dragon archives 04 - dance with a dragon by linda k hopkins Page B

could see was orange. I didn’t even know what I was doing.” Her voice trailed to a whisper and she dropped her head.
    “You didn’t do anything a dragon changing for the first time wouldn’t do,” Favian said, pulling her close and dropping a kiss on her forehead. Bronwyn looked up with a tentative smile, and Anna squeezed her hand before looking around. She could see her horse in the distance, but of Bronwyn’s there was no sign.
    “Your horse must have bolted,” she said to Bronwyn. Favian lifted his head and sniffed the air, meeting Anna’s amused glance with a shrug.
    “It hasn’t gone far. I’ll find it for you, and bring it back while you round up the other horse.”
    Anna nodded, and with one last squeeze of Bronwyn’s hand, headed towards her horse, which was quietly grazing on some nearby grass. It looked up when Anna approached, then dropped its head again as it continued to graze, allowing Anna to grab its reins and lead it back to where Bronwyn stood. Below the ridge on the other side of the river she saw Favian leading the second horse. His hand was holding up the strip of fabric he had tied around his waist, and he looked up at Anna with a sheepish grin.
    “I would offer to walk back with you, but I think it would be better if I accompanied you in my natural form.” Anna nodded, and turning her head away, waited for the flash of light. The dragon changed, and when she looked back, he was already in the sky. In the distance another dragon could be seen hovering, and with a movement of his head, Favian called him over.
    “It looks like your sister will soon be racing you,” Favian said as Will drew near, and Anna turned away in amusement when she saw the dragon scowl. “Don’t say anything to your mother about this until Bronwyn and I have had a chance to talk to her,” he warned, and Will nodded. He looked down at Bronwyn, who met his gaze with eyebrows lifted, and he turned away, slowly spiraling in the sky in the direction of the house.
    Favian flew just above Anna and Bronwyn as they journeyed back to the house. Anna rode behind, and she looked at Bronwyn wonderingly. There was nothing about her now to suggest that she had turned into a dragon just minutes before. Instead, all someone would see was a disheveled thirteen-year-old girl – certainly not a terrifying or threatening monster. As they approached the house, Favian swooped lower. “I will find your mother and meet you in your chambers,” he said. Bronwyn nodded, and then Favian flew off, heading towards the flat roof of the house. It was there that the dragons were completely hidden when they changed form, although Anna supposed that the humans at Drake Manor had by now figured out the dragons’ secret, but a combination of loyalty and fear kept them silent.
    A stablehand came out to meet the two returning women, and they slid off their saddles, handing over the reins. The boy’s eyes widened as he took in their unusual attire, but he said nothing. Bronwyn gave Anna a shy smile before turning on her heel and running into the house, disappearing into the shadows.
    A few hours had passed when Favian sought Anna out. “I just wanted to thank you for being so kind to Bronwyn earlier,” he said. “I can only imagine how scared you felt when she turned on you.”
    Anna shrugged. “I could see she didn’t know me. I’m just glad you arrived when you did.” Favian gave her a wry smile. “Why is Bronwyn already changing? I remember Max telling me…” she paused for a brief moment, pulling in a short, quick breath, “…telling me he was fifteen when he first changed. And Will is fifteen, too.”
    “Girls usually change earlier than boys,” Favian said, “and sometimes when a pubescent dragon is scared or startled, it can trigger the change even earlier.”
    “And that’s what happened to Bronwyn?”
    “Yes. But as you said, the next time she will have more control. She won’t lose herself again. You have nothing to