“Did you follow them?”
I chuckled. “One doesn’t simply follow the Djarn. At least, that’s been my experience.”
“You have experience with the Djarn where you’re from?”
“Only knowing they’re in the forest outside of the plains. We almost never see them. They decide who they want to work with, and who they want to trade with, and only reveal themselves to a few people.”
“You haven’t been one of them,” he said.
I shook my head again. “I haven’t been one of them. I have a friend whose father had traded with them, and he claims to know them fairly well.”
“Interesting,” Jerith said. He took a seat and started shifting papers on his desk. “There are several schools of thought when it comes to the Djarn,” Jerith said. “There are those who believe them to be a threat to the kingdom, even though in the time that we have been here, situated as we are at the edge of the forest, they’ve never made their presence known to any but a few. We almost never see them, much like you had experienced in the forest of your home. It’s something that leaves some people troubled. Not knowing anything means it’s dangerous. At least, according to one school of thought. Others recognize that they’re living their lives and we should leave them to it.”
I took a seat and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs as I watched Jerith. “We weren’t necessarily afraid of the Djarn in Berestal, though we did respect them. Very few people had any real interaction with them.”
“There are some who fear the Vard are working with them.”
I frowned. “I don’t know if that’s quite true.” I shook my head. “At least, from my experience. We have plenty of Vard sympathizers in Berestal, but I can’t think of any who had traveled outside of the city to the forest with the Djarn.”
“I can’t say that I know. I haven’t traveled beyond the forest. At least, not recently. But you should know that the king will find any with the necessary potential to train with the dragons.”
“Like sending the delegation out to Berestal to test for potential abilities.”
He nodded. “We haven’t talked about that.”
“I’m not sure that anyone really wants to talk about it.”
“The instructors at the Academy do not. I would argue that most of the king’s dragon mages don’t, either. The idea that there could be one among us who had betrayed the king and gone to the Vard is painful.”
I looked up and met Jerith’s eyes. I wanted to tell him that I didn’t think that Elaine was working with the Vard, but I held back.
“You don’t need to fear. The Academy grants those who have the necessary potential, such as yourself, the ability to work with the dragons. The king would prefer to have everybody who has that ability work with him and his people.” Jerith shook his head. “Out beyond the borders of the forest, out near the plains and Berestal, and in some of the places that have only recently been annexed by the kingdom, it is a little bit different. The people there aren’t beholden to the kingdom in the same way, and yet . . .” He looked down at the stack of papers in front of him, sorting through them as if he were looking for some sort of secret that he had left there. Finally, he looked back up at me. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. The kingdom still hasn’t found what we think we need.”
“Which is what?”
“A way to fully defeat the Vard.”
“And how do the Djarn play into this?” I asked.
“It depends on who you ask,” Jerith said. “Some believe the Djarn, having lived here long before the kingdom existed, have a connection to the dragons. Others think they are simply connected to the forest itself. Given how easily they navigate the forest, and how quickly they disappear when they are seen, that is the most believable.”
I sat back, thinking about what I felt from the Djarn, the way I’d detected the connection between the people, the same sort of connection I had felt between the dragons and dragon mages.
“I think they are,” I said.
Jerith nodded. “It would make sense for them to know the forest. As you’ve said, they can slip through it without being seen, and very few people know where they are, which gives them—”
“I should clarify. I think they’re somehow connected to the dragons,” I said.
Jerith leaned forward, watching me. “Why would you say that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. It was something I felt.” I closed my eyes, thinking about what I had detected when we had traveled—the sense of power that had summoned me toward it. Had I been so connected to the dragon that I could feel what the Djarn were doing?
The idea seemed impossible, but at the same time, there was no doubt in my mind that something had compelled me forward, something had drawn me, and when I had encountered the Djarn, there was a certain feeling of power that linked them to the dragons. That was a connection.
That was what concerned Thomas—and why he wanted me brought before the king.
“I thought I felt the Djarn connected when I was there with Thomas.”
“Did you feel it when you were there the first time?”
“No, I didn’t. But at the same time, it wasn’t until later that I began to feel a different connection to the dragon magic.”
Still, even then I’d been able to follow the dragon, hadn’t I? I had recognized the power of the dragon, and I should have recognized how that power pulled upon me, along with pulling upon the Djarn—if there were such a connection.
“It might have only been Thomas you detected,” Jerith said. “As the chief dragon mage, he does have considerable control over the dragons, along with their power. You may have only sensed him cycling that power.” He chuckled to himself. “I never would have described it as cycling before, but it does fit.”
The way the green dragon forced power through me was definitely a cycling, even though I had no control over it. And what Jerith said about Thomas was right. I had seen it firsthand. I had seen the way Thomas could borrow from the power of multiple dragons. He had touched upon that power, switching from dragon to dragon easily.
“None of that’s the reason you came to me though, is it?” Jerith asked.
I shook my head and turned to him. “He wants to bring me before the king.”
Jerith frowned. “Thomas does?”
“I think he’s upset about what happened with the Djarn. That, combined with how the dragons have gone missing, and . . .”
If I played it out, and if the Djarn were somehow connected to the dragons, and if they were responsible for calling those dragons away, or even sneaking in and taking them directly, then I wanted to know.
“Do you think he’s accusing you?” Jerith asked.
I shook my head. “It’s not like I’ve had much of an opportunity to steal dragons. I’ve struggled just to have a connection to them at all.”
“I don’t know if struggling is the right way to describe it,” Jerith said. “You have a connection. It’s just that you haven’t known how to use that connection. Over time, you will master it. As you’ve already shown. Perhaps all you needed was to have an opportunity to work with someone who can help you better connect to it. I wish I could claim that person was me, but if it had to be somebody, it might as well have been the king’s chief dragon mage.”
“Have you ever gone before the king?”
Jerith smiled. “I am a dragon mage,” he said.
There was a moment of silence. “So is that a yes?”
“The king is present at every Academy graduation,” Jerith said. “I suppose that were you in the city longer, you would’ve known that. If you serve well, then you’re pulled into his dragon elites.” He looked over to me, smiling and shrugging. “They are dragon mages who have served the king more directly. They serve directly under Thomas, or at least they used to. These days, with Thomas’s absence, the dragon mages have begun to reorganize. That’s the reason for Donathar’s return to the city. Now they are serving beneath the king’s Shara
th under the guidance of Donathar.”
The Sharath was the king’s right-hand man, the one who served him most directly. I knew so little about him other than rumor. I doubted anybody really knew much about him, especially somebody like myself who hadn’t spent much time in the city. I had quite a bit of catching up to do still to get up to speed with everything within the city.
“Do you think Thomas is angry that he’s been pushed aside?” I asked.
Jerith watched me. “What are you getting at, Ashan?”
What was I getting at? I wasn’t even sure, to be honest. “The dragons are missing, is that right?”
Jerith tapped on his chin. “You have seen the dragon pens, Ashan.”
“I was just thinking about what I’d seen Thomas doing,” I said.
He looked as if he wanted to cross the distance between us, and he frowned at me, squeezing the tips of his fingers as he pressed his lips together. “What exactly have you seen him doing?”
How was I to explain it? I had witnessed Thomas’s connection to the dragons, but he’d focused on each of the dragons, touching upon them.
I had no idea what that meant, or whether it was significant at all, only that I was certain about what I’d detected. I’d seen and felt that connection.
It mattered.
“Maybe nothing,” I said. “Or maybe it is something. I don’t really know.”
“Tell me what it is,” Jerith said. “We can work through it together.”
I started carefully. “When I first met Thomas, he was working with each of the dragons. He touched upon them, and I had felt the way that he used his connection to the dragons.”
“What do you mean you felt it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really know how to describe it. I can tell when somebody is using the connection to the dragon. I can almost see it,” I said.
“How so?”
“It’s a distinct sensation,” I said. “It’s a matter of feeling the way the energy flows from the dragon, working not only from the dragon, but also toward the dragon mage.”
Jerith leaned back, steepling his hands together as he watched me. “Can you feel it now?”
I focused on what he was doing and whether there was anything to it that I might be able to detect. I realized there was a hint of power coming off of him. It was faint. Focusing on it, I could trail after that connection. Power stretched away from him, feeding from him and all the way toward the dragon pen. It was almost as if there were a string attached to him that he held on to, power that flowed out and around, cycling through.
“I can,” I said.
“What exactly do you detect?”
“I detect you holding on to the connection to a dragon. I don’t know which dragon.” Though, as I thought about it, I had to question whether such a thing would even be possible. I might be able to uncover which dragon he connected to if I were familiar with more of the dragons. “But more than that, I can’t really tell.”
Jerith frowned. “Interesting.”
“Why? Is that different than others?”
“Yes, your connection seems to be a bit different than others I’ve trained.”
“Different than other students? Or just . . .” I wasn’t even sure what I was asking, only that I didn’t like the idea that my connection to the dragons was suddenly so different.
Still, there was value in my ability to detect the connection to the dragons and the way others were bound to it. There might be value to the Academy, as well. Especially if I were to be able to use that connection, use what I’d detected, to figure out if there were some other practical aspect to it.
“It’s just different, Ashan. You don’t need to be concerned about your difference. I certainly am not. Although, if that is what you can do, I’m not at all surprised Thomas found you compelling. Normally, detecting the flow of power from a dragon takes years of connection to them, and even then, it’s not an exact art, such as it is.”
“I don’t know if I want to be different,” I said.
He smiled at me. “You don’t need to be disappointed that you are different. I would suggest you focus more on what makes you unique.” He glanced down at the desk. “And don’t worry about what Thomas wants from you. If he intends to bring you before the king, consider it an honor. There aren’t many students like yourself granted such an opportunity.”
I took a deep breath, nodding. Perhaps that was how I had to view it. I needed to think about it as an opportunity. Coming to the Academy, coming to the capital itself, had both been opportunities for me, ones I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
“If there’s nothing else, you should get back to your assignments,” Jerith said.
When I stepped out into the hall and headed toward the student quarters, the sound of Brandel’s voice caught my attention, so I veered away. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with him right now.
I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to deal with anyone.
Instead, maybe I’d go back out to the dragon pens, sit there and see if I could figure out anything more about my connection to the dragons and whether I might be able to control some new aspect of it.
12
I waited by the dragon pen, anticipating that Thomas would be there, but he had not yet arrived. Maybe he had come earlier than me and had already left for the day. I made a circle around the pen, touching the bars of cool metal before moving onward. I stared through the bars, focusing on the dragons. The deep green dragon remained inside. I had rarely seen him leave.
“I’ve seen you watching them often,” a voice said.
I looked over to see Donathar. He was dressed in dark navy, the crest of the king on one shoulder, and a playful smile on his face as he regarded the dragons. Much like what I had detected with Thomas, he released power from him that flowed through the bars of the dragon pen and touched upon each of the dragons.
“I’m just trying to find my connection.”
Donathar turned to me. “From what I understand, you have successfully managed to do so.”
“Successfully, but it’s different.”
Donathar paused. He tapped on something in his pocket before glancing up at me. “Different doesn’t mean less potent. Different only means different. As you likely learned, all students at the Academy come to understand their connection to the dragons differently. Even Thomas.” He said his name with a slight tension pulling on his eyes. “Though if he has managed to demonstrate something for you, I should say that it has been valuable.”
“None of the other instructors succeeded in coaxing a connection out of me.”
“Or perhaps they just didn’t have the time,” he said. He frowned, glancing over to the Academy before turning toward me. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time outside of the city, it’s that there are many means to reaching the same kind of power.”
“Did you learn that with the Djarn?”
His face didn’t change, though the tension that I had detected in his eyes persisted, if only a little bit. “My time with the Djarn was challenging,” he said. “They are quite secretive, even to those sent to them as emissaries.”
“You didn’t learn anything?” That surprised me. Even Joran had learned something, if only because his father had connected to the Djarn.
“Oh, there are many things that I learned in my time among them, but few were what I had hoped.” He glanced over and winked. “I know the stories of the Djarn. I thought many of them true before I spent any time with them. Unfortunately . . .”
“They don’t have a connection to magic?”
“They most certainly have some connection to magic, but finding what it is proved difficult, even for as long as I was with them.” He shook his head and turned to the dragons. A bit of power trailed off of him, touching from one dragon to the next. When he reached the green dragon, the dragon started to stir, looking over to me, and a bit of heat ballooned within me. “I had hoped to gain insight about the Djarn during my time there. Perhaps even brin
g word back to the king that they could be allies, rather than . . .” He looked at me. “I shouldn’t even be speaking about this around you. I think it was your connection to Manuel, or perhaps that Thomas chose you to teach.”
“That was chance more than anything,” I said.
“Was it, or perhaps he sought you out.” Donathar looked over to me, cocking his head as he regarded me. Heat bloomed from him, but it was the only thing that I could feel. Nothing else. “I’d be happy to work with you myself, if you would be inclined. Now that you have discovered your connection to the dragons, the techniques are much more universal. The patterns might not be. Each instructor has their own area of expertise, as I imagine you have learned. If you are interested, all you would have to do is tell me. I’m sure Thomas wouldn’t mind. Especially . . .” He shook his head, glancing over to the Academy before turning back to me. “Anyway. It seems as if you have a visitor.”
I looked over, thinking that maybe Natalie had come again, but I was not disappointed to see Joran.
I nodded to Donathar. If he wanted to work with me, who was I to refuse? I needed the opportunity, especially from an instructor who was willing and as capable as he obviously was.
“Thank you,” I said. “I would be honored to work with you.”
He nodded, and I hurried off, catching up to Joran.
Joran looked back at the dragon pen for a long moment, shaking his head. Finally, he grinned at me.
“Where do you want us to go this time?” Joran asked, guiding me into the city.
There was a crowd out in the city, and there was more activity going on than there had been in quite some time. I looked out, watching the commotion, and finally turned my attention over to Joran. “I’ll leave that up to you. At this point, it’s your choice. You’re the one who only has a little bit longer in the city, after all.”
I tried to suppress the sadness in my voice, but I knew I wasn’t so successful.
Joran eyed me, and there was a hint of amusement glittering in his eyes.
“You can come back,” he said, before sweeping his gaze around him. “But I have a feeling you have no interest in doing that.”
The Betrayed Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 2) Page 13
