"Can you believe it?" Keegan says excitedly as we land back on Skaldi. "We found the nest! And a whole new type of dragon!"
"Green Death," I gasp, nearly falling off Brightwing's back as I attempt to dismount her.
Keegan looks at me, puzzled. "What?"
"Green Death," I say again, pressing my clenched fists to my throbbing skull. "That's what it's called. Green Death."
"That's what you want to call it?" Keegan asks, evidently still confused.
"That's what it is called," I groan. "I know that thing. My dad--"
I almost scream as the pain multiplies by a hundred. Keegan hurries over to me and puts his arm around my shoulders to support me. "Astrid," he says uneasily, "what are you talking about?"
"I don't know," I whimper. For a second, I thought I remembered something, but now it's gone. Fortunately, so is the pain.
I breathe deeply and shakily take my own weight. "I'm sorry," I say. "It's nothing."
"You said something about your dad," Keegan presses. "Do you-- is your memory coming back?"
"I don't know," I reply. "I thought so, but-- it's gone."
"That's great!" Keegan says enthusiastically. "If your dad fought it, then you must know how to beat it! I'll go tell my father--"
"No!" I say quickly. Keegan stops, surprised by my ferocity. "I mean--" I inhale deeply. "Keegan, we can't tell anyone about this. It's too dangerous. If anyone knew about Brightwing..." I swallow hard, unable to finish.
Keegan stares at me, as if he's having trouble processing this. "Astrid," he says carefully, "we found the dragons' nest. The one thing our ancestors have been hunting for generations! And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your... your pet dragon?"
I look into his eyes unflinchingly. "Yes," I say quietly. "That's exactly it."
Keegan looks mystified. Then he breathes and nods. "Fine," he says. "If that's what you want."
I nod gratefully. "It really is."
We stand there in silence, the moonlight adding silver streaks to Keegan's golden hair. My heart skips a beat as I realize for the first time that Keegan is actually pretty attractive.
The tension breaks when Keegan punches my upper arm. "That's for almost scaring me to death," he says.
Gasping slightly, I rub my arm where his fist made contact, trying to understand his weird boy behavior. Then, after biting his lip and running his hand through his hair in a nervous, distractingly-cute kind of way, he leans over and pecks my cheek lightly. "That's for everything else," he says, avoiding my eyes, his face reddening visibly in the moonlight.
I stare after him, frozen with the rush of new emotions into my body, as he darts off into the woods and is swallowed by the darkness. As my heart stutters erratically, I think I remember what it feels like to love.