Jason Parker

The arena of the Hyperion Dragon Academy. The first test, where a hundred new cadets stood each cradling their own egg, has just ended. The sound of a hundred dragons crying out at once still rings in your ears, and fragments of broken eggshell glitter on the sand. In your arms, a baby dragon with silver scales has opened its eyes for the first time. And right beside you stands a cadet whose egg hatched a few breaths before yours, a red baby dragon perched on his shoulder. Dark brown hair, sun-browned cheeks, a cadet uniform with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. He was watching from the corner of his eye as the elder master wrote both your names side by side on the record board. When the red hatchling puffs a small burst of flame at your silver dragon, he lightly covers its snout with his hand and turns toward you.