The Dereks did not hurt David for being a dragon. The questions about his past stopped. The screaming was gone. 

The Dereks celebrated many of his birthdays based on the day they found him. He felt no need to correct them, but he was still happy to see the flowers bloom every year for him on his actual birthday.  When he turned 'twelve,' his adoptive parents finally let him walk around the city alone. 

His favorite place to go was the square. It was in the shadow of the castle, and it was where most people hung out anyway. It was also the busiest place on Market Day, even more crowded than the normal commerce street. He had learned to stay away on Fridays too, though he wasn't sure why the square was busy on Fridays. 

Walking around alone also meant he could start to practice stealing again. It gave him something to do. For the most part, he returned what he took. Returning it without getting caught was an extra task to challenge him. 

Over the past few weeks, he had learned that he could steal in the form of an animal and no one would ever notice or blame him. He had also noticed that vendors and stores expect you to steal food; they seemed so shocked when their money disappeared instead.

So far everything he'd tried, he'd gotten away with, except with stealing from Ms. Diana. He couldn't walk out with anything from her store.

But stealing wasn't making friends like the Dereks wanted him to be doing. If he went home and they asked who he'd hung out with, he told them stories about things he used to do with Aiden or Tucker. In some ways, it comforted David to know he hadn't forgotten those days. 

He was in the square today. David watched people walk by. David smiled at the castle, taking in the sun. It was a sunny day in December; it wasn't too cold. He only had to wear a long-sleeved shirt. The cobblestones were almost freezing to the touch though. 

He wondered how cold the stone castle overlooking the town was. 

His thoughts wandered to the prince in the castle and all the royals. He'd been hearing a lot more about the royals recently. Apparently, there was some scandal. David didn't care. He tore his eyes away from the castle and looked around the square. The abandoned stage was waiting for something to happen, anything.

A man walked by, with a purse jingling at his waist. A smile pulled on David's face. He would return it all afterward.

David pushed off the wall using his shoulders and started walking around the square, pretending to inspect the architecture of the surrounding buildings from different angles. Out of the corner of his eye, David watched the man he had seen earlier.

The man was getting close to leaving the square. David turned to follow him.

The man turned around suddenly. The man stared at David, making eye contact. David froze. 

The man narrowed his eyes, turning around. A cloak appeared around his shoulders hiding his purse. 

David swallowed. That was magic. He had just tried to pickpocket someone who knew magic.

Diana had explained magic to David after he tried to steal an apple the first time. He still wasn't sure what its connection was to him trying to steal the apple, but it had been an interesting lesson. 

She had said magic was a concept few people completely understood, but apparently, anyone could do it as long as they were taught and practiced. She emphasized that a soul who knew magic was dangerous. 

Because magic itself was dangerous.

David shook his head, letting himself relax. Trying to steal from that man could have ended worse. Now he just needed to find a new target. 

David took a couple of steps in a random direction. He watched the ground just in front of him. David's eyes widened when the cracks in the stones mended themselves, and the shadows ran across the ground as if the sun itself was trying to win a race. 

That wasn't normal.

Stopping, he lifted his head and glanced around.

The sun was moving backward across the sky, and it was going far too fast. David's eyes widened and he started running in the direction of the Dereks' house. 

David tried to dodge people on the street only for them to disappear as he passed them. Other people appeared right in his path and he stumbled to change direction. One second the scene around David was market day. The next the street was empty.

The buildings started pulling themselves apart, and the road was disappearing brick by brick. The illusion— it had to be an illusion— caused David to trip. 

David's heart was in his throat. What was this? He tripped over a rock that appeared in his path. His knee hit the ground first, and he was thankful for the leather pants. The skin of his palms was not so lucky. At the throbbing pain in his palms, his arms gave out, letting David fall on his left shoulder.

Was this something the man from the square had done? Could magic do something like this? 

He stared at the city taking itself apart. The buildings that were made of brick were replaced by wooden huts. The castle that had overlooked the city was gone, replaced by a forest. 

The sun froze in the sky. 

A dragon flew overhead. David squinted. Amethyst scales. Was that Aiden? David had never seen Aiden in his true form, so he couldn't be sure. And why would Aiden be here? This was clearly a human village. 

There were shouts at the sight of the dragon. The amethyst dragon circled the wooden houses. David tried to focus on the dragon to calm himself. 

It had been a while since he'd seen one of his own kind. Whatever this was... maybe this was a good thing. 

David's breathing had slowed down. His heart didn't feel like it was in his throat anymore. 

The dragon looked like it had gotten closer. The dragon looked like it was going to—

David's eyes widened. The dragon looked like it was going to land. Because of the houses, to land here the dragon would have to change before getting too close to the ground. It was doable, but this dragon didn't look like it had that in mind. It was flying far too fast.

The dragon's mouth opened. David could see the sharpened teeth. David could see the glow at the back of the throat. 

David scrambled to his feet. Which way should he run? Before he could decide, the fire escaped the dragon's mouth.

David stared at the wooden houses. They caught the fire easily. David could feel the added heat in the air. The beating from the dragon's wings created a wind that only served to spread the fire. 

That didn't stop the dragon from hitting another house with fire. 

The humans started screaming. A chorus that David recognized. 

David's eyes widened while the fire's reflection danced in them. The wind pulled at his hair. 

He was watching a dragon destroy a human village. 

Doubling over, David grabbed his own shirt. David tried to take deep breaths but it didn't feel like he could breathe. There was a tug in his head. It was like his brain had been tied to a pole, and he had tried to outrun the rope holding him down. 

Screaming. The humans were screaming. 

He just wished the screaming would stop. Tears welled up in his eyes. 

He lifted his head to see the dragon land on one of the houses, crushing it. David's eyes both turned solid emerald green. No whites. No pupils.

This is dangerous. 

It was a voice in his head that David didn't recognize. 

The sun started racing across the sky again, but forward this time. The rapidly changing lighting made David nauseous. He stumbled backward.

He didn't remember hitting the ground. 

***

"Anyway, David, we can talk about that when you wake up."

He jerked his eyes open. He gasped before realizing his heart wasn't racing. He was lying in the middle of the kitchen. The windows allowed streaming light to fall over the floor. It hit David's eyes so he couldn't see properly. He blinked at Ms. Derek staring down at him.

"This is unacceptable. Is that Aiden kid taking you to taverns to get drinks?" She put her hands on her hips.

David blinked again. He felt fine. He raised his arms and looked at his palms. There wasn't even a sign that he'd skinned them. Letting his arms fall, David just stared at the ceiling, shaking his head.

"David, are you going to ignore me?" 

"I—" David coughed, clearing his throat. "I'm not sure what happened."

"You came home yesterday and passed out on the kitchen floor."

David didn't remember that. David didn't remember anything past falling and skinning his palms.

"Sorry?" He said, not bothering to get up. 

Ms. Derek took her hands off her hips. "As long as it doesn't happen again."

"Right," David sat up and regretted it. He felt like he was going to throw up. Groaning, he fell back on the floor, ignoring the pain it caused. "Never again." He agreed.

What type of magic had the man from the square used?