*Saoirse*

I stepped out onto the blanket of grass, the sunlight glinting off the morning dew clinging to each blade. The heartbreak that once gnawed at my spirit had ebbed away. It was replaced by a sense of purpose as I settled into life at the cliffside dragon sanctuary.

The raw ache for my lost future had dulled over the past weeks, its edges smoothed. I had to focus on the present. These creatures I now called family were counting on me.

This new sanctuary ...