I sighed, looking at the little lizard sitting on my desk. It’s deep maroon color stood out boldly against the light oak wood below. A maroon that perfectly fit the minuscule beast.

Maybe minuscule wasn’t quite the right word, because although it was only as long as a pencil at the moment, it had been much bigger not too long ago.

Much bigger.

“14 years, Ruby. 14 years. And you only just decide to show me that you’re actually a dragon. Didn’t think that was important?”

The lizard eyed me skeptically, scurrying across the desk to a small scorch mark.

“That was from my candle, you can’t claim that.”

I swear, the darn thing rolled her eyes at me as she began to move again, this time towards my rock collection she’d helped me build up.

“How were rocks supposed to tell me you were a freaking dragon?”

She flicked her tongue at me, leaped off the desk, and morphed. To my surprise, instead of being the massive fire-breathing, death-insinuating terror she’d been before, she only the size of a large dog.

“Oh, so you have more than one size? Ruby, do you know how cool it would been to fly to school? Like everyone else with pets big enough to hold them? Why wouldn’t you let me?”

Those orange eyes bored into mine, and though she made no sound, I heard a voice cut through my head.

“You and I were paired for much greater things. Our time will come.”