One by one the four dragons swooped into graceful dives and landed gently at the mouth of the cave. When all had landed, they lowered their heads as one and allowed their riders to dismount. Calder had stretched a hand out to Minerva, but he needn't have bothered, for she found her own way down.

“Minerva, wait!” Calder cried as she darted past him. “You may speak to Milius later, but for now —”

“Later?” the Elder who had passed on the blade Stormpyre, Aaron, said incredulously. “She should not have even been here in the first place!”

Minerva stopped dead in her tracks. She whipped her dark hair out of her face and rounded on him sharply. “Milius is my son and I will go wherever he is, whenever I choose, regardless of permission or lack thereof,” she said fiercely, turning her back on the Elder, who now looked as though she had just slapped him in the face.

“Oh Milius!” Minerva cried, flinging her arms around him (Sirius had removed his own hand from Milius’s shoulders and edged closer to where Ariana and Shakil stood, watching, looking slightly apprehensive) and pulling him into a hug so tight that he felt that all the air had been squeezed from his lungs. “You're all right!” She released him, and her relief dissolved almost instantly, to be replaced by an expression of the utmost fury. “How could you have taken that sword?” she demanded. “And then you mounted that dragon — it could have killed you!”

“I —” Milius began, but Minerva cut him off, her tone sharp.

“Return that sword to Elder Calder right now! You will most certainly not become a Knight, it is much too dangerous. I absolutely forbid —”

“Minerva —” Calder called, sounding slightly exasperated.

Minerva rounded on him as well. “What were you thinking?” she said furiously. “Appointing a child!”

“Minerva —”

She turned her back on him, beckoning imperiously to Milius. “Return it. Now!”

Milius looked too frightened to even speak. He glanced around at Sirius, wordlessly requesting help, but Minerva’s eyes followed his and rested rather menacingly on Sirius, who immediately turned his head to stare in a different direction. Utterly defeated, Milius pulled the amethyst-hilted blade, Palpatunde, from its sheath. As he did so, his glistening armour dissolved. He made his way slowly to Calder and held the sword out to him.

Calder sighed deeply, then held his hand out to take it.

Almost as soon as the Elder’s hand reached for the sword, a surge of electricity passed through the handle, jolting Milius. He yelled out in agony, trying to drop the sword, but it clung to his palm, as though suddenly glued to his skin. He pulled his hand back, trying to shake the sword off, but it did not budge. Calder retreated several steps, and only then did the flow of electricity cease.

“I tried to warn you,” Calder said quietly to a thunderstruck Minerva. “The boy, like all the other Knights, has been bound to the blade. He will not be able to relinquish his hold upon it until the next Knighting Ceremony.”

“But —”

“Listen to me Minerva,” Calder said, now sounding impatient. “This is out of your hands! The swords have been bound to them by extremely old and powerful enchantments. Your son is a Dragonknight, and there is nothing you'll be able to do about that now! You may speak to him once we Elders have said what we need to, but for now, you will simply have to accept the fact!”

“But — but —” Minerva spluttered, looking mortified. Calder turned away from her and spoke to the other Elders instead.

“Aaron, Basil, Demus — please go on ahead. Milius and I will be with you shortly. Minerva,” he said, turning back to her. “If you wish to stay and speak with Milius, you may do so later, but I'm afraid you cannot accompany us further inside.”

She recovered herself rather quickly. “I will stay here,” she said at once.

“Good. Milius?” Calder clasped his shoulder with a vicelike grip and steered him in the direction opposite where the other Knights and Elders were headed. Milius couldn't bring himself to look back at Minerva; he had no idea what to say to her. Perhaps the words would come to him later, he thought desperately.

With every step further into the cave, the light became dimmer and dimmer. Calder came to a halt inside a large circular room. The walls were a deep bronze colour, but the floor was a gleaming white. The light inside the room came from small dragon heads mounted on the wall, like misshapen torches.

“Milius,” Calder said, wheeling him around, and Milius saw that his expression looked worried, urgent even. “What happened back in the First Flight?” he asked.

“I —” He had absolutely no idea what to say, but under Calder's piercing gaze, he faltered and blurted, “The dragon tried to kill me!”

To his surprise, Calder shook his head. “The dragons cannot commit harm to their Knights, Milius.”

“Didn't look like that from my end,” Milius said indignantly. He was greatly surprised at himself for his outburst, but maintained his look of anger just the same.

“Believe me, Milius, it is not a question of the dragon's loyalty. I'm sure you've heard the legends of the Dragonknights? They dictate that our blades and the dragons were created from powerful magic. They are bound by the enchantments that created them, and thus, they cannot intentionally inflict harm upon their masters.

“Yes, it seemed Lumeus was trying to shake you off, but even if you had fallen, he would have been forced to rescue you … It is quite strange, though,” he added suddenly. “Verdona is usually the dragon who creates problems — rather aggressive, you see — but it has never been as bad as what I witnessed today … But, more important matters. I must know, Milius. Why did you attack Lumeus?”

“I —” Once again, Milius was at a complete loss for words. He wondered how strange it would sound if he told Calder that an unfamiliar voice suddenly flitted into his brain and told him to. Eventually he contented himself with a rather convincing, “I don't know.”

Calder stared at him intently for a moment, but did not ask any more questions. Instead he said, “The Knights and dragons of old have certainly had problems, but they have always pushed past them and forged bonds so deep that you can barely imagine them. Telling Lumeus to ‘yield’ — oh yes, I know,” he added at Milius’s questioning look, “ — rather keen ears for an old man, you see — when you did this, you invoked the power of the enchantments that bind the dragons. Which is why he settled himself. However,” he added, suddenly stern, “this is not how I wish you to continue. You and Lumeus must fly with mutual trust and respect, not under the force of the spell that created him. Promise me you will work on this.”

“Yes. Yes I will,” Milius said, though he had no idea how he was supposed to get through to the dragon.

“Good. Now come,” he said, steering Milius out of the room. They followed the path back to where they were a few minutes ago, and through a door to their right, where they found the other Knights and Elders. No one was speaking or moving; they had evidently been waiting for him.

He fell in line beside Sirius, who gave him a weak smile.

“You have obviously been wondering why you are here,” Aaron said coldly, shooting a contemptuous glance at Milius; it was obvious that he was still seething with rage at how Minerva spoke to him earlier. “Now that Milius has finally returned, of course, we can get on with it. You are the new generation of Dragonknights. It is your duty to protect the borders of our home from Dark forces. You will begin your formal training as early as tomorrow, after you rest and become accustomed to the Dragoon Cave. But first, some useful information …

“Both the blades and the dragons that were passed on to you today are symbols that you are now the current Knights. The dragons are bound to the blades, the blades are bound to you, and you are now bound to each other. By forces much stronger than blood, I might add. The swords are different, not just by the jewels embedded in them, but by the fact that they each have their own unique set of abilities that will aid you in your endeavours.

“You have been bound to your swords, but you have not bonded with them yet. Only by proving yourselves to your swords, will you bring out their true greatness. And in doing so, you will uncover their secrets on your own ... Now, how about a little — er — demonstration, of your current skill levels ... Ariana Worler,” he said, turning to her, “I would like you to kill Milius Manchester.”