“What is it going to do?” I asked.
“What’s he saying?” Kas asked as she leaned up against my shoulder, almost like she felt if she got close enough to my head she might be able to hear.
“He says the water won’t fulfill the prophecy.” I frowned. “But it will help me to fulfill it myself.”
“What does the water do?” Asta asked.
“I’m not sure.” I raised an eyebrow at the two women. “He hasn’t answered me yet.”
“Oops.” Asta bit her lip. “Sorry.”
“Please, go ahead,” Kas said, and she took a step back.
I glanced back up at Nidhug, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little dragons near Nidhug’s tail. Blar ran up the great dragon’s back, and Inger chased him. Then the female dragon caught up to him, and they tumbled around on Nidhug’s glossy black scales.
The great dragon flicked the end of his tail slightly, and Uffe bounced around and tried to capture it by jumping onto it.
I shook my head at my little dragons and how they treated this monstrous, ancient creature as if he were a play toy for children.
“I’m sorry about them,” I sighed.
They are children, Nidhug said, and though I couldn’t see a smile on his face, I could hear it in his voice. Let them play.
“You haven’t told me what I need to do yet,” I reminded him.
What is your mind telling you to do? the great dragon asked.
“I don’t know.” I frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
Think for a moment, then. The huge dragon flicked his tail more as he looked back and watched the little dragons play on him. You must learn to trust your instincts. You have more abilities than you are aware of.
My brow furrowed as I considered what he said. What was that supposed to mean? I’d never been a magical person until very recently, and the only magical thing I’d done was to be able to control the little dragons. I could communicate with Nidhug, but he’d initiated it first, so I didn’t think I could take full credit for that.
What instincts was he referring to?
I thought about how I’d sensed the well below the castle. Could that be the instincts Nidhug meant? Could I feel magical things around me? Even if I wasn’t magical, maybe I was sensitive to magic. Perhaps that was why I’d been drawn to Kas and Asta. Both of the beautiful women I’d bonded with were sorceresses, and their magic had been a great asset to me. They also said I made their magic stronger.
Maybe my magical ability was simply to enhance the magic of others, to be able to feel it and be drawn to it, but not perform it myself. If this was true, then was my ability to control the dragons actually magic?
I hadn’t considered that before, and to think of myself as magical was strange and new. I’d thought maybe I had some sort of bond with the dragons, somewhat like I had with Kas and Asta. Or maybe the dragons were drawn to me because I enhanced their power. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I’d thought, but I certainly hadn’t considered myself to be magical. I probably should have, but I’d been so ordinary my whole life, the idea didn’t even cross my mind.
I pulled myself back to the moment and took a deep breath.
“Rath.” Kas put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alright,” I said, and I turned to see the strawberry-blonde was frowning at me.
“What’s he saying?” Asta asked.
“He told me to trust my instincts.” I shook my head.
“Instincts about what?” Kas pushed.
“I’m not sure.” I frowned. “I asked him what to do with the water, and he told me I needed to trust my instincts.”
“He’s saying you already know what to do.” Asta nodded.
“Hey, we just fought a giant snake,” Kas said, and she took a step toward Nidhug and put her hands on her hips. “Plus, I just nearly drowned in your well. Can’t you just tell us what to do?”
“Kas,” I hissed and pulled the strawberry-blonde back to me.
“Sorry.” The sorceress bit her lip and then turned to the great dragon. “Sorry, it’s been a stressful day.”
Your mate is strong willed, Nidhug laughed. You are lucky to have one who cares for you so.
“Thanks,” I said to Nidhug, and I shook my head, but I couldn’t help but smile. Kas was used to getting instructions, and she wasn’t one to dally. She was a scholar, it was in her nature to learn and get things done, so not knowing what to do probably drove her crazy.
“You should try and focus on the vials,” Asta suggested.
“Good idea.” I nodded and turned to Kas. “Do you have them?”
“Right here,” the strawberry-blonde said, and she pulled the vials out of her satchel.
All three of the vials glowed brightly as I held them in my hands. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but all I could do was try.
Nidhug said I would know what to do with the vials, and I trusted him. I’d only met him one other time, but there was a strange connection between us, and I had no reason to doubt him.
I looked at each of the vials closely. Green, purple, and blue. My lips pursed as I thought. Should I drink them? Should I have Kas and Asta use them for a spell?
“You’re thinking too much.” Asta said, and her voice drew me out of my thoughts.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I glanced at the elf girl. “You told me to focus on the vials.”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t think so much.” Kas nodded. “Feel the magic of them. What are they telling you to do?”
“I’m not the sorceress here,” I chuckled. “How am I supposed to know what magical bottles are saying?”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” Asta frowned. “You can hatch dragons, and speak to them, and raise them. I don’t know anybody else who can do that. You’re clearly special.”
“Asta’s right.” Kas smiled softly. “You thought you were ordinary, but you’re anything but. Asta and I are so much stronger now that we’ve bonded with you.”
“You’re right.” I nodded and took a deep breath.
Then I closed my eyes and gripped the bottles in my hands. I allowed their energy to flow through me, and I could feel how powerful they were. I twirled them in my fingers and felt the energy from each of them. They were powerful separated, but together they created a heavy energy that seemed to physically flow through my hands.
“I need to combine them,” I said aloud, and I looked into Nidhug’s large white eyes.
Yes, the great dragon said. Your instincts will not steer you wrong. Do what they command.
“Here.” Kas pulled a cup out of her satchel and held it out to me.
“Is there anything you don’t have in there?” I chuckled.
“It’s enchanted.” The sorceress shrugged. “I made sure we had plenty of stuff in case we get stuck somewhere overnight.”
“Intelligent and beautiful.” I winked at the Valkyrie girl, and she blushed bright red.
“Combine them already!” Asta urged as she bounced up onto her toes. “I want to see!”
I nodded and set the vials on the edge of the well, and Nidhug watched with his bright-white eyes as I poured the water from each of the glowing vials into the cup Kas had given me.
Once they were all combined, the mixture glowed bright white, and the light was enough that I had to cover my eyes.
“Wow,” Asta breathed. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is.” I nodded and stared at the cup.
Nidhug had told me to trust my instincts, so that was what I was going to do.
I picked up the cup and put it to my lips before I tossed it back and drank the entire glassful at once. The water was sweet like nothing I’d ever tasted before. It was like the nectar of nature and power itself, and I could feel my body tingle with the energy it gave me.
The hair on my arms stood on end, and my whole body felt weightless, as if I was about to float away into the sky. I took a shaky breath to ground myself, but when I breath
ed in, the air somehow seemed different, heavier.
I stared down at my shaky hands, and I clenched my fists, then released them. I felt stronger, like I could rip the world in half if I wanted to.
You feel its power, don’t you? Nidhug asked, and he watched me with piercing white eyes.
“What’s happening to me?” I whispered.
Blink, the great dragon instructed.
“Blink?” I questioned, and my eyebrows pulled together, but before I could say another word, my eyes inadvertently shut, and when I opened them again, I was in a whole new realm.
I could still feel my own body, and I knew I was in the courtyard with the girls and Nidhug, at least physically. Mentally, though, I wasn’t sure where I was.
What I saw and heard and felt were all foreign to me. My breath became ragged as I looked around and tried to figure out what was going on, only I couldn’t move. It was like I was seeing through someone else’s eyes.
I focused then and paid attention to what was around me. I was over the top of a forest. The trees passed below me, and I knew I was flying.
But how?
The more I looked around, the more familiar the place became. I knew I’d been there before, and after a moment, I realized where I was. It was Asta’s homeworld. The yellow grass and white trees below me told me I was exactly where I thought I was, and as I flew above the world, I recognized the place even more.
I came to the valley of dragons Asta had taken us to last time we’d been to her homeworld, and I could see the great beasts below me. There were hundreds of them, it seemed, and they flew around each other and interacted with one another. The baby dragons played together, and the mothers ate and watched their young ones.
Was I a bird? Was this my ultimate power? My destiny was to be able to see through the eyes of animals?
I studied the world beneath me, and after a moment I came to a river. The great blue water below me shone the reflection of the mountains and trees, but there was another reflection, and as I watched, I moved with it.
A giant, beautiful, yellow dragon flew above the water. Its massive wings carried it seamlessly through the air, and when it looked down at the water, I realized I was looking at myself.
I was the dragon.
Or it was me. Or we were one.
I wasn’t sure what to think, but I knew I was seeing through the eyes of the massive yellow creature.
I blinked again, and I was in yet another realm. This wasn’t the same, though, I wasn’t in Asta’s homeworld any longer. I was in a very small cage.
Two men stood outside the gray bars that held me in, and they talked about me as if I were a product at the market.
“A great fighter, this one,” the man with long black hair said, and he patted the top of my cage.
I couldn’t control the body I was in, but I could see through its eyes, and I could feel its emotions.
I was terrified. The man above me made me want to cower in fear, but I knew I could show no weakness, so I hissed instead.
Then my heart rate accelerated as the other male bent down to stare at me with wide green eyes.
“A good fighter, you say?” he asked as he tapped the bar of my cage with his short plump finger. “And how much for her?”
I hissed again, but the men only laughed.
“Let’s put her to the test,” the male with long black hair snickered, and he reached down and opened the door to the cage.
His long, bony fingers reached for me, and he smiled to reveal a mouth full of rotten teeth. I hissed and leaned forward to bite his hand. I caught one of his fingers, and he yanked his hand back and held the finger up. Red blood leaked out from it, and his smile became a sneer as he turned back to me.
“Told you she was a fighter,” he said. “You’ll pay for that one.”
The man picked up a small pointed object next to my cage, and though I didn’t know what it was, the body I was in did.
The creature had tried to show no fear before, but they couldn’t help it this time. Their little body cowered as they remembered the torture that device had caused them before, and I heard the terrible squeal of the creature as it scurried to the back of the cage. It turned to the right, and there was a large window that looked out to a marketplace. People bustled around, and I saw a young boy with a cage like mine, and a small blue dragon inside of it. The poor reptile cowered as the young boy poked at it with a stick.
In a split second, I saw my own reflection in the glass. I was a tiny purple dragon who looked like Inger and Uffe, and my bright green eyes were full of fear as I cowered against the back of my cage.
I was another dragon. Everything I was seeing was through the eyes of dragons.
The prodding device still came toward me, though, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
When I opened them again, I was in an elf’s home. I jumped through a small hoop a gray-haired male elf held up, and a group of well-dressed elves nearby applauded.
I blinked again, and this time I was large. The men around me appeared small in comparison, but I was still scared. I dipped my head down, and someone climbed on top of me, then another, and another.
I turned my head to the side and watched as a man took coins from people in a line.
He was selling rides on my back.
I blinked again, and I was in another realm, then another, and another. Everything happened so quickly, and with each flash there was another dragon in need. Another one suffering, being ripped from its home, or forced to do tricks, starved, or being abused.
Finally, my head began to pound. I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to save them, but I couldn’t. I had no control. I could see what they saw, and feel what they felt, but there was nothing more I could do. I needed to go to them, to save them.
Volrath, Nidhug’s voice cut through the images.
“I can’t make it stop,” I whispered.
You can, he said. Focus. Come back to where your body is.
I closed my eyes and held them shut, and then I took a deep breath and tried to focus on my physical form. I felt for my heart first. Once I could feel its beat, then I worked my way out and felt my arms and legs, and finally my fingertips and toes.
After I could feel myself once more, I took another deep breath and slowly opened my eyes.
I breathed a sigh of relief to see I was once again in the courtyard with Nidhug and the girls.
Asta stared at me with wide yellow eyes as she wrung her hands. Her pouty lips were slightly parted, and her chest rose and fell heavily.
Kas’ strawberry-blonde eyebrows were furrowed as she reached her hands out to lay them on my shoulders.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I said numbly. All I could think of were the dragons. What did it matter if I was okay when they so clearly weren’t?
I glanced over and found Nidhug’s white eyes. The dragon stared at me, and I could feel the bond between us grow even stronger. I hadn’t been able to sense his emotions before, but now, I somehow knew he was proud and expectant.
The little dragons continued to play with his tail, completely oblivious to the strange journey I’d just been on.
“What happened?” Asta asked, and I could hear the concern in her voice.
“I… I could see through the eyes of other dragons.” I shook my head and licked my lips. “I don’t … I don’t know what happened.”
“What?” Kas gasped, and her fingers tightened on my shoulders. “You saw through the eyes of dragons? More than one? Where were they?”
“Everywhere. I saw one in Asta’s homeworld, he was bright yellow and beautiful, and he soared over the land.” I frowned as I remembered the next dragon. “Then I saw a small one trapped in a cage. A man was selling it.”
“The dragon trade,” Asta whispered, and her eyes filled with sadness.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I saw several like that.”
“How do we save them?” Kas asked, and she turned to look at Nidhug
. “I thought that was the point. We need to save them. How do we do it?”
You have unlocked more of your potential, the great dragon said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. My heart was beating too fast, I needed to know what to do. How did this help me? How could I see through their eyes? And most importantly, how do I save them?
Now you may now truly begin to fulfill your destiny, Master. Nidhug lowered his head and closed his eyes.
It took me a second, but I realized he was bowing to me.
I glanced over to the girls, and they both stared at me with wide eyes.
“What’s he saying?” Kas asked.
“He said now I can begin to fulfill my destiny.” My brow furrowed with confusion as I stared at the giant black dragon.
“What do we do now?” Asta inquired.
“I’m not sure yet.” I shook my head.
It was my destiny to save the dragons. I knew that. But I could feel there was more to it. I had a bond with these creatures, it was as if I was one of them. When I’d been in their bodies, it felt right.
Seeing the torment they went through made me physically ache, and I wanted nothing more than to protect them from the turmoil they experienced.
I turned back to Nidhug and looked into his white eyes. He’d called me master again, and while I didn’t know if I liked the term, I knew it was correct. I was a master of dragons, and I felt I always had been.
“Nidhug,” I said as I raised my chin and squared my shoulders. “Tell me how to save them.”
Blar scurried up to me then and climbed onto my shoulder. I reached up, and the little dragon pressed his head into my palm.
I wasn’t going to let the dragons suffer any longer.
It was time to fulfill my destiny.
Chapter 16
I stepped through the portal and onto Asgardian soil. The grass beneath my feet was long, and it swayed with the slight breeze of the evening.
We were back in the countryside where we used to go to find portals. Blar had made the one we’d just come through, and once everyone was through, we quietly started to walk back toward home.
I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts to focus on anything but putting one foot in front of the other.
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