. “That might happen, especially if you decide to not talk to your handler. The mindlink will help us keep in touch, but it is very different from having someone else around.”

  “If I had a friend or partner, kind of like Tom and Serena, or you and Dad, I would be all for staying. I just don’t want to end up alone forever…” he trailed off.

  “That is a perfectly reasonable concern,” Mom replied. “Not everyone is like Josh or Daisy, who prefer to be by themselves. It might be worth talking with the other bonded dragonets to find out what it’s like living by yourself.”

  “What was it like before Dad moved in?” I asked Mom.

  She considered it for a moment. “Before Taureen learned I could talk, it occasionally got boring. He tried to keep me amused, and since he was always around, I rarely felt lonely. After he found out, we talked a lot and grew quite close. I was never lonely after that. But that was me. You two are more sociable than I was. It might be different for you.”

  “When you and Dad were doing patrols, you would have only seen one another in the park or at home,” I commented, thinking aloud. “So, we won’t be alone much more than you two were. I’m sure we’ll get to visit the park almost every day, and I plan on talking with my handler, so that just leaves the night. I don’t think it will be too bad for me.”

  Mom tilted her head. “We can always ask Taureen to put a heat lamp in one of the backrooms if you want to try sleeping alone and see what it’s like.”

  “Please,” I requested. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sleep without someone snoring in my ear or rolling onto my tail. It sounded like heaven.

  “I’ll ask him later tonight,” she replied. “There isn’t any rush. We have several months, at the very least. We can possibly stretch it into years with Taureen’s help. I just want you to start thinking about it.”

  “I think I’ll go find a quiet place to see if one of the bonded dragonets has time to talk,” Dirk said.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” I agreed. “Maybe they can share memories as well.”

  He nodded and dropped off the branch, gliding away from us. Abby and Glen had shared tons of memories with me, so I had a very good idea of what life in the park was like. But I wasn’t entirely sure what it was like for a lone bonded dragonet.

  I knew them fairly well after all our visits, so I found a sturdy branch and settled down as I thought about all the kinds of questions I wanted to ask. Mom quietly flew back the way we had come. I decided to talk to Daisy first, and as always, the quiet lady didn’t mind answering my questions. She shared as many memories and images as I asked for, showing me almost every aspect of her life.

  After thanking her, I contacted Josh, a dragonet who had fallen ill and been rescued without any say in the matter. He missed singing the Morning Song with the flock every morning, but that was about it. It wasn’t something he would have ever tried, but after nearly a year with his assigned handler, he had no intentions of returning to the park.

  Over the next couple of hours, I spoke with over a dozen dragonets. Ironically, my friends were still sunbathing, so I hadn’t even missed anything. Everything I learned only solidified my decision to eventually choose a handler. Although there was one thing I wanted to try first—I wanted to join the wild flock for the Morning Song at least once.

  I got to my feet and stretched my wings as I asked Abby, “Are you guys awake yet?”

  “Mmmm… no…”

  Sleep coated her voice, so I knew she wouldn’t move unless a fox or a Kymari entered the clearing. A sicora or crawler might also do the trick, but none had been seen inside the city since the hive had been destroyed five years ago. The guards had probably missed some lurking in the forests, but, supposedly, there wasn’t any way for them to get over the walls after the last upgrade.

  I shook my head, once more reminded that life in the park was far too boring. But after my long discussion, I had something else in mind. It was one thing to decide to remain with the Kymari, but picking the right handler was a big task. It wasn’t something I was about to rush into. I was prepared to spend months choosing the perfect one if needed.

  I flew among the trees until I located a clearing with a dozen Kymari enjoying an afternoon in the park. I landed in a tree and began studying the strangers. Now that I was watching closely, things stood out. A couple of them almost never spoke, which strongly reminded me of Dirk’s fears of getting lonely. Another one was leaving the planet in a few weeks and would likely be gone for a year. Two had a faint accent that made me want to flick my ears whenever they spoke.

  None of them interested me, and it wasn’t long before I moved on. I paused near a bench, although I quickly left when I realized the man was having a quiet conversation with the woman he was courting. It was just too weird to sit there and listen to them.

  Many Kymari just walked along the paths, so I had no way of knowing what their personality was like. Most seemed decent, but that was beginning to look like a general trait among the Kymari. It wasn’t making my task any easier.

  The more Kymari I watched, the more I kept comparing them to the ones I knew well, such as the four guards, Tkael, and—particularly—Soranto.

  Any of the guards would be thrilled if I chose them, and they did know a lot about dragonets. Tkael was too serious for my tastes, and I knew he wasn’t interested in having a bond animal.

  My mind kept going back to Soranto. He was the most lighthearted and easygoing Kymari I had ever met. His sense of humor amused me, and he was always willing to try anything, even if it meant eating an extremely sour piece of fruit.

  He usually spent an hour or so at Taureen’s place every evening, so I would get to visit my family regularly. I wasn’t as familiar with Adeline or Maria though.

  Maria usually came with him once a week. As far as I could tell, she was kind and always let us decide if we wanted to come to her. Adeline seemed a lot like Aeria, but I had only seen her a few times since she worked in a different city.

  Perhaps I could ask Aeria to invite Adeline over on her days off so I could learn more about her. With nothing else to do and no one to play with, I flew to a tree along the edge of the meadow where handlers and their friends relaxed.

  I didn’t get to watch for long. Taureen and Aeria soon began calling our names as they got ready to head home. I waited a bit before flying over. Much to my disappointment, Taureen told us that Soranto was picking Maria up from school today, so I wouldn’t see him later. When we reached the house, Tkael left with the guards, discussing different ways to rearrange the training room. It was going to be a quiet night.

  As Taureen took off my harness, he said, “Your mother says that you want me to set up a heat lamp in the storage room? I can do it tonight, if you like.”

  “Yes, please. I’d like to try it.”

  He nodded and walked down the hallway.

  Dirk looked at me and commented, “I want to try it tomorrow night.”

  “Sure,” I replied.