8 The Truth Comes Out

CHAPTER 8 THE TRUTH COMES OUT Drake walked up the twisty staircase to the tower where the Dragon Masters slept. Petra's door was open. He poked his head inside. "Petra?" he asked. Petra sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her lap.

"What happened to King Roland isn't your fault," Drake said. "But it is!" she cried. "I should have patted the hydra's heads—like you said—to calm her down. But I lied and said I should pat her tails instead. I-I-I was afraid." Drake sat down next to her. "Afraid of what?" "I'm terrified of my dragon," Petra admitted. "She's got four heads and shoots poison!" "But you're a Dragon Master," Drake said. "You can connect with her." Petra shook her head.

"How can I connect with her when I can't even touch her?" Petra asked. "Everybody in my family expects me to be good with dragons, like Cosmo was. But I'm not!" "When I first came here, I was afraid, too. Vulcan shot fire at me!" Drake said. "The dragons were all so big and scary-looking. But they're really friendly. I'll show you. Let's go back to the hydra." "Are you sure I won't get hurt?" Petra asked. "The hydra only shot poison at the king because she got scared," said Drake. "We'll take it nice and slow. And don't forget about your Dragon Stone. It will help you connect with your dragon." Petra took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll try."

They went back down to the hydra's cave. Drake opened the gate. "Ask her to come out," he said. Petra faced her dragon. "Can you please come out?" The hydra slowly stepped out of her cave. "Now ask her to follow us," said Drake. "Please follow us, hydra," Petra said. The big green dragon followed Drake and Petra to the Training Room. The other Dragon Masters looked up from their books.

Drake reached out and gently stroked one of the hydra's heads. "See? She won't hurt you," he said. He reached out a hand to Petra. "Come on, we can do it together." Petra placed her hand in Drake's. Drake could feel that it was shaking. Together, they pet the hydra.

The hydra began to make a strange sound. Purrrrrrrrrrr... "Is my dragon purring?" asked Petra. "She sounds like my kitten back home!" "She sounds happy," said Drake, smiling. Petra looked up at the hydra. "Can you help King Roland?" she asked. The Dragon Stone around her neck started to glow—but only for a second. Then it went dark. "It's not working!" Petra cried.