Dragonfriend Treasury - The Complete Dragonfriend Series Quotes

“That fourth evening, the dragonet felt especially restless. He flew aloft with Gracewing, carving out a path of their own through the everlasting, smouldering leagues. At last, he turned to his companion and said simply, I fear for her. I know, Flicker, she said, indicating encouragement with a rapid blinking of her secondary eye membranes. The issue is not that we’ve heard nothing from Hualiama. It’s … time. Time to what? Flicker twirled a wingtip flirtatiously. Time. Time for me to demonstrate how insatiable – No … time. Time, my fire-heart. It is … I can’t … it’s time, don’t you see? He took pause at the note in Gracewing’s voice and the truths conveyed by the urgent whirling of her apricot and blue eye-fires. Time, time, there is – Time! yelled Flicker. She’s been pulled out of time – why? The Balance she spoke of must be reaching fruition and the timing is the crucial element! She’s frozen? Paralysed? No, think, Flicker. She’s an incredibly smart – well, almost as smart as me – girl. It takes a great deal to take her out of action. Gracewing, you’re the best! Aye, and he was babbling now, but Flicker knew she had touched upon a truth no other had apprehended. This is the reason for the delay. The magic is being prepared by Dramagon’s wicked brood down there and we must interrupt their plans, strike a blow – bring out the First Egg! Aye! Gracewing yelped in surprise as he danced around her, vibrating wingtips with ultra-rapid taps before tweaking her tail. Flicker! I know. I’m a mad genius. Let’s go convince the Tourmaline. The pretty dragonet paused dramatically. Convince them? They all agree you’re mad already.”
― Marc Secchia, Dragonfriend Treasury - The Complete Dragonfriend Series

“How to reconcile the strangeness of an adult’s intellect and experience wrapped up in a hatchling’s body? Or now, as her mood spun on a wingtip, endlessly unpredictable, for she began to dance first with some of the aerial movements Grandion himself had taught her, then very quickly modifying and expanding upon those as the desire to express herself became irrepressible and she spiralled about the much larger Dragons, calculating at an ever more furious pace. He could no longer follow her thoughts, for they sparked off in effervescent spirals far quicker even than her dance; one second she was battling Numistar, the next he saw spin-offs of an eggling-dream and a memory of her mother’s reaction to the Reaving and here was a Dragon Rider Academy with Elki at its head, a place where Dragons and Humans learned freely together, and another flash-memory of Imbalance detected and pondered through at least fourteen separate vectors … and she danced with him in courtship and saw him slough free of the volcanic lake beside the monastery building, sleek and gleaming of gemstone scales, snatching her breath from her chest … and she charged into battle with him against ten thousand two-headed Dragons – what had become of that scourge of the East? Now, she recounted the nth detail of the shield constructs which, laced in soul-shadowing grief, had composed the paean of his honour-offering for his slain father, Sapphurion. A flicker of insight saw those constructs modified and enriched, while she simultaneously visited with the filthy Maroon Dragoness, Ianthine, and recalled her bedazzling, hypnotic power which had so nearly opened the path to slaying Azziala. The Empress would not be surprised like that again. Then, Grandion’s mind hurtled out of her orbit, overwhelmed. He clutched hopefully at the fireflies of her thoughts.”
― Marc Secchia, Dragonfriend Treasury - The Complete Dragonfriend Series

“A Royal Guard, puffing out his purple-uniformed chest, barked, “Princess Hualiama, by the King’s order I place you under arrest –” Hualiama’s smile, modelled on Grandion’s best, lip-curling, fang-revealing, Dragon-fire-breathing efforts, appeared to cork his throat pleasingly. She said, “You can try.” And she left the nonplussed soldier and his squad of four gaping at her back as she marched off. Faintly, she heard a voice inquire, “Why didn’t you arrest the Princess, sir?” “I prefer staying alive.” “Aye!” the others agreed fervently.”
― Marc Secchia, Dragonfriend Treasury - The Complete Dragonfriend Series

“Dragon a … special friend?” The Princess knew her face gave far too much away. She wanted to bury its burning in the pillow-roll, but instead, she tried to meet Akemi’s gaze with an innocent arch of her eyebrows. “Besides the fact that the timeline of your story is impossible using any Dragonship technology yet invented,” the old woman said, with a kindly twinkle in her eye, “I know a few things about young women’s hearts. Keep your peace; hear my tale before you judge me a nosy old woman, for I’ve a tale to tell. I too have a special friend – a Dragoness called Yukari. If pressed, she’ll admit she’s an Aquamarine”
― Marc Secchia, Dragonfriend Treasury - The Complete Dragonfriend Series