The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen

own.”
    If Meg heard any of the bitterness in his words, she gave no sign. “You really think there might be something in Fredrin’s books?”
    “Have you ever seen that library? I’m pretty sure
everything
is in one of Fredrin’s books somewhere. It’s just a question of figuring out where to look.” That would be the hard part. He could start with the Erylun — there must be
something
about dragons in there, and maybe that would lead to other references. . . .
    Meg placed a hand on his arm. “Thank you, Calen.”
    He smiled back at her, a real smile this time.
She’s my friend,
he thought suddenly.
I have a friend. Why would Serek try so hard to avoid this?
    They stayed for a good part of the afternoon, talking about everything and nothing in the way that Calen supposed friends did. Meg asked him questions about his life before Serek, and seemed shocked to learn that he didn’t have any family of his own. When she told him stories about her sisters and parents and that Nan Vera person who always seemed to be around, Calen tried to imagine what it must be like to be part of such a large and complex arrangement of people. Sometimes it just sounded exhausting, but he thought that other times it must be kind of nice.
    Jakl nudged at Meg for attention periodically, but otherwise seemed content just to have her nearby. Calen kept stealing glances at the dragon, still trying to accept what he was seeing. A
dragon,
by the gods! If someone had told him yesterday that today he’d be sitting in a secret cave with a princess and a dragon, he never would have believed it. And here it was, really happening.
    Eventually they got up to leave, saying good-bye to Jakl — Meg with another belly rub, Calen with a more reserved pat on the neck. Those yellow eyes still made him more than a little nervous.
    As they made their way back through the tunnel, Calen spoke into the quiet blackness. “Thank you for bringing me here, Meg,” he said. “I’m honored that you shared your secret with me.”
    He couldn’t see her face, but somehow he knew she was smiling again. “You’re welcome,” she said softly. “And thank you, too.”

THEY PARTED ON THE ROAD, OUT of sight of the gate. Calen went back toward the castle, and Meg waited, not wanting anyone to notice the two of them too long together. She was probably being overly cautious, but all it would take was one person asking awkward questions and she would be in big trouble. She and Calen both, now. She hadn’t done him any favors, taking him to see Jakl like that. She still couldn’t really believe that she’d done it.
    She also couldn’t really imagine how this situation could ever turn out well. Did she honestly expect to be able to hide Jakl forever? Someday, the truth was going to come out. And then — what? There was no way Mother and Father would ever just allow her to raise a dragon. Dragons had been systematically driven away from the castle environs for years and years for a reason, after all. They were dangerous! They flew around and breathed fire and were big enough to eat cows and horses and people and anything else they chose. Any guard or soldier who saw a dragon would attempt to kill it on sight. No one would be able to understand how attached she’d become — even now, she could feel Jakl’s warm, comforting presence back in the cave, like a small and distant sun.
    The thought of losing that was awful. And there was no doubt that if the wrong people found out, they’d try to take him away from her.
    Lately, though, she’d begun to realize that Jakl might not . . .
allow
that to happen. Which gave her another good reason to keep him a secret. She knew he wouldn’t just go off and attack the castle, or her family, but if anyone tried to come between them . . .
    Squinting into the distance, she decided enough time had passed since Calen had gone ahead through the gate. She began walking, slipping into her Mellie persona as she went — head down,