Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
The Other Past — 1
Overview
The Other hunts the thief of her long-tended egg but diverts to save a child guarding a snow nest from doomquills. As the egg hatches a silver daughter with a damaged wing, a young fae compels The Other to fly. In the storm-churned sky, dragon and child form a powerful bond, reshaping both their futures.
Summary
The Other erupts from the mists, enraged that her precious, long-overdue egg has been stolen. Her fury drives her toward distant cries, where she finds a too-young fae defending a crude snow nest from a pack of doomquills. The child kills one but is shaken; the predators close in to finish the job.
Driven by instinct to protect, The Other crashes down, unleashing blue fire and claws to annihilate the pack. As the snow settles, a silver glow blooms from the nest: her egg cracks and a daughter emerges, slick and fragile, with a small, misshapen wing. A pale-haired male fae, the thief, carefully frees the hatchling from the membrane, apologizing through tears.
Searching for the child, The Other discovers the young fae clinging between her shoulder blades, bloody and determined, demanding “Shuile!”—fly. Refusing riders by nature, The Other tries to shake her off, then launches skyward expecting the girl to fall, but the child holds fast through mist, storm, and cold.
Near the moons and the dancing ribbons of light, the girl sings to their motion, calming The Other’s thrashing flight. Feeling the child’s courage and vast moral heart, and newly aware of all she could lose, The Other yields for the first time. Their bond hatches with star-bright ferocity; The Other withholds her flame, knowing it would destroy the child, but offers nearly everything else.
Through the bond The Other senses the girl’s love for her kin and sorrow for the hatchling’s crooked wing, which does not dim the dragon’s joy. Fate’s threads tighten as The Other accepts that she and her “Precious Little One” were always meant to be.
Who Appears
- The OtherAncient dragon mother; slaughters doomquills, witnesses her egg hatch, then bonds in flight with a young fae.
- Young fae girl (the Little One)Courageous child who defends the nest, commands The Other to fly, and forges a dragon bond.
- Male faeEgg thief found in the snow nest; protects the hatchling and frees her from binding membrane, tearfully apologetic.
- Silver hatchlingNewborn dragon daughter with a small, misshapen wing; catalyst for The Other’s protective awakening.
- DoomquillsPredatory, spiked creatures attacking the nest; obliterated by The Other’s blue fire.