"The third--and final--test," intoned Dragon Mistress Talia, as jewels sparkled from her gold and silver arm bands. She wore a silken robe that hung open at the sides, revealing an otherwise naked body, and stood before a rank of similarly robed dragon riders.

"I'm ready, Mistress," said Tlan, he hoped with more confidence than he felt.

"Our sireling has not yet revealed his name to any of us." Talia turned to him. "Traditionally this is done upon bonding."

One of the dragon riders touched his arm. She had short black hair, slicked into spikes that pointed in all directions. "It felt amazing when Khanna first shared her name with me,"...