Pretty as it was, the building stretched like a barricade, blocking her view. She craned her head upward, standing on her toes to see, and a sound like sails snapping in the wind echoed through the air before a shadow fell across her. A screeching roar pierced the quiet. Before she could even think to run a black beast swooped in like some overgrown demon hawk and touched down on the grass beside the whitestone path, right across from her. He blinked huge, violet eyes and lazy trails of steam drifted from his large nostrils as he rumbled at her, deep and guttural.

Oh Mothers and Fathers protect me.

Instincts honed from years of hunting told her not to make any sudden movements, but she slowly brought her hands up, backs out, showing him her water runes.

“I want no fight, Dragon,” she said as she retreated. The dragon stalked after her, claws clicking on the path. Her back hit rough stone, an outbuilding of some kind, and the dragon stopped as well. She kept her shaking hands before her but hesitated to attack. The beast didn’t plan to kill her—the Masters’ rune gave her no such warning, but that could change in an instant. He seemed more curious than anything, and she didn’t want to antagonize him.

He turned his long, scaled head to the side and regarded her out of an eye as big as her palm, the slitted pupil a dark, elliptical discus floating in amethyst. Though adrenaline flooded her veins and her muscles tensed to run, she couldn’t help thinking that the dragon before her was even more stunning than the one she’d seen flying into the city; maybe even more beautiful than the n’ne on the plains at home. She marveled at how his scales flashed from black to violet in the sun.

“What do you want with me?” she demanded.

A gleaming claw shot out at her. Yenni dove and rolled to the right, straight into the hard scales of the creature’s tail. She jumped up even as the dragon curled leisurely around her, sinuous and deadly. Yenni whipped up her hands and unleashed twin jets of water at the beast.

He snorted and flicked out a pink lizard’s tongue, lapping at the water.

Mothers and Fathers, water does no harm! The dragon lay flat, still eyeing her, his body a wall of scales. Tall, regal horns curved up and back from his head.

Yenni’s stomach was a twisted knot of nerves, yet she heard no screams, no shouts, no indication that anyone else noticed the grumbling beast surrounding her. She’d seen students everywhere coming and going, and though a few spared curious glances for the unfolding drama, none stepped in to help her; not even the man who’d stared her down so boldly moments ago.