Chapter 26

Allume suddenly becomes agitated during wing exercises and takes flight for the first time, soaring into the sky with flames and triumphant shrieks. Haedeon, witnessing the moment, thanks the narrator with visible emotion, filling them with profound happiness.

The narrator is conducting wing stretches with Allume while singing to keep her calm when the dragon begins acting restless, swinging her head and nudging the narrator's side. Allume throws flame toward the entrance in an unusual display before rapidly tilting her wings so fast that her injured wing clips the narrator in the head, sending them sprawling into a pile of ice boulders brought by Mah's Moonplume Náthae. When the narrator comes to, Allume has disappeared from the sanctuary and is instead visible through the entrance, flying across the sky for the first time. The dragon's silver hide glints in the light as she flutters awkwardly but joyfully, her tail sweeping through the air and aqua flames shooting skyward accompanied by triumphant squealing shrieks. The narrator scrambles up to find Haedeon smiling directly at them. He speaks roughly, saying "thank you" in a voice that sounds as though the words caused him pain to utter. The narrator experiences an overwhelming sense of happiness and feels remarkable for the first time since arriving at Haedeon's sleigh many phases earlier.