Starlighter by Bryan Davis

she looked. “But you had better hurry. I served the lambs a moment ago, and he is waiting for the sauce to be sweetened. Then you can come back and store the other combs.”
    Koren grabbed a metal pot hanging from one of many hooks that held cooking utensils on the stone wall and put the honeycomb inside. Kneeling, she inserted the pot into a shelf above the fireplace. With the spit for roasting the lambs still in the fireplace’s main compartment, the shelf they used for keeping food warm would have to do. There was no time to move the spit and then wash her hands. All she needed was to warm the comb a little bit.
    When enough honey pooled, she pulled out the pot and marched farther into the tunnel. The dining area was in the next chamber. It, too, was well-lit, making it easy for Koren to follow the glow.
    She paused near an opening to the right and peered inside. Unlike humans, who shared a community table, each dragon perched on his haunches in front of an individual stone pedestal, Arxad near the left side of the rectangular room, Fellina at the opposite wall on the right. Xenith, their female youngling, perched behind her table near the wall across from the entry door. The room was small compared to the main living quarters, allowing them to speak without shouting, but the cramped space made it difficult for a servant to maneuver around the tables while carrying heavy serving platters and filled goblets.
    All three seemed to be in a good mood, each one tearing meat from various portions of the roasted lamb and slurpingmacko berry wine. With their noisy chewing, their growling conversations were muffled, but Koren’s experienced ears picked up every word. They spoke in their own language, of course, but she and the other slaves had heard it so often, translating it wasn’t a problem.
    “The Separators are promoting three humans,” Arxad said. “I will have to prepare them for the ceremony.”
    Koren held her breath. They were talking about Promotions, a topic they always avoided when she was nearby. Maybe they would let some information slip. She had often dreamed of being one of the promoted humans. It was the only way out of the hotter regions.
    Fellina stopped chewing. “Will these duties never end?”
    “I will not be long.” Arxad looked at Xenith. “And you already know what I will say if you complain that you should be allowed to go. The book of the law forbids it. Someday you will be old enough to see what we do with promoted humans.”
    Xenith crunched a bone and spoke loudly while grinding it. “Good. I hope Koren gets promoted someday. I think she is—”
    “Quiet!” Fellina scolded. “A human is in the kitchen.”
    The room fell silent. Koren counted to ten, hoping that was enough time for the dragons to believe she had not heard their conversation. Taking a breath, she marched in, gave the three dragons a quick bow, and hurried with the pot to Arxad’s table.
    “You are late,” Arxad growled in the human tongue.
    “Yes, I am.” Koren poured some of the honey into a bowl of herbs and drippings from the lamb. Using a spoon from the table, she mixed the concoction into a thick sauce.“If you care to hear the reason for my tardiness, I will tell you.”
    “I want to hear it,” Xenith said. “Koren’s stories are always amusing.”
    Arxad gave Koren a nod. “Very well. Amuse us.”
    “One moment.” Koren poured the sauce over the remainder of Arxad’s lamb, set the pot down on the floor, and wiped her hands on her apron. “I am ready.”
    Giving the dragons a theatrical grimace as she turned slowly in place, she bent her body into a skulking pose, raised her hands as if ready to claw an enemy, and narrowed her eyes. The dragons loved a good show, so she would give them one. Maybe someday she could earn the elusive Promotion.
    “The hives are filled with bees,” she said in a breathy, overly dramatic voice. “Since you are protected by your impenetrable scales, you dragons cannot