Chosen in Dragonfire
I would stand here, and I would not move, and I would let the five minutes go by, and I would walk out.
The sapphire girl walked toward the dragon.
She walked the way she had stood in the yard, with her chin up. Two other girls followed her, laughing the high, breathy laugh of people who could not believe the thing in front of them was real.
"Don't," I said, quietly enough that no one heard me.
One of the girls reached out a hand.
The dragon's chest swelled. I saw it happen the way you see lightning before you hear it — the long ribs lifting, the throat coloring orange under the scales, the yellow eyes gone narrow.
Sikat na Kabanata