Tasha’s POV:

  The very air seemed to shimmer as the Morning Song began. With a powerful jump, I leapt into the air, a mere wingbeat behind Keegan. I spun around my silver mate with a warble as the fledglings below dug their claws into the wood for grip and flapped their wings, still too young to try flying with us.

  The feelings coursing through me had no words. Joy, hope, love, happiness, elation—it was all of them, and yet, they combined into something that had no words. It was like every good emotion had been distilled into these few short minutes as the sun rose to welcome another day.

  Keegan and I twirled and whirled around one another in an agile dance that mirrored the Song’s call. Our voices filled the air while we sang as passionately as we flew.

  Every sunrise was different, and thus, so was our dance and song. It was much more impressive with the wild flock since most of them gathered together every morning.

  The other eighteen dragonets in captivity often sang the Morning Song as we did, in their own fenced backyard. The size of the group didn’t really matter since we were so focused on the sun and its Song. Occasionally, we went to the park to sing with the wild flock, but that wouldn’t be happening until the fledglings could fly much better.

  I flipped upside-down mid-air, zipping under Keegan’s wing even as he banked sharply to remain in the small column of air that was our dancefloor. Dirk and Tessa were still flapping hard, although they were panting heavily. The song was already beginning to fade; it felt like it had barely begun, and yet, the beginning of joyous celebration seemed a very long time ago.

  The song trailed off, and I turned my barrel roll into a glide as I circled around toward the children. Dirk was sitting as he tried to catch his breath, but his sister flopped down with her wings spread out, too tired to move.

  Keegan landed beside her and nudged her with his nose. She flicked an ear tuft at him, but nothing more. Aeria got up from her chair against the house and came over to gently pick up the exhausted scarlet youngster in her hands.

  “I think someone overdid it this morning,” she mused aloud.

  I bared my teeth in a grin. “I believe you are correct.”

  Aeria smiled in amusement and went to sit in the chair beside Taureen, settling Tessa in her lap as she pulled out the buffing pad to clean her scales. Keegan laid down beside Dirk and spread his wings to sunbathe in the early morning light while waiting for his son to regain his energy.

  Taking advantage of the situation, I flew over to Taureen to get my scales cleaned and oiled. As I relaxed, I examined the new hole in the grass and the pile of stones beside it. The shallow dip was long enough that a Kymari could lie down in it, but it wouldn’t seem so large once Aeria and Taureen finished making the shallow pond and small waterfall appear natural.

  It would be deep enough that I wouldn’t be able to reach the bottom with my feet in the deep end, but the shallow area was quite large—perfect for playing, splashing, or teaching youngsters the vital skill of swimming.

  I was really looking forward to playing in it once it was done.

  ***

  Tessa’s POV:

  I napped in the sun. It was nice and warm, almost like the heat lamp. Dirk snored softly; he must have fallen asleep when Taureen oiled his scales.

  The heat suddenly disappeared. I opened my eyes and looked up in confusion. A big fluffy thing had moved in front of the sun! A cloud. It looked soft, but I knew I couldn’t fly that high. The Blood Memories also told me it was made from bits of water hanging in the air, so I couldn’t land on it even if I tried.

  I folded my wings with a quiet snort, at least the heat lamp inside didn’t have clouds. With a big yawn, I stretched my legs and looked around. There was a bowl of fruit beside me!

  The sight of it gave me enough energy to get to my feet. The small pieces of grape and other fruits weren’t as good as cantaloupe, but it didn’t stop me from completely emptying the bowl.

  “Where did she manage to put all of that fruit?” Aeria murmured.

  “I give her fifteen minutes until she’s bouncing all over the place,” Mom replied drowsily from where she had been napping in the sun.

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  I yawned again and stretched my wings, turning my attention to the area around us. The ground was covered in green stringy stuff with bigger green and brown things. Grass, flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants.

  If I looked closely at them, I knew what most of them were called and if they had good fruit. The flowers had bright colors that reminded me of the sunrise. There were even some right beside the house.

  I dropped off the table and walked over to the nearest clump. Their bright yellow petals were a color I hadn’t seen before. When I leaned forward for a better look, I smelled a strange sweet scent. The smell was coming from the flower. As soon as I realized that, the hidden memories told me that most flowers had pretty smells and each type was different.

  A white flower was nearby, and I trotted over to sniff it. This one was faint, but a bit sweeter. Both were nice in different ways. I lifted my head to see where the rest of the flowers were. I wanted to smell them all!

  Most of the flowers were by the house, so I wandered around and smelled them. A few shrubs and trees also had blooms on their branches. The shrubs were kind of creepy, like something could be hiding in them. The trees were probably safer since most creatures couldn’t fly.

  I stared up at the tree branches, where a pale pink blossom bobbed gently in the breeze. I had never flown that high before, but I really wanted to know what it smelled like.

  Taking a deep breath, I jumped into the air. I lost count of how many wingbeats it took—It was a long way up!—but I finally made it! Then I realized the branch was much narrower than the wall perches. I had seen Mom and Dad land on similar branches though, so I knew it could be done.

  As I started backwinging, I clamped my hands and feet around the branch. My claws clicked as they overlapped around the narrow object. I did it! Proud of my accomplishment, I folded my wings and stretched my neck out to smell the flower. My weight shifted, and I squawked as I flipped upside down, still hanging onto the branch.

  What was I supposed to do now?

  With wide eyes, I looked at Mom and Dad pleadingly. Mom simply blinked, neither surprised by my predicament nor worried about it. Dad stretched his wings before lazily flying up to me, landing easily on the branch without falling over.

  He tilted his head as he gazed down at me. “Use your tail for balance next time and dig your claws into the bark.”

  “How do I get on top of the branch?”

  “You’ll have to let go and spread your wings. Once you are flying, you can try landing again.”

  I was beginning to think that flying involved a lot more falling than I had previously realized. With a resigned sigh, I spread my wings and examined the large airspace between me and the bushes below. I let go.

  After this morning, I knew what to expect and managed to right myself without panicking. I banked and beat my wings to get higher, aiming for the branch again. Dad watched as I landed on the branch again. He curled his neck downward to inspect the bottom of the branch.

  The show-off!

  “Your claws have a good grip. Take a look at them.”

  Was he trying to make me fall upside down again? I tilted my head as I examined how his tail was further out and how he leaned back while his head was under the branch.

  My claws gripped the bark more tightly as I carefully lowered my head. I wobbled a bit, but I managed to see the underside of the branch. The gentle breeze made the nearby leaves rustle, and one tapped my ear tufts. Startled, my head jerked up—sending me upside down once more.

  Perhaps this branch was defective.

  The Blood Memories showed me glimpses of adult dragonets even climbing up tree trunks, so simply sitting in a tree should have been easy.

  “How did you stay up?” I asked Dad, hoping to learn his secret.

  “Practice and experience.”

  I huffed. That was not helpful.

  The flower swayed gently in the breeze, beckoning me to try again. With a sigh, I let go of the branch. The breeze made flying harder. It kept wanting to catch my wings and send me further away.

  I tried landing on the branch, but the wind pushed me away before I could grab on, making me circle around. My next attempt to land was successful. This flower had better smell really good considering how much effort it took to just get close to it.

  I leaned over and sniffed the blossom. It had a light sweet scent—not as strong as I would have thought. The trees were much bigger than the flowers by the house; shouldn’t they have more smell?

  “Follow me,” Dad told me, dropping off the branch and gliding toward the couple of trees on the other side of the grassy open area.

  I hesitated for a moment before following him. He flew past the trees and landed on a rock near a spot where the netting reached the ground. I gazed up, trying to see how big the net was.

  “This netting encloses the entire backyard. You can explore in here as much as you want. Your Mom is leading Dirk to a different section so we can play tag. Last one to get caught wins.”

  I loved tag! But—“What about animals?” My mind could see flickers of dangerous creatures that liked to hide around trees and shrubs.

  “This area is safe. Outside of it, you will have to stay close to us.” With that, Dad jumped into the air and quickly disappeared among the leaves.

  The game had started whether I was ready or not. I couldn’t catch Mom or Dad while flying, so my best plan was to hide. Maybe I could ambush Dirk. With that thought in mind, I scampered underneath a bush. My ears twitched as I tried to listen for any sounds hidden by the rustling leaves.

  After carefully peeking out from under the shrub, I darted across the grass to hide under a bushier one. My smaller size meant that I could hide in more places than Mom or Dad, but my scales were really bright, especially against the green leaves.

  I scooted under a denser bush to lie in ambush.