Prologue

Chiara flapped her wings to try to glide between the branches to keep up with her older brother. Cephas was laughing, his dark blue wings glinting in the patches of sunlight. He jumped from a tree and flew out of her reach. Chiara, with a snarl of frustration, ran and leapt as well. She dug her claws into the bark to give her more speed and traction. She tried to flap her wings to get to him but fell, her wings not yet fully feathered enough to support her. Chiara hit the ground of the rainforest floor and heard Cephas land beside her.

           "Are you okay?" he asked and Chiara could hear his concern.

          Chiara bounced up and reached over to paw at Cephas. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. But now you're it!"

          He laughed and pushed her away as she tackled him. Chiara slid off of his back and onto the leaf strewn area. She stretched her own bright blue wings, preparing for him to attack back in a mock fight. Instead Cephas sat up and licked one of his paws and brought it over his head. Chiara sighed, figuring the game was over for the moment, and began to preen her own feathers.

          When she finished, Chiara asked with hesitation, "Why was father so frustrated earlier?" She remembered how she had gone to say hi but he had ignored her and snapped at her when she had tried to tell him a joke. Their father was the chief of the Leothra. The Leothra formed the largest leap of leopards ever known to Aeroterra. Chiara remembered her father telling her with pride.

          Cephas shrugged. The reason she had asked him was because he and their father were close-closer than she was. Cephas was the next heir to the throne. Chief Warrick wanted to make sure he would be prepared with the responsibilities as chief one day. "He mentioned something about the stupid Leothren. Warrick forced me to sit during a long and boring lecture of how to never trust them and that they never keep their word. Not only that but I also had to sit through a meeting between us Leothra and the dragons."

          "Well they are cowards." Chiara commented. She herself was a coward and she knew it. Chiara didn't show it because she was Leothra. Leothra was not just part of the largest and strongest and most honorable leap, but she was also the princess of it. If anything were to ever happen to Cephas, she would be forced to be the next heir whether she liked it or not. Chiara hadn't thought about that until right at that moment. "I hope you always stay safe!" Chiara said.

          Cephas’s demeanor was a little surprised by her sudden outburst. "I mean-what would I do, what would any of us do without you?" Chiara clarified.

          Cephas frowned. "Then you would become the next chief after Father meets his end." He responded in his matter-of-fact voice that often annoyed Chiara.

          Chiara complained, "But I don't want to be leader. Ever. Doesn't it scare you knowing that everyone will be depending on you and one wrong move could doom all of Leothra?" She would've never confided her fears into anyone else. But she trusted her brother and he almost always knew what to say. And he never told father about her concerns.

          "Not really," Cephas said, shrugging. "I'll just make the decisions of what I view is right and the best option. And if I'm ever unsure I could always put it to a vote. Besides, you don't have to worry about being chief. I'm not going anywhere, don't worry."

          The words comforted Chiara but the worry still nagged in the back of her mind. She did her best to ignore it and be brave. There was nothing to worry about. Chiara leaned into Cephas, trusting him. Cephas hugged her back with his large wings. "Do you want to hear how the meeting went?" he asked. Chiara guessed he felt a little awkward hugging her. She wondered if he had said that in an attempt to change the conversation. She nodded anyway, having never seen a dragon before and curious.

          Cephas dipped his head, shifting away a bit. "The King of the Dragons came over-King Aderet. He was huge. It wasn't just him either. All of the dragons that came were enormous. And King Aderet was a deep shade of red and black. Covered in jewels and gold." Chiara closed her eyes to imagine what they must've looked like. She repressed a sigh that she had missed the meaning. She knew how young she was. It wasn't customary for young cubs to attend important meetings or events as the older Leothra found it improper.

          "Anyways, the King of the Dragons requested to trade all of our treasure and a large portion of our land for amnesty for the time long ago when we stole some of their treasure." Cephas continued in a grim voice.

          Chiara looked at him, alarmed. "And father said no, didn't he?"

          Cephas nodded, and she could tell he was proud of what Warrick had chosen. "He refused and sent King Aderet and his comrades on their way! You should've seen the looks on their faces as they left. It almost made the entire meeting worthwhile."

          "I can imagine it," Chiara said. Even though she could, she wished that she had been there to see it for herself. The way Cephas described it made it sound hilarious.

          "They deserved it. It was dumb of them to even think about asking that. Do the dragons really think the Leothra would just roll onto our bellies and let them take all they want? No way!"

          Chiara laughed and wondered what she would've done if she had to make that decision. The dragons sounded scary and she wasn't sure if she would be able to stand up to them at all. Her father and Cephas were so brave. The entirety of Leothra was courageous. Why wasn't she?