White Road

glow over the mountains slowly brightened expandinginto a gauzy nimbus so bright Alec could even make out the trees on the peaks.
    As the edge of the moon appeared over the mountain, everyone began to sing.
    Blessings of Aura descend in the moon’s glow.
People of Aura, bathe in the light.
Blood of the Dragon runs in our veins,
Shed on our land in the long-ago night.
Blessings of Aura, reborn in our sight
Blessings of Aura, the Lightbearer’s gift
.
    The verse was repeated over and over, and echoed among the peaks, doubling and trebling, almost harmonizing with the voices.
    Blood of the Dragon runs in our veins—A
chill ran up Alec’s spine. He was
not
a dragon! The dragon had said so.
    “Alec, look,” Seregil whispered, jarring him out of his dark thoughts.
    Something dark moving against the stars.
    “Drak-kon,” said Sebrahn, his eyes like silver coins in the moonlight. Raising his arms, he sang a single clear note, the same one he’d sung to Tyrus’s great dragon. Startled looks came their way, and Alec wondered uneasily if Sebrahn was calling the dragons down from the sky.
    Little dragonlings fluttered into the colos to light on Sebrahn’s shoulders, and Alec’s, but the ones overhead remained in the sky, a huge one surrounded by countless others of all sizes.
    “Is that Tyrus’s dragon?” Alec asked, amazed and delighted. This must be the surprise Seregil had spoken of.
    “It is,” Seregil replied, smiling. “I wanted to watch this with you. And you, too, of course, Micum.”
    Micum just laughed.
    The dragons swooped and dove against the night sky, like fish playing in a stream, and the great dragon sang back to Sebrahn, his roar softened by the distance.
    Watching them, Alec’s heart swelled a little. Maybe itwasn’t such a bad thing, sharing a connection with something so wondrous.
    This went on until the moon was high above the peaks. Then the great beasts disappeared as quickly as they’d come.
    Adzriel turned and kissed him. “Come now, my brothers, it’s time for the dancing!”
    Everyone went home to dress for the dances and parties that followed. As Alec descended the stairs from the roof with Sebrahn in his arms, he could hear the musicians tuning up in the great hall. The sound always stirred his blood, ever since Micum’s daughters had taught him how to dance, but the feeling was mingled with sudden misgivings.
    This was the night they would finally try leaving Sebrahn alone. His misgivings grew as they reached their room.
    “Seregil, I don’t know if this is a good idea,” he began, setting Sebrahn down and pulling off his mittens.
    “Oh come on, talí,” Seregil gave him a comically imploring look. “If we were in Rhíminee tonight, we’d be drunk off our assess by now. And you can’t very well dance with me lugging Sebrahn on your back. He’ll be fine here, and it’s not so far to the hall that we can’t look in on him as often as you like. As soon as we’ve danced ourselves out a little, we’ll fetch him to the party, I promise.”
    Alec cast a worried look at Sebrahn, who was staring back just as intently from his place on the bed, as if he knew exactly what was going on. Alec had trimmed and braided the rhekaro’s hair, and dressed him in the little tunic embroidered with flowers that Kheeta’s mother had made for him. There had to be some moment when Alec allowed himself to be parted from Sebrahn; it was inevitable. But did it have to be now? All the other children in the house would be there. Sebrahn hadn’t exactly made friends with anyone. However, he did seem interested in how they played, and would mimic them now and then.
    Yet Alec didn’t need the pull of their bond to see that behind Seregil’s inveigling smile was a genuine plea. Seregil pulled him close, sighed heavily for good effect, then danced him around the room. “Please, talí? Just this one time? He couldn’t be anywhere safer.” Letting Alec go, Seregil madea show of barring the shutters, then held up the iron key that they hadn’t used since their arrival.
    Alec wavered; he hadn’t danced in months, and now he could hear a reel beginning. “Well, I guess he’d be all right for a little while. Maybe …”
    “Then it’s settled! I’ll tell you what; as soon as we meet with Micum, I’ll have him look in on him for us, too.”
    “Well …”
    Seregil sensed his weakening resolve and grinned. “Good.”
    Alec sat down with Sebrahn and tried to explain. “Seregil and I are