“I don’t know if it’s something else so much as it is . . .” It was hard for my mind to feel like I could work through the problem, though that was exactly what I needed to do. This was a problem, and I had to come up with the answer. “Why not dragon mages?”
“What makes you think they aren’t?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I would have felt something.”
Thomas regarded me for a moment. “Would you have?”
I shrugged. “I think so. I can feel you and your connection to the dragons now.”
Thomas snorted. “Because I’m holding on to it.”
Was that it? Maybe it was, though the more I focused on what I felt, the more uncertain I was. Maybe it really was only that he was holding on to that power now, but maybe there was something more to it as well.
I turned and looked behind me, focusing on those two guards, but I didn’t feel anything from them that would suggest that they were attached to the dragons in any real way. If they had been, I thought I should feel something coming off of them, and there was no sense of that. It was an emptiness, though not the kind of emptiness I would’ve expected from somebody who had a connection to the dragons. This was an emptiness tied to an absence of a connection.
Strange that I would be so acutely aware of that. Even stranger was that as I walked alongside Thomas, I could feel his connection to the dragons, and the way power flowed from him, cycling out and toward the dragons within their pen. Every so often, he would shift that connection, sliding over to another dragon, before moving on and attaching to the next. Even now, Thomas was changing his focus, holding on to different dragons as he approached the palace. There had to be something here that he intended, though what was it?
“Do I need to hold on to my connection to the dragon?”
Thomas looked over to me. “Have you ever released it?”
I took a deep breath, and I could feel the power of the green dragon coursing through me, flowing outward as it cycled up and into me. “Not that I can tell.”
He chuckled as we made our way through the garden leading up to the palace. Shrubs lined the path. Occasional flowers were visible through the openings in the shrubs, and their fragrance filled the air. Trees grew in the garden off of the main pathway. Up ahead of us, another pair of guards blocked our way, and I could feel something coming from them. A connection to the dragons.
Those were dragon mages.
I didn’t even need to get close to them to know. I could feel the energy and recognize the power that radiated off of them as it pressed outward, sweeping toward me. I didn’t know if they were even aware of how they were pulling on power, or if it was something only I was connected to somehow. I glanced over to Thomas to see if he knew as well, but there was nothing from him to suggest that he did.
Why should I be so attuned to it?
As we approached, the two dragon mages turned their attention to me, power flowing outward, sweeping across me. Both were men with close-cropped hair, wearing jackets and pants rather than chain mail. Both carried swords, though given what I detected, I doubted that they were their primary weapons. I tensed, prepared for anything, but not at all certain what might happen as their power struck me. Surprisingly, I felt nothing more than a faint stirring of heat deep within me, as if they were trying to trigger the connection to the dragons I had. I watched, waiting for any sign of understanding coming from them, but there was nothing.
The nearest of the dragon mages nodded. He was slightly shorter and stockier than the other. He had three stars circling the king’s symbol on his left chest. “Thomas Elaron. I was not expecting your visit today.”
Thomas frowned. “You were not? The king did summon me,” he said.
The dragon mage snorted and glanced over to the other. “Are you sure?”
“If you need to scurry ahead and see if I really have been summoned, be my guest,” Thomas said. “Otherwise . . .”
He started to push past the dragon mages.
Power built from the other dragon mage, flames starting to course along the man’s hands, building out and forming a tight spiral.
Surprisingly, it was a spiral I recognized, having seen it from myself the night before. It was tightly bound, and the speed with which he had created it suggested a comfort and familiarity with it, but it was also one of the weaker forms of power I’d attempted.
Thomas glanced at the man. “Do you really think that will do anything to me?”
“You will wait,” the first dragon mage said.
Thomas glared at him.
The smaller of the dragon mages turned and strode off, in no hurry. The one who remained behind held on to the power, flames stretching from him, looping outward, as if to create some sort of barricade around us. Thomas didn’t appear at all concerned by it, and instead just watched, saying nothing.
I remained curious though.
I focused on the way the dragon mage held on to the power, how it circled out from him, and watched it streaming from him, wondering if I might use it in a similar way. He didn’t seem to have it coming out of his fingers. It was a single thick band he rotated as it spun out from him.
I could almost feel the dragon he connected to. It wasn’t in the dragon pens, not like the one that Thomas had been connecting to. This was nearby. It had to be within the palace.
I frowned, focusing on dragons in general. How many dragons would the king have within the palace? There had to be at least one for this dragon mage, probably more than that.
I leaned over to Thomas. “How many dragons does the king keep here?”
Thomas frowned at me. “What was that?”
The dragon mage frowned at me too.
“Within the palace. How many dragons are here?”
“There would be none,” Thomas said.
I shook my head. “There is—”
I didn’t get the chance to finish. The other dragon mage came jogging back toward us and nodded to the other. “He has been summoned,” he said.
The flames faded before disappearing altogether with a faint pop. The two dragon mages stood off to either side, letting us move through.
Once we did, Thomas turned, glancing behind him and frowning deeply. “How many dragons do you detect?”
“There’s at least the one,” I said. “I can feel this dragon mage’s connection to it. There might be more, but . . .”
Thomas continued to frown, biting his lip as he did.
“What is it?”
“Probably nothing,” Thomas said.
I looked back at the two dragon mages, but neither of them were paying any attention to us; they had turned their attention back to the main part of the garden, looking toward the entrance to the palace.
“Why shouldn’t there be any dragons here?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Thomas said.
“I think I need to. If there aren’t supposed to be dragons here, and there are, then—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said again.
He had a strange expression on his face. I didn’t know Thomas well enough to recognize it, but I knew that something troubled him.
It had more to do with these dragons than he was letting on.
I might not know everything taking place within the city, or even everything taking place with Thomas, but I could feel the dragon. If nothing else, I could help in that way.
With every step, I opened myself to the dragon, feeling for power. It was a matter of trying to steady my breathing, feeling for the heat within me, and relaxing. By doing that, I felt some other aspect of it floating through, power that surged through me. I could use that power, but I held off.
By the time we reached the massive doors leading into the palace, I hadn’t counted any other dragons. I looked over to Thomas, wanting to say something to him, but could see he wanted silence. Instead, I started to ready myself for what we might face. I had no idea what I might encounter inside of the palace, but I knew that I wasn’t
fully prepared to meet with the king.
15
As the door swung open, I stood and stared. There was some part of me that recognized how unusual this was. Here I was, little more than a farmer from the outskirts of the kingdom, now on the precipice of entering the king’s palace and having a conversation with him. Who was I to think that I had any place here?
Another part of me wished Joran had remained in the city. He would love to hear about this visit. I’m sure he would have something to say about it.
“You should remain silent,” Thomas said.
“I don’t intend to say anything,” I said.
“As I said. Silent.”
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and then nodded, though I had the feeling that it was mostly for himself and not quite for me. He squeezed his hands, clenching and unclenching them, before walking into the palace.
I followed. There wasn’t anything else to do.
The inside was nicer than any place I’d ever been before. Massive columns of marble stretched from the marble-tiled floor to the enormous, arched ceiling, which was covered in painted murals depicting dragons that looked as if they flew overhead, offering protection or hunting. Sculptures that reminded me of the dragons within the Academy were situated throughout the palace—most of them sat on the floor, though not all. Some of them somehow hung from the pillars, suspended in a way that made them seem like they were flying. Servants scurried around the inside of the palace, barely paying any attention to us. Situated at each pillar was another soldier. It didn’t take long for me to realize they were all dragon mages.
“There are so many,” I whispered.
Thomas glanced over to me then.
“So many what?”
“So many dragon mages here. I guess I didn’t know there were that many.”
Thomas swept his gaze around the inside of the palace. We were in a massive entry chamber and halls branched off in every direction. “How many do you see?”
“I only see four, but I think there are probably three more I don’t even see.” I closed my eyes, and I could feel the energy of the dragons flowing, as if it were some sort of rope pulling through me, attempting to draw on me. “I could be wrong though.”
Thomas sniffed. “You probably aren’t.”
“You don’t sound like you’re too fond of them. I thought you were the chief dragon mage.”
“I am.”
“What happened? I’ve heard about the dragon mages who are now working with Donathar.” I should be careful not to assume more than I already knew, but I couldn’t shake my curiosity.
“Donathar thinks to push beyond his place. He doesn’t understand the threats the kingdom faces nearly as well as he needs to for him to serve as the chief dragon mage.”
As we strode along the marble tile, our boots thundering in the otherwise quiet palace, I watched Thomas. Tension constricted his shoulders and his gaze darted from side to side; there was a level of concern within him that he obviously didn’t want to acknowledge, but I could see it.
Something more was taking place, even if he wouldn’t say anything about it.
We reached a set of double doors. They were closed, and worked into the wood of both doors were a series of symbols along the upper portion. I couldn’t read them, but I didn’t even know if that mattered. Enormous dragons were carved into the wood, giving it a ferocious appearance; it looked as if the doors had been burned with dragon fire, etching those symbols into place.
A single man stood in front of the doors. Donathar. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he wore the same dappled, deep green cloak that I had seen him wearing when I first came across him in the forest with Manuel. A sense of power radiated from him, something that stretched out from him, as if he wanted everyone to know about his connection.
Not everyone. Thomas.
I focused on the connection I could feel between Donathar and the dragon, though it strained beyond the palace.
“Donathar,” Thomas said, his voice clipped. “I was summoned.”
Donathar smiled and glanced at me, winking slightly. I still didn’t know how to read him. He had been pleasant when I had spoken to him, and he was working to try to find the missing dragons. “I’m well aware that you were summoned, Thomas.”
My involvement here was a mistake. I could feel that, much like I could feel that I needed to be anywhere but here.
Thomas was the chief dragon mage.
But for how much longer?
I had overheard Donathar make a comment about Thomas leaving. Now I had to wonder if his departure might have a more complicated explanation.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Donathar said.
“It wouldn’t be if you had served the way you were supposed to.”
“I’m doing what I’m asked.”
“We both know that you weren’t asked. You pushed. You used your connections to coerce the Sharath into permitting this.”
“I serve the throne, as I believe you do. I’m only doing what I was asked.”
Donathar pushed the door open and waved his hand.
Thomas strode forward, and I looked over to Donathar.
He leaned close, lowering his voice. “Don’t worry about him. He’s all bluster. He always has been.” He winked again.
I frowned for a moment before hurrying after Thomas, then caught up to him.
“What was that about?” I whispered, turning back to Thomas.
“Quiet,” he said.
I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, when I realized where we were.
The throne room.
It was enormous. Much like the outer aspect of the palace, marble was everywhere. The ceiling stretched high overhead, and much like outside, there was a mural painted upon it. In this one, there was only a single dragon, an enormous black-scaled dragon with flames streaking from its mouth. It was painted so that it appeared as if the dragon circled overhead, offering power here.
On the walls were two massive sculptures of dragons, and I could feel something about them as well, though I had no idea what it could be. I looked over at Thomas, thinking about saying something, but the intensity in his gaze, and the tension in his jaw, made me hesitate.
He took a deep breath before starting forward.
We made our way toward the throne at the far end of the room. It was situated between two columns that stretched to the ceiling’s high arches. A stained-glass window sat behind it, sunlight shining through and casting the king in a pale white light that made him seem to glow.
Thomas moved more stiffly than he had before.
There were no other dragon mages inside. The only other person was an older man, somebody about my father’s age, with gray hair, a slender jaw, and a gray robe that draped over his shoulders and hung to the ground.
The Sharath.
I had never seen him, but he was the king’s right-hand man, and he would have been the only person to be with the king in the throne room. The Sharath’s gaze lingered on Thomas for a moment, then he tapped a long staff on the ground before he focused on me. His gaze was heavy, filled with an expression that left me feeling like I was somehow beneath him.
I ignored it. There was no point in letting the Sharath intimidate me. The king, on the other hand, did.
He was younger than the Sharath, and not that much older than me. When his father had passed, King Dalton was barely twenty, and he had served for the last dozen years, solidifying the kingdom, using the dragons to ensure the stability of the throne. He had wavy, dark hair and a casual demeanor as he sat in his throne, watching Thomas as he approached. He leaned toward the Sharath, whispering something softly, and the Sharath tapped his staff once more.
Thomas stopped.
I almost ran into him before catching myself. I whispered a quick apology, but Thomas ignored it.
“Thomas Elaron,” the Sharath said. He had a hoarse voice and sounded as if he’d been yelling. “You have been summoned befor
e your king.”
“I answered the summons,” Thomas said. “Though I don’t know that it needs to be quite so formal as this.”
“You have answered the summons. You have been given the requisite time to prove yourself. Have you come to us intending to prove your innocence—or your guilt?”
I stepped off to the side, looking over at Thomas.
What was he accused of?
Better yet, what had I gotten involved in?
Nothing. I’d done nothing. Still, I had come with Thomas, and now, because of him, I was going to be affiliated with whatever he was guilty of.
All I had wanted was to better understand my magic, and so I had tried to work with him, hoping that I could learn from him, but unfortunately, that seemed to have been a mistake.
“You and I both know I’m guilty of nothing,” he said.
“We know no such thing,” the Sharath said. “All we know is that you have been accused. We have your word versus another’s.”
I looked over to Thomas and could see him tensing. He made a point of ignoring me.
Why had he brought me here? What did he think that he was doing by involving me in whatever issue he had with the king? I looked from the Sharath to the king. Neither of them paid any attention to me—they were entirely focused on Thomas.
“We both know this was a sham,” Thomas said.
“Was it?” the Sharath asked, taking a step toward Thomas and tapping his long staff on the ground. “We know this?”
“We know I have not done what I’ve been accused of doing,” he said.
“What were you accused of?” I whispered.
The king and the Sharath looked at me. I could feel the weight of their gaze, and though I knew it was a mistake to have spoken, the fact that I was here tied me to Thomas in a way that meant that I had to speak up on my behalf.
“Quiet,” Thomas whispered.
“Who is this?” the king asked, leaning forward in his throne. The throne itself was a dark-lacquered chair, the armrests curved so that they looked like dragon heads, flames coming out of the mouths and spiraling downward. “Who did you bring before me?”
Thomas didn’t look at me. “A student at the Academy.”
The Betrayed Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 2) Page 17
