The first thing Mara heard was not a baby's cry.
It was a growl.
She lay exhausted on the narrow bed inside her cottage, her hair soaked with sweat, her hands trembling beneath the blanket.
Outside, the mountain village of Bellweather slept beneath a violent storm.
Rain hammered the roof.
Thunder shook the wooden walls.
And then came the sound again.
A tiny, frightened growl.
Mara slowly looked down.
Her breath stopped.
Wrapped in the blood-stained blanket beside her was a creature no human mother could possibly have given birth to.
It was small.
Barely the size of a newborn lamb.
Black scales covered its body, but thin silver lines shimmered beneath them whenever lightning flashed. Two tiny horns curved above its forehead. Its wings were no bigger than Mara's hands.
And its eyes…
They were silver.
The creature opened them.
It looked directly at Mara.
Then it made a tiny sound.
"Ma..."
Mara froze.
The creature reached one clawed hand toward her.
She should have screamed.
Instead, tears filled her eyes.
"Oh, God."
The dragon crawled weakly across the blanket and pressed its warm face against her chest.
Mara wrapped both arms around it.
"You don't have to be afraid."
The creature's heartbeat was impossibly fast.
So was hers.
Mara looked toward the window.
Bellweather was a village where people believed anything strange was cursed.
Three years earlier, Mara's husband had died in a mine collapse.
Since then, she had lived alone, surviving by repairing clothes and trading bread for vegetables.
The villagers already whispered about her.
A dragon would not be a secret they allowed her to keep.
A knock suddenly struck the door.
Mara's entire body stiffened.
"Mara?"
It was Mrs. Bell.
The village midwife.
"Mara, are you awake?"
Mara looked down.
The baby dragon looked back at her.
She quickly pulled the blanket over him.
"Yes."
"Is the baby all right?"
Mara swallowed.
"Yes."
Mrs. Bell opened the door.
The old woman stepped inside carrying a lantern.
She took one look at Mara.
Then at the bundle in her arms.
Her expression changed.
"What happened?"
Mara said nothing.
Mrs. Bell moved closer.
"Let me see the child."
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Mrs. Bell frowned.
"Mara?"
The creature beneath the blanket shifted.
A tiny claw poked through.
Mrs. Bell saw it.
The lantern slipped from her hand.
It hit the floor.
For several seconds, neither woman moved.
Then Mrs. Bell whispered,
"That's not a child."
Mara pulled the blanket tighter.
"He's mine."
Mrs. Bell backed away.
"That thing cannot stay here."
"He's my son."
"You don't understand what you've done."
"I didn't do anything."
Mrs. Bell stared at the tiny creature.
"Where did he come from?"
Mara looked down.
"I don't know."
The dragon suddenly opened his eyes.
He looked toward Mrs. Bell.
Then hid beneath Mara's arm.
Mara held him closer.
"Please."
Mrs. Bell's fear hardened into certainty.
"I won't tell anyone tonight."
Mara's shoulders relaxed.
"But tomorrow," the old woman continued, "you need to leave."
She walked toward the door.
Before stepping outside, she stopped.
"Mara… if the villagers see those wings, they won't ask whether he's gentle."
She looked back.
"They'll only ask how to kill him."
The door closed.
Mara sat in silence.
The dragon slowly crawled onto her chest.
She touched his tiny forehead.
"What am I going to call you?"
The creature blinked.
Then curled its tail around her wrist.
Mara smiled through her tears.
"Rook."
The baby dragon made a soft clicking sound.
Mara kissed his head.
"Rook."
Outside, thunder rolled across the mountains.
But beneath the storm, another sound had already begun.
Someone was running through the village.
And shouting one sentence over and over.
"There's a monster in Mara Vale's house."