47. AURELIA

Chapter forty-seven

AURELIA

" S o, you are telling me that you all are ‘connected' to dragons?" I was still trying to unravel the secrets of the Old Religion, my mind a buzzing fog that I couldn't get rid of.

After introducing me to each of them, they all showed me their fingernails. And mine now matched theirs. They were the result of becoming Scalebound, showing the connection between the dragon and its rider.

Our nails now matched the sky and the constellations of Celestials from above. My fingernails changed from the pink that matched my hair to an inked black that correlated with the nighttime above me, even at midday. As I moved my hand from side to side, the Celestialized stars followed, the specks of white and gold moving as well.

The colony called itself Scalebound–the Scalebornes and their connected dragons. Their goal was to, number one, protect each other and, number two, create harmony between dragons and humanity. They had been going from village to village, letting the villagers get to know the dragons and training them on how to react when dragons came to visit, lessening the chances of them getting burnt to crisps.

They found that they must be careful because, obviously, they couldn't prance around village to village being Scalebornes and having golden blood. They would be killed in seconds. So it took time and preparation to watch the village and get to know each person before they risked exposing themselves to a group of people they didn't know.

I respected what they had to offer and what they were doing. Being outcasts, they didn't have much to do in life but create peace between everyone. I loved the change they were trying to make in the world and was envious of the like-minded and relatable people. I hadn't seen a Scaleborne until the other day, and now I was with five others. The last few hours were overwhelming and unbelievable. My muscles coiled like tightly wound springs, ready to snap at any moment. I never knew it would be possible to stand side by side with others of my kind.

They showed us a cave where all of their dragons were residing. It was tucked inside an extremely large hill that led up to the side of a mountain. The entryway was damp and muggy as dark green moss draped down, tickling our heads as we passed through.

The dragons were aggressive at first, unsure of Damian. They snarled and lashed their talons and large teeth, but after a while, they came around. They brought them each out by the cave. Abner had a large black dragon with spikes all along its shoulders and tail. Loker had a dragon that was an aesthetic dark green and who could also blend in with its surroundings. Angie had a smaller yellow dragon that was petite but would have spikes poke out when it was angry. Luella had a medium-sized blue one with eyes so gold that they were almost black. Clemmy had one that was orange and matched her name–Clementine.

Their dragons welcomed Belle, and she found friends with Luella's and Angie's dragons especially fast. I went up to each of them and bowed, showing them respect.

"Belle, someone mentioned earlier that you and I are connected. What does that mean? " She glanced my way.

"My tears," she said. Her gold and pink scales glistened in the sun.

"What do you mean by your tears?" I wondered.

"A dragon connects to a rider through tears. If you were to make a dragon cry, then you become connected."

"This isn't common knowledge. Right?" I reinstated. Since I was young, I had immersed myself in the study of dragons, devouring every piece of literature available in the castle. Needless to say, it was a subject I knew inside and out. At least I thought.

"No, if everyone knew, they would take advantage of us. People would kill dragons' families just to connect with one another. We may be ancient, strong, and bold, but we can still love."

"I understand," I said to Belle, smiling in response. "So, you're saying that I had to die in order for you to want to connect with me?" I dramatically asked, my hand covering my heart and my eyes in shock.

Belle giggled, nuzzling in close. "I would've connected with you a lot easier than that, I promise," she bubbly said.

"So, can you connect with others, and have multiple riders?" I asked, not wanting to share Belle with anyone else.

"No, we can only be connected with one rider at a time, but riders could be connected with multiple dragons," she said, her large eyes squinting, also becoming protective, mirroring the dark velvet flames of fire.

I loved her feistiness.

" Don't worry, Belle. I only want and need you," I said, my arms raising to her snout, running across her golden pink scales.

Glancing at everyone else's dragons, I couldn't help but wonder what they did to connect with their dragon, making them cry.