Tessa’s POV:

  Taureen pressed a few buttons on his wrist comm. “Soranto, could you come back? I think you might be taking Tessa with you.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  I pressed my forehead against Mom’s shoulder again, hardly believing that this was actually happening.

  “I thought it would take months before I hit this point,” I mumbled to Mom.

  After a long moment of silence, she sighed heavily. “Once a dragonet starts getting attached, it pulls us. We want to be with them, and the feeling is as strong and unexplainable as the call of the Morning Song.”

  It felt like there was something left unspoken, so I nudged her mind and sent the feeling across it, prompting her to continue.

  Her voice was somewhat reluctant. “Myself and the other originals were once human, and we see the world differently because of that. It also made us much slower to bond with our handlers. You have never had any reason to fear the Kymari, so there isn’t anything holding you back. I should have seen it sooner, but I didn’t. And to be honest, it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  I exhaled slowly, knowing she was right. It wouldn’t have changed anything. It had been nearly three months since I had decided to pick Soranto as my handler. I still hadn’t changed my mind—the timing had just caught me off-guard.

  We waited in silence for Soranto to return. For the first time ever, he didn’t bother with the doorbell. It took me a second to realize the sound of the door opening and closing must be him. My emotions were still swirling as I threw myself into the air to meet him.

  He swiftly appeared in the living room, immediately looking for me with a concerned expression, not even acknowledging Taureen or Aeria. I had already covered half of the distance between us and aimed right for his chest instead of his shoulder pads. I collided fairly hard with his chest, glad he wasn’t wearing armor.

  His arms immediately came up to keep me from falling down. My emotions were still unsettled, so I wedged my head between his arm and chest to keep him from seeing my confusion.

  “What happened?” Soranto asked.

  “I’m not too sure,” Taureen replied. “The last few times you left, she was anxious. This time, it was more noticeable and got worse instead of fading. Tasha acts the same way if she realizes I’m not around.”

  I refused to look up, too embarrassed to face the situation I had somehow created.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” Soranto said, accepting the change far more easily than I had expected.

  “Let me pack her harness and some other supplies.”

  My ears twitched as I tried to follow Taureen’s movements by sound. From what I could tell, Soranto followed him through the kitchen and then to the door.

  “Can you clip it onto my belt pouch? I don’t want to disturb her.”

  “There. Are you okay walking like that?”

  “Yes, my home isn’t too far.”

  “I’ll leave the communication stream on my wrist comm open. Call me if anything comes up.”

  The sound of the door opening was followed by the smell of the outdoor air. My nostrils flared as a heavier, metallic scent grew stronger. I peeked with barely opened eyes; to my dismay, I saw a small, red dot where each of my claws were digging into Soranto’s shirt. I pulled my claws back and shifted my hands to the side, avoiding the small injuries I had unknowingly inflicted.

  I felt bad. He hadn’t said anything, nor had he attempted to move my claws from where they were digging in. His thumb slowly stroked my back reassuringly. I closed my eyes and pushed my head back into the gap between his arm and chest, which was how I remained for the rest of our walk.

  How he got the door open was a mystery to me.

  As he entered the living room, Adeline greeted him. “Welcome back. Maria just went to bed. Salio called and changed my shift tomorrow. Are you able to drop Maria off at school— Oh. I didn’t see Tessa there.”

  Feeling braver, I risked a peek up. Adeline set her sketchbook to the side as she stood up. She came over, tilting her head as worry and concern became more apparent on her face.

  “Is she okay?”

  “Taureen had to call me back because she got distressed after I left. I suspect that I’ll probably have her most nights from now on.”

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  “I don’t see any problem with that. She’s very well behaved. Let’s sit down. She still looks a bit out of sorts.”

  They sat on the couch next to each other. Soranto began humming; it was a deep, rather-tuneless hum, but it was comforting. He shifted me so one arm supported me, freeing up his other hand. He dug in the pouch and pulled out a blue and pink fruit.

  Adeline went to the kitchen and returned with a small knife. She peeled a section and handed a small slice to Soranto. He offered it to me, and I sniffed it before taking it. The flavor exploded across my tongue, like nothing I had ever tasted before. The blood memories informed me that it was shia fruit. No wonder Mom wanted Taureen to buy it.

  I lifted my head a bit higher, hoping for another piece, which Adeline was already passing to Soranto. Slice by slice, I somehow managed to eat half the fruit despite having a big dinner earlier.

  With a big yawn, I turned my head away from the next slice. I was simply too stuffed to try and find an empty corner in my rather round stomach. I was full and tired, and Soranto’s humming was making it very hard to stay awake.

  My earlier emotions had subsided, and I felt much better now. I rested my head on Soranto’s arm contentedly. Soranto and Adeline quietly talked as my eyelids got heavier and heavier.

  Eventually, Soranto got to his feet and walked to the wall. With one hand still supporting me, he began climbing the tree branches to reach the spot I usually slept. I tensed and held onto his wrist; I hadn’t realized the trees were sturdy enough for a Kymari to climb them. It only took a couple of steps for him to reach my sleeping nook.

  Without any apparent difficulty, Soranto looped his elbow around a branch for balance and used both hands to ease me into the dark cavity. I trilled a soft thank-you as I curled up on the warm sand.

  “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning,” he said with a soft smile.

  I whistled in reply and snuggled into the sand. As he disappeared from sight, my ear tufts twitched as I tried to pick up every noise below.

  “She somehow carried a bunch of sand into that hollow,” Soranto quietly said, making me tense up.

  “There was sand in that old abandoned burrow Alec found, so that’s not too surprising. We’ll just have to make sure we replace it occasionally.”

  Their voices dropped too low to make out individual words. I slowly relaxed since they didn’t seem to think much of what I had done. With a heavy sigh, I curled up and closed my eyes. I would get to spend most of tomorrow with Soranto—and that thought comforted me far more than what should have been possible.

  ***

  The lights brightened and woke me up. I arched my back in a stretch, then paused as I remembered last night’s events. My overreaction yesterday made me cringe internally, although I suspected it would happen again if I tried to stay with Mom and Dad.

  I sighed and finished my stretch before exiting the hollow. The past couldn’t be changed, so there was no sense fretting over it, although that was easier said than done.

  As I normally did when I spent the night at Soranto’s, I mindlinked Mom. “Good morning.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine. Sorry about last night.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You may have slept elsewhere, but we’ll still see each other later this morning.”

  I sent relief and agreement down the mindlink. This morning would be just like yesterday morning; the only difference was that Soranto would be spending the day with us.

  After getting a big drink, I went to wait for the sun. Somewhat to my surprise, Soranto was already outside. Banking to the side, I flew over to land on Soranto’s shoulder and nudged his chin. He reached up and stroked my wings and back.

  The door opened as Maria and Adeline came outside. I whistled a greeting as they sat in their chairs.

  “Good morning, Tessa,” Maria said happily.

  This entire family seemed to be made up of cheerful early morning risers. I knew Maria didn’t have to get up at this time—she only came outside to watch me sing. I wasn’t the best flier or singer out there, so it was kind of flattering that they chose to watch me instead of sleeping in.

  My eyes strayed back to where the sun was just about to appear. Spreading my wings, I flew over to the stump. I landed and shook out my wings, limbering them up.

  The call was building, inviting me to proclaim the joy and glory of the new day. It wanted me to inspire hope for any who didn’t realize the beauty of the world around them, letting them know that each day was a gift for those who chose to see it for what it was.

  Clouds framed the rising sun, somehow delaying our takeoff even though the Song had already begun. Taking a deep breath, I began singing slow, lower tones which picked up in pace—but not pitch.

  Partially unfolding my wings, I awaited the signal to take to the air. Like an invisible flash, I knew the exact moment to launch myself into the sky. The usual swift, flowing pace was replaced by something slower and deeper.

  Every movement was purposeful; the rhythm somehow reminded me of a slow, powerful heartbeat full of potential. Waiting. Ready.

  The joy was still there, but deeper and more substantial—an unmovable glacier as opposed to dancing snowflakes. Resolute and enduring through all trials.

  A reflection that there was no sadness or grief strong enough to stop the sun from rising. Clouds may dim its rays, but the light would still chase the deepest shadows of night away. A new morning had come.

  I wove it all into my song and dance.

  Instead of fading away into the bright potential of another day, the Song stilled, silent in its unshakable promise of hope. I hovered for a few moments as the call ceased, trying to collect my thoughts. It had been intense and profound—not something we usually encountered in the Morning Song.

  “That was an unusual song,” I commented to Abby.

  “No kidding. I saw something like this once before, but the themes are usually lighter and more cheerful. I’ll see you this afternoon, right? I’m hoping the rain will hold off until nighttime.”

  “I didn’t hear the weather yesterday, so you may have to mindlink Dirk for a more recent update. As far as I know, it isn’t supposed to rain during the next three days.”

  “That’s a relief. I’ll see you later on, then.”

  “Sure. Have fun.”

  Gliding away from my spot, I headed over to Soranto to get some breakfast.