The fire alarm blares as cold water splashes my face.

Well, at least the indoor rain is finally working. It took me too many midnight fires to perfect that spell. Now to find a way to prevent the hatchlings from lighting things on fire in the first place…

I slowly drag myself out of my soaked bed, check that the waterproofing work on my books is still working, then search for the culprits.

I find them both splashing in the rain on my now-singed table. Their favorite target. But their weak streams of flame are nothing against my spell work, at least for another few weeks and their magic strengthens beyond mine.

When the dragons see me, they nip at my shift. I dodge, conjuring meat from my cellar and distracting their venomous fangs. They growl at each other before they realize I have more meat, then they stuff their small, scaled faces.

I mutter a long incantation, directing my previous spell to cease and reset. It doesn’t work on the first try, but I get it eventually. A migraine threatening, I give up on any more magic and fetch a mop and towels.

Two more weeks, the masters said. They could be here in two weeks to collect my findings. These two weeks were turning into the longest two weeks of my life.

One hatchling sneezes, flames bursting from its snout. The spell triggers, and rain falls once more.

It’s things like these that keep me up at night.

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