The gray-bearded man leaned over the railing. From there, he could see the dragon’s eye. It was fixed on the small object in the young man’s hand.
“Where did you get that?” he called.
“I found it beneath the gate.”
The official came down from the stands. As he stepped onto the sand, the dragon raised its head just enough to follow him with one amber eye. The young man kept his palm open. The bronze sphere was warm now, and something inside it clicked each time the dragon breathed.
“Turn it over,” the official said.
A line of gold ran around the sphere’s seam. On the underside, beneath years of dirt, the young man saw a shallow imprint shaped like a claw. He pressed his thumb into it. The sphere opened in two, revealing a tiny piece of eggshell.
The dragon breathed out. The young man felt the warmth of it on his face. Then the creature bowed again, so low that its chin touched the sand.
“Her egg broke when we brought her here,” the official said. “The keeper saved a piece. He used to bring it to her at night, until the arena masters took it away.”
The fighter who had laughed at the young man was standing by the gate now, one hand on the chain. He waited for the official’s signal.
The young man set the fragment in the sand and stepped back. The dragon lowered her muzzle over it and stayed there. For a while, the only sound in the arena was the chain moving through the fighter’s hands.
When the gate opened, the dragon took the shell between her teeth. She passed the young man close enough for him to feel the air move under her wing. Beyond the arch she spread both wings and climbed out of sight.
The young man picked up the empty bronze sphere. He left the arena through the same gate.