2 Chapter 2

2 Willa took a deep breath to calm her excitement. She knew that the pool turning into a glittering lake wasn't the only thing that had changed.

She raised the hand that was holding the shell up above the water. Her normal girl hand was gone. Instead, she saw a silver paw. As she watched, the shell began to shimmer and fade away. Willa wasn't worried. She knew that it would reappear when she needed it. Excitedly, Willa looked down at her reflection in the smooth surface of the lake. Gone was her usual light brown hair and the spray of freckles across her nose. She had become a majestic silver dragon with sparkling gray-green eyes! Willa laughed, and a puff of glittery smoke rose into the air. She was a Dragon Girl, and not just any Dragon Girl. She was a Glitter Dragon Girl! Willa had changed into dragon form before, but it felt just as thrilling every time.

As Willa admired her dragon-y self and gave a little roar to clear her throat, she heard a tinkling splash of water behind her. She turned just in time to see a very strange sight: The silver dolphin she'd seen in the water had leapt into the air.

Now, Willa loved watching nature shows with her dad, so she often saw dolphins jumping high into the air. But she also knew that dolphins then dove back into the water. But this dolphin wasn't doing that. Instead, it was doing loops in the air, over and over, like an acrobat training for the circus. "Amazing! How can you do that?" exclaimed Willa. She was NOT expecting the creature to answer her, but it did all the same. "I go where you go," the dolphin said in a funny, squeaky voice. "Underwater. In the air. Whenever you need me, I'll be there." Willa knew that dolphins were smart and playful. But this was on a whole new level! Willa gave a great underwater flap of her wings and rose up out of the water and into the sky. She'd never done that before and it felt wonderful! Glittery drops of water rained down from her long

tail and strong paws. It was so good to be flying again. And sure enough, the little dolphin zoomed up into the sky beside her, leaving a silvery trail of stars in its wake. When Willa did a midair somersault, the dolphin was right there doing one, too. It reminded Willa of when her swim team trained together, everyone focused on the same moves. "What's your name?" Willa asked the magical creature. "Delphina," replied the dolphin, hovering in midair and giving Willa a formal bow of introduction. "That was fun, but now we must hurry. The Tree Queen is waiting for you." This time it was Willa's stomach that did a somersault. Of course, she had been called to the Magic Forest for a reason! "Are Naomi and Azmina already there?" asked Willa, following Delphina as she zoomed ahead.

Naomi was one of Willa's oldest friends. They had met on the very first day of kindergarten, and had been friends ever since. Azmina was the new girl who'd arrived at their school just this week. As soon as Willa saw Azmina, she knew they'd become friends. But more than all that, Naomi and Azmina were also Glitter Dragons!