The Sharath laughed. “You brought a student from the Academy before your king? What do you think you’re playing at, Thomas?”
“This student has a connection to the dragons. He felt the drawing of the dragons into the forest.”
He looked over to me, his gaze imploring me to speak now.
The king got to his feet. He started toward us, and it felt as if my mouth had gone dry. I wanted to speak up on behalf of Thomas because he wasn’t wrong. I had felt a pulling of power into the forest. I had felt something, but I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t know if I had any obligation to say anything now. The only thing that I knew was that Thomas had not shared with me his purpose for bringing me here.
“Is this true?” the king asked.
“Sire, I suspect Thomas has picked anyone to bring with him. He wants to deflect the blame from himself, and so he took a student.” The Sharath regarded me for a moment. “And it appears an incredibly old one at that.”
I ignored the Sharath, holding my gaze on the king. “I felt something in the forest,” I said. I glanced briefly at Thomas before turning back to the king. Thomas wasn’t paying any attention to me, so I decided I wouldn’t pay any attention to him, either. I needed to separate myself from him, not dig myself in deeper and bind myself tighter to him “I don’t know what it was, but Thomas had me join him as we flew over the forest.”
The king took another step toward me. “Thomas brought you with him?”
I nodded. “He did. He started working with me a few days ago.”
“This one will be with him, then,” the Sharath said.
I looked over to him. “What?”
“The timing would be right,” the king said.
“What are you saying?” I asked. When neither of them answered me, I turned to Thomas. “What are they saying?”
“Just tell them what you detected,” Thomas said.
“What is going on here?” I demanded.
The king stopped in front of me, watching me. “Are you responsible for my dragons?”
I stared at him. “I don’t know what you’re asking about.”
“Are you responsible for what’s happening to my dragons?” the king asked. “I don’t know how to phrase it any simpler.”
“I don’t know anything about what’s happening to your dragons. I’ve heard the rumors like anybody else at the Academy.” I looked from the Sharath to the king. “People in the Academy talk. There are rumors dragons have gone missing. I don’t know anything about it, but I’ve detected something in the forest.”
“Detected?”
The Sharath took a step toward me, and I felt a faint stirring. It was subtle, but it radiated from him, working along the length of the staff before drifting back at me. Was he a dragon mage?
As far as I knew, the Sharath was not. That was why Thomas was the king’s chief dragon mage, or at least he had been. Maybe there was another power.
I looked over at Thomas but he ignored me, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead of him.
“What did you detect?”
I ignored the Sharath. He was the most dangerous one here, I knew that, but at the same time, he wasn’t the one I had to convince. I had to convince the king.
“I can feel a connection to the dragons. That’s why Thomas brought me here, I think.” I glanced over to him again, but he said nothing. Damn him. I needed him to speak up so that I knew what he was playing at, knew what he had gotten me pulled into. “We traveled in the forest. It was the first time I’d left the city since I came here only a few months ago. I’ve never ridden on a dragon, and when Thomas took me, I didn’t have much choice. I mean, he is the king’s chief dragon mage.”
“Not for long,” the Sharath said.
I glanced at him. At least I had a better understanding of what was going on. The Sharath looked like he was trying to replace Thomas. He seemed to have done a reasonable job with it, as well. There were enough dragon mages now who were obviously against Thomas.
How was I going to be any sort of help to Thomas? That was what he wanted from me, after all. I was just a student, and far too new at it and my connection to the dragons to be of much use to him. Still, there was something that I could offer him. I could tell the truth, which was all that I knew to do.
“There was something in the forest. When we landed, we were surrounded by the Djarn.”
The Sharath tapped his staff on the ground. “There it is again. Your ongoing belief that the Djarn prepare to move on us,” the Sharath said. “I cannot believe you would try this again. And if what this boy is saying is true, you’re bringing a neophyte into it?”
“We were surrounded by the Djarn,” I said. “I’ve seen them before.”
“Have you now?” the Sharath said.
“I have,” I said, turning to him. There was something about the Sharath I didn’t care for. Maybe it was his arrogance, or the fact that he obviously had cast judgment upon me without even getting to know me, or maybe it was simply the fact that he was here, and I felt like I had to defend myself from both him and Thomas. “I’ve only been in the city for a short while. I came from the plains. Near Berestal. You can ask Manuel, your Hunter.”
The Sharath started to laugh, waving his hand. “Listen to this. He continues to go on with—”
“You’re the one,” the king said, taking a step toward me. “Manuel mentioned his experience and everything he went through. He was more than a little disturbed by the activity he encountered.”
I took a deep breath. Maybe this would be my way out. I knew only to tell the truth, and given that I hadn’t done anything, and was not at all responsible for whatever it was that Thomas was accused of, I didn’t know what else to say.
“Manuel tells me that you chased down the Vard,” the king said.
“I went after my sister,” I answered. “It had nothing to do with the Vard. I just wanted to get my sister back. I had heard the Vard had taken over the Academy’s caravan, and . . .”
Now wasn’t the time to tell him that I wasn’t even sure if the Vard were responsible for the attack outside of Berestal. If Manuel believed it, that was what mattered.
The king offered a hint of a lopsided smile. “You went after her. Interesting. I have a sister, I suppose you know,” he said.
I nodded quickly. I’d heard of the princess, though she was known to be quite reclusive. Few saw her, at least according to rumor.
“You saved her, from what Manuel said.”
“I think we got lucky. We managed to free Manuel from the caravan, and—”
“Uncovered a traitor,” the king said. He frowned before glancing over to the Sharath. “We had one of the Vard among us. We didn’t know they had infiltrated so deeply.”
“We ensured it wouldn’t happen again,” the Sharath said.
“Have we?” He glanced to Thomas. “Is that what this is about?”
Thomas growled softly. “I’m not with the Vard, sire.”
The king grinned. It amazed me how willing Thomas was to threaten the king, or at least to reveal his irritation. It revealed how comfortable he felt around him.
“I know you’re not, Thomas. The question remains whether or not you are responsible for these dragons you’ve been accused of taking.”
“I am not.”
The king tipped his head to me. “Then why did you bring him here? What are you thinking to do?”
“I’m thinking to demonstrate we might have an alternative way of following what’s taking place.”
“By bringing a student?” the king asked.
The Sharath tapped on the ground with his staff, taking a step forward. “We are getting beyond this conversation,” the Sharath said. “This was about Thomas Elaron, and his—”
“This has been about me proving my fealty to the kingdom,” Thomas said, glaring at the Sharath. “Perhaps you forget how I have defended the kingdom against Vard incursions repeatedly. And recently. Or perhaps you have forgotten how I hav
e defended the king himself, more times than you would care to admit. Or perhaps—”
“We know what you have done,” the king said.
I looked from the king to the Sharath to Thomas.
“I can feel the dragon energy,” I said. “I think that’s why Thomas brought me here.” I looked over to him, waiting for his acknowledgment. He nodded slightly. “I’m not entirely sure what it means, only that I am aware of the connection when it forms.”
The king frowned. “What do you mean you are aware of it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t entirely know. I can feel it. It’s strange, subtle, but the longer I’ve been working with the dragons, the more I’m aware of that power.”
“It is different than other students,” Thomas said.
“Different?” the king asked.
“More developed.” Thomas looked over to me, studying me for a moment before turning his attention back to the king. “I suspect it’s his age. Had he trained when he was younger, he may not have developed it. Since he came to us later, it has evolved. He helped me track the Djarn. You know how difficult it is to make any headway in the forest, but he felt them.”
He looked to the Sharath, holding his gaze a moment.
“He did,” the king said.
Thomas nodded. “And I think they have the dragons.”
The Sharath laughed, and the king turned to look at him. “He continues to try to bring up the Djarn as excuses for his failings,” the Sharath said. “We both know the Djarn pose no threat.”
“We don’t know any such thing,” Thomas said. “All we know is what we have seen.”
“And what have we seen?” The Sharath glared at him. “Have the Djarn ever attacked us?”
Thomas frowned. “No.”
“Have the Djarn ever posed any danger within the kingdom?”
Thomas shook his head. “No.”
“Then there is no reason to accuse the Djarn of this,” the Sharath said.
The king turned to me. “What do you think of this?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I’m the right person to ask.”
The king chuckled. “And yet I’m asking you. What do you think?”
I glanced over to Thomas. “I think . . . I have a little bit of experience with the Djarn from my homeland. They are happy to trade with the right people, but they are harmless. They want to be left alone.”
The Sharath watched me. I didn’t care for the expression on his face—there was something about it that left me uncertain. I looked at Thomas again, but he ignored me, the same way that he had been ignoring me ever since we had come here. There was more taking place here than I knew. More than what Thomas had let on, but I had to figure out just what it was.
“That’s not quite all,” I went on hurriedly. “The Djarn were present in the forest. I’m not exactly sure what they were doing, only that they did have us surrounded.”
I almost said something about Joran and his father and the reason they had come to the city, but I already felt as if I had said too much. The king watched me, and my mouth went dry.
I was supposed to serve him. Only, I didn’t know how, or what I was supposed to do.
“What else have you seen?” the king asked.
I glanced over to Thomas, saying nothing for a moment, before turning my attention back to the king. “I’ve seen the Djarn in my home near Berestal.”
“Have you?” the king asked. The Sharath kept his gaze on me, and there was something unsettling, almost predatory, about the way he looked at me. It reminded me strangely of how the mesahn looked at me. There was something dangerous about it, leaving me unsure of his intentions.
“What have you seen of the Djarn near Berestal?”
“That’s all. Nothing more than what I’ve told you,” I said.
It seemed as if they were trying to tease out more information from me through their questioning, but the more they challenged me, the more I began to realize that I had to be careful.
“If he doesn’t know anything, then he’s not useful to us,” the Sharath said. “He can deny it all he wants, but there is only so much that can be—”
“I know what he detected,” Thomas said. “And I saw the way the Djarn circled us. You may not believe it, and to be honest, I don’t really care.” Thomas turned his attention to the king. “The only thing that matters is what you believe, sire. We did have an encounter, and regardless of what your man might claim, it was real.”
The king frowned, staring for a moment before turning his attention back to the Sharath. “There have been rumors.”
“They are nothing more than rumors,” the Sharath said. “Rumors like that can be dangerous, as well. We both know that if rumors are allowed to spread, we find ourselves—”
“Under attack,” Thomas said.
“We have never been under attack from the Djarn,” the Sharath said.
That was what this was about.
“What do you think, young student?” the king asked.
I took a deep breath and had to ignore Thomas this time. Even though he had been kind to me, practically good in some ways, I also recognized the need to be careful here. “I don’t know who is right,” I said, suddenly feeling the weight of Thomas’s gaze on me. “The Djarn have never harmed us. I’ve spent some time around them. Not as much as Thomas,” I added hurriedly, hoping that if nothing else, that would mitigate some of his disappointment, “but I’ve never heard of them harming us. They had every opportunity to do so with me, but didn’t.”
There had to have been some other reason that Joran and his father had come to the city, especially with the missing dragons and everything else that was taking place. I was going to have to figure that out.
Somehow.
I didn’t even know where they had stayed in the city, or anything about who Joran’s father had met up with during his time there.
I didn’t know anything.
That put me into a precarious situation.
“Out near the plains,” Thomas said.
The king watched him, saying nothing.
“Sire?” the Sharath asked.
“I am deciding,” the king said. “At this point, I don’t know what I need to do.”
I shifted my feet.
“We have multiple dragons missing,” Thomas said. “We have evidence the Djarn have been calling to them. And we have—”
“Your evidence,” the Sharath said. “I’m not convinced it is something we can rely on. You have not been the most trustworthy, Thomas Elaron.”
The Djarn were calling the dragons?
Thomas hadn’t told me they had evidence of that.
What if that were the reason Joran and his father had been traveling through the Djarn lands?
If only he were still in the city for me to ask.
Thomas glared at the Sharath. “I have been far more reliable than most. If you want to question my allegiance to the king, at least wait for me to leave.”
“You have been trustworthy,” the king said. “I think . . .” He cocked his head, and surprisingly, he looked over to me. “I think I should like to see you have an opportunity to prove yourself. You have the rest of the week. After that, I’m afraid we will proceed as if you are guilty of what the Sharath suspects.”
Thomas studied the king, glancing over to the Sharath, and then nodded.
With that, he turned, grabbing me by the arm, and guided me out.
16
We reached the edge of the wall surrounding the palace, and Thomas still hadn’t said anything. He marched forward with an intense gate, storming ahead and leaving me wondering whether I’d done or said something that angered him. I was frustrated though. He’d pulled me into this, making me a part of whatever danger that he was now a part of, leaving me stuck.
When we reached the walls, passing through, the two soldiers nodded to us, and I finally spoke up. “What was that about?”
“It’s about nothing,” Thomas said.
&
nbsp; I stopped, turning away from him, looking back at the palace. Even now, the draw of the dragons within the palace called to me, a hint of energy I noticed simmering just beyond. It was faint, though not so faint I couldn’t trace the source of it, the power that stretched outward and away, an energy that suggested there was something more.
“This is more than nothing,” I said. “You pulled me in. You were obviously accused of doing something to the dragons, but—”
“I was accused, but falsely. And it matters not.”
I laughed bitterly. “It matters not? Do you really think I should believe that what you’ve done and pulled me into doesn’t matter?”
“It does not,” he said again.
I shook my head. “This isn’t my responsibility.”
“No? You’re a student at the Academy, are you not?”
“I am, but—”
“And your training at the Academy has permitted you to be a part of this. Don’t think that just because you’re a student, you don’t have a role to play here,” he said.
I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. “This isn’t about me having a role,” I said, looking back to the palace. I could still feel the dragons, and I focused on their energy, thinking about whether there was anything within them that I might be able to utilize, but even as I started to feel that power out there, I still couldn’t detect anything quite as strongly as I would have liked. “This is about you pulling me into some battle you have with the Sharath.”
Thomas growled softly. “That bastard thinks to make me the villain.”
“Are you?”
Thomas looked over. I was probably a little bit too direct with my questions, and given what he might be responsible for having done, I knew I should be more careful with him than I had been. “I’m not responsible for what happened with the dragons.”
“Who is? I’m not convinced it’s the Djarn.”
“No? Well, that’s what I intend to find out.”
I debated mentioning something to him about the Djarn and Joran and what they were doing in the city, but decided against it.
I didn’t know what to make of Thomas at this point, but I wanted to find the dragons. I’d been looking and had failed. Thomas intended to find them though.
The Betrayed Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 2) Page 18
