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"I’ll be careful"

"At the first sign of trouble, hide the knapsack and duck inside If we have to, we can defend the "

"Okay"

"Less talk,the dice again "Be careful"

"I will" Kendra went back up through the top of the knapsack

The rocky floor of the gorgeher way up the gradual slope toward Store offered ood, but she also felt exposed Any unfriendly eyes gazing down into the gorge could not ress And she saw no creatures, except for a trio of large dragonflies

Kendra was getting ready to break for lunch when, coe abruptly ended Now she not only had iht and left but a new one, as insurmountable as the others, directly in her path There was no way out of the gorge in the direction she had headed all

At first Kendra wanted to scream, but she realized the noise could attract predators She wanted to punch the nearest wall of the gorge, but decided it wouldn’t be worth cutting up her knuckles Instead she sank to her knees, bowed her head, and cried

Once she let them start, the tears calad her brother couldn’t see her grief He would have laughed over her tears But she didn’t want to think about her brother That just made it worse More tears flowed

"Don’t cry," a kind voice said behind her

Kendra rose and whirled, wiping tears fro into the eyes of a dragon Legs nuon she had seen yet, with a body the size of a large horse, although the long neck and tail added greatly to its length Its glea rainbow sheen, and the head was bright as polished chroned for speed Strangely, Kendra realized that she felt none of the paralysis she had experienced when confronted by other dragons

"Don’t worry," the dragon said "I won’t eat you" He had a er, but the words caed

"I don’t feel scared," Kendra said

"I’ve never inspired lad you’re not afraid"

"I ons," Kendra explained, not wanting to belittle him "I’m plenty startled I’m sure you could rip me to shreds if you wanted"

"I mean you no harm You shine like a fairy More than a fairy, to be accurate Andfor a chance to meet you"

"What?"

"You’ve been surrounded by other people" The dragon swung his head away Was he shy? "You caught ht when you entered Wyrmroost I’ve followed you from Blackwell Keep"

Kendra scrunched her brow "You’re a little too shiny to blend in one, as if he had been wiped froo nearly invisible"

"Wow That would explain it"

"Luckily, I have a few talents besides being a runt"

"You’ll grow"

"Will I? Hasn’t been going very well the past several centuries"

"Centuries?" Kendra said "You’re not young?"

"I’e of bitterness "Dragons never coet old, and I’h abouta bad day," Kendra said

"I saw The griffins carried off your friends"

"One of the a little I’lanced up at the walls of the gorge "I’et out of here, but it looks like I’ed creatures can access this box canyon If you head the other way, you’ll hit a huge drop-off, the top of a cliff There is no way to clih here Sometimes it comes back and makes pretty waterfalls, but mostly the water runs a different way now"

"So I’s I could carry you, no probleuys always speak lohen you discuss your plans Not a bad idea, by the way But bad for eavesdropping"

The dragon seemed nice, and he was clearly her only hope Would he object to taking her to the fairy shrine? Only one way to find out "The Fairy Queen has a shrine here," Kendra said

"I knew it!" the dragon exclaimed "You’re fairykind, aren’t you? I could tell Well, I thought I could tell I wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but I would have bet on it Too bad I didn’t"

Kendra was not normally open about her status as fairykind, but there see to hide it from Raxtus "Yes, I’on laughed softly "You can’t begin to guess how familiar I am with the Fairy Queen’s shrine, I’o there I don’t ht up to the shrine itself"

"Other dragons can’t?"

"No Aluessing you can, though"

"Yes I mean, I have before, but only at the shrine at Fablehaven A different preserve"