Tessa’s POV:

  One perk of having the front door enter right into the living room was that we could see Elder Dairno’s shuttle arrive. I remained sprawled out under the heat lamp, although my ear tufts perked up when Soranto went to open the door before he got there.

  I lifted my head when Elder Dairno entered and slowly began walking around the living room, examining every tree branch and modification Soranto had put in place for me. His age and quiet dignity radiated off him, almost as strong as the calmness I noticed the last time we met.

  He paused in front of the sandstone shelf I was on and leaned over to see the heat lamp. When his gaze moved to me, I tilted my head and trilled inquiringly at him. He offered his hand, and I sniffed his fingers before bumping them with my nose.

  His lips tugged up in a slight smile. “You seem quite content here.”

  Acting cute, I rolled upside down and trilled sweetly while playfully tapping his fingers with mine. To my surprise, he actually chuckled softly at my actions and gently scratched me under my chin.

  Charming an Elder would probably be beneficial, and I seemed to be making a surprising amount of progress despite only meeting him twice. I thrummed and leaned into his scratching.

  After a few more seconds of scratching, he pulled away and continued his walk around the room. Occasionally, he paused to place his hand into the hollows and resting nooks with the red and blue lights to test the temperature difference.

  He stopped in front of the windows facing the renovated backyard and looked out for quite some time. I doubted he had seen their backyard before, but even if he had, he wouldn’t recognize it at this point.

  The small patio was similar, but wall perches adorned the house and somehow seamlessly blended into the trees and shrubs that circled the central open area where my stump stood as a proud centerpiece. A tiny creek bubbled out of the rocks near the fence and flowed into a small pond with a sandy shore.

  The ancient Kymari continued his inspection of the house. He noticed the numerous openings in the tree canopy between the living room and kitchen, and he leaned through the open kitchen door to see what the canopy looked like on that side.

  Soranto and Adeline seemed pleased that he was taking such an interest in their handiwork. The Elder walked over to them as his eyes skimmed the room and ceiling once again.

  “Impressive,” he finally declared, turning his focus to Soranto. “It has been a very long time since I have seen this much effort put into making a bond animal comfortable.”

  Soranto bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, Elder.”

  “Tessa has been remaining with you for the last three weeks on her own accord, correct?”

  “Yes, Elder. We visit Taureen’s home every morning and evening. Each time I go to leave, she flies over without being called.”

  “I heard of your daily trips to the park. Taureen mentioned that she returns to you, not him or Aeria.”

  “She still visits Taureen or Aeria regularly, but she rarely remains on their shoulder for long. If our group starts walking, she comes to me.”

  He slowly nodded. “From the appearance of your house and yard, I believe I know the answer. Do you wish to be a handler?”

  The Elder’s intense stare and the serious way he asked the question made me blink and sit up.

  Soranto met the Elder’s gaze calmly, although gratitude rang through his voice. “It would be an honor.”

  Elder Dairno turned to Adeline. “This choice affects you and your family as well.”

  “She is part of my family,” Adeline stated firmly, standing slightly straighter as she also met the Elder’s gaze. Somehow, her stance seemed more formal and almost challenging.

  He wasn’t fazed by her response or posture, and merely watched her for a few rather long seconds. “Very well.”

  After a glance at me, he looked back at Soranto. “Then I give my permission for you to become Tessa’s official handler. The two of you may begin patrols in three days, if you wish.”

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  I felt like cheering and flying in loop de loops, but I managed to restrain myself and remained sitting still.

  This time, Soranto inclined his head. “Thank you, Elder.”

  “Would you care to visit for a while?” Adeline offered.

  “I can stay for a short time.”

  “The Elder approved Soranto to be my handler!” I exclaimed, mindlinking Mom, Dad, and Dirk.

  “Congratulations!” Mom replied.

  “That’s great!” Dad said.

  Dirk chimed in as well, “Nice!”

  “Elder Dairno even said that Soranto’s house was impressive! How often does an Elder use that word?” From what I heard, Elders didn’t give compliments lightly.

  “I asked Taureen and Aeria,” Mom replied, amusement lacing her voice, “but judging by the blank looks they are exchanging, they’re still trying to remember.”

  I squirmed deeper into the sand and spread my wings out, trying to hide my glee. “I can even start patrolling in three days! I can’t wait to see how many crawlers and sicora I find!”

  Sitting still had never been such a struggle.

  ***

  As soon as we reached Taureen’s place, I flew excitedly into the living room. My family flew over to swirl through the air around me, both as a welcome and a celebration of Soranto’s promotion last night.

  Taureen clapped Soranto on the back. “Congratulations! Are you excited?”

  “Oh yeah,” Soranto replied with a big grin. “I’m enjoying this far more than I thought I would. Adeline is also quite happy to have a new addition to the family.”

  “Did he say when you start patrols?”

  “Two more days. Until then, it’s just the usual routine.”

  “Here. Alec dropped this off on his way to the main park this morning.”

  “You told Alec?” Soranto asked, taking the case from Taureen.

  “No, but he called shortly after you messaged me last night. He probably heard a rumor about an Elder visiting your home.”

  Mom landed on the end table with a smirk, hinting at how the “rumor” had truly originated. There weren’t many secrets among the dragonets, especially when it came to news like this. Soranto would learn this one day—in three months, to be exact. I was already counting down the days.

  I couldn’t wait until Soranto and Adeline knew the truth. I was willing to include Maria too, but that was up to them. Taureen had mentioned that they might not include Maria since it was such a closely guarded secret and she would probably only be at home for another fifteen or twenty years, which wasn’t very long by Kymari standards.

  Soranto set the case on the center table and opened it, revealing a handful of vials and some sort of fist-sized device that tapered to a point. Taking one of the tiny vials of liquid, he held it above his wrist comm while entering something into it. After his wrist comm flashed, he put the tiny vial into the device and closed the slot. The machine whirred for a few moments before becoming silent.

  “That would be your tracking device,” Mom observed in a neutral voice.

  I had forgotten about that detail. All bonded dragonets had one. Dirk and I had ours in our harnesses until we officially had a handler—and I had just gotten mine.

  “Will it hurt?” I asked uneasily.

  “No. It will just feel like his nail caught the edge of one of your scales. He won’t call you over for something like this, but he also won’t come this close to me. If you still want him as your handler, you’ll have to go to him.”

  This was my last chance to back out. Even though I was positive I knew what I wanted, I took a second to think. Apart from the possible pain of the tracking bead, I had no reservations. In fact, I didn’t think I’d be happy with any other handler. I’d always be comparing them to Soranto’s light humor and easygoing manner. Joining the wild flock didn’t interest me—their lifestyle was too boring. I wanted to hunt crawlers and sicora.

  Taking a deep breath, I glided to the center table and landed beside the open case. I sniffed one of the untouched vials in curiosity, but I didn’t see anything besides clear liquid inside. Soranto picked me up and put me on his lap.

  I nudged his hand with my nose, trying to act relaxed in the face of the unknown. Digging through his belt pouch, Soranto pulled out a large chunk of something and put it in front of me. The smell had my nostrils flaring—it was a big slice of dried shia fruit.

  Grabbing it, I lay down and began chewing on the semi-hard treat. Soranto petted me with one hand while shifting the device above me. I tried my best to remain relaxed as it touched just above my back leg. There was a bit of pressure, and the faint pop made me jump more than the flicker of discomfort as one of my scales lifted momentarily.

  “It’s okay,” Soranto reassured me, petting me as he moved the device away.

  Taureen took the machine and put it into the case. “I’ll sterilize it and return it to Alec.”

  That was it? My splitting nail had hurt worse. If Mom hadn’t told me about the tracker, I never would have guessed.

  “Did you see Alec’s guide on how to set that tracker up?” Aeria inquired, watching me chow down on the piece of fruit. It wasn’t as good as the fresh stuff, but still much better than a lot of things I had eaten lately. Chewier too.

  “Yes. I downloaded the software earlier and programmed it. It just needed to synchronize with the proper frequency.”

  “Then everything is set up. Have you talked with the Port Master about beginning your patrols?”

  “I sent him a message yesterday. They’re working on a schedule that should start in two days.”

  That was everything I’d hoped for. I settled down on Soranto’s lap, contentedly munching on the fruit while dreaming of what our first patrol might hold.