A Fifth Daughter [Book 1: The Dragon Rider]

Chapter ~ 15

Cai stirs, amusement flowing through our link.

"Why did you do that?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "At the time it seemed like the right thing to do."

"And now?"

"Less so."

"So, what does this mean for me now?" I ask aloud, clenching my hands.

Mom deflates. "I'm not sure, Smoke. You won't have to leave school to follow Rayn around unless you want to, but she can't touch you until you've graduated."

I nod slowly and stand. "Thank you, Mom."

She smiles tightly. "I'm sorry, I kept it hidden for so long."

I nod once and walk to Cai, smirking up at him.

"What are you thinking?" He asks.

"You tell me."

"I was asking out of politeness. Your idea is ridiculous... but..." He gives me a thoughtful glance. "Sounds like fun."

I laugh a short breathy laugh and mount him smoothly. The fear of the take-off coiling in my belly, but I ignore it as best as I can. If I'm to avoid the crown for five more years, I'm going to need to be over this silly fear.

"Let's go skydiving!"

Out of all the most crazy, most ridiculous ideas I've ever had, skydiving whoops them all. But when it comes to getting over fears, typically conquering them is on the list. So, skydiving is what happened.

I lean back against Cai's neck crossing my ankles and pushing my hands between his rough scales and my head, lacing my fingers and grinning like a little fool. Cai's wings ripple with the wind and I listen to it whisper around us, keeping my eyes closed to hear its voice.

Cai chuckles. "You might as well be part dragon."

"Hmm..." I scratch at my right arm. It's been bothering me lately and my in-need-of-cutting nails aren't helping with the problem as my skin is nearly rubbed raw.

"Stop doing that!" Cai commands.

I huff. "I would if it'd stop being so annoying."

"It's just your mark coming in. It'll calm down soon."

I glare at my arm – devoid of an anomaly so called a Dragon's Mark – mentally yelling at it to leave me alone. Cai shakes his head, sighing like the most exasperated dragon in the world.

"There's something wrong with you." He says.

"No there's not."

He chuckles. "On a scale of one-to-ten – from boring to weird – you're a 9.5, and that's only because you have to have some brain in there somewhere for us to be able to communicate."