Where the Dragon Sleeps

When the city bells began to ring for morning, Elian found the dragon waiting beneath the western arch. She had not seen him since childhood, yet he lowered his great head and breathed once against her hair. The scent of rain, cedar smoke, and the summer orchard returned. “You kept it safe,” she whispered. Beneath his scales, something warm and steady answered: the small, familiar rhythm of the girl who had once fallen asleep beside his wing.