An explosion of fire erupted into the air, sending golden sparks raining down. An earth-shaking roar followed after and my whole body shivered in excitement as I took the first steps onto my new job as a dragon trainer.

I passed rows of dragon eggs in varying sizes. The assortment of colors glowed under the warm lights of the incubator like a rainbow. Surprisingly, the egg that caught my attention was medium-sized and pale gray.

"Antipodean Opaleye," a voice broke through my stupor. I looked up to see a woman standing in front of me. "The dragon is much more impressive than its egg."

"I'm Lara Crowe," I introduced myself. "It's my first day."

"I figured as much. I had the same look in my eye when I first started," the woman responded. "The name is Maeve Dread. Let me show you around."

I followed Maeve through the winding fortress and we stopped when we came to a large fenced-in enclosure. I watched Maeve unlock the padlock and step inside.

"We're going in?" I asked, but Maeve was already out of sight. I hesitantly followed inside and my jaw dropped in awe when I laid eyes on the inhabitant.

"Told you they were more impressive outside of the egg," Maeve smiled and gestured to the Antipodean Opaleye standing before me.

He was covered in iridescent scales that glimmered under the sunlight. But most spectacular of all were his eyes, which were pupil-less and even more colorful than his scales. When I came to the end of his tail, I noticed thick chains attached to each of his four legs.

"I'm going to step out for a minute but I'll be right back. Just don't get too close," Maeve informed me before disappearing.

"Witch," a voice interrupted my stupor. I turned to see if Maeve had come back but the enclosure was empty, save me, and the dragon...

"Hello?" I called out.

"Behind you," the voice answered. It was then that I noticed that I was hearing the voice inside my head...

I nearly stumbled over when I turned back around and the dragon's head was within feet of mine. I stared into his ever-changing eyes and felt a huge gulp work its way down my throat. Had the dragon...just talked to me?

"Free me," the voice said, confirming my suspicions. In all my years of schooling I'd never heard of dragons and wizards communicating. "They keep us imprisoned here and abuse us for their personal gain."

"Wh-what?" I stammered. The dragon turned to show me his underbelly and I was horrified to find large scars where his scales had been cut off. The mark of scale-traders who sold dragon scales on the black market to be used for armor and illegal spells.

"Hurry, she is coming back," the dragon said. In that moment I had to make a decision. I looked back and forth between the door and the chains before drawing my wand. So much for the new job.

I knew what I had to do.