“I think you could. Besides, if you have talent, you might even be able to come to the capital and learn to ride dragons like me.”
Sophie started to laugh before turning to me. “You can’t mean that.”
“Why not? The dragon certainly doesn’t seem to mind your presence. Maybe you do have the potential to ride them.”
“I would love that,” she whispered.
I climbed onto the dragon, and he started to shift, spreading his enormous leathery wings. Sophie backed away, watching with awe in her eyes.
“Stay safe,” I said.
We took to the air, circling briefly, and then headed toward the forest. We veered south, moving along the border, giving me a chance to see the Southern Reach. As we traveled, a strange pulling sensation came to me, and it left me worried. It wasn’t from the dragons. It reminded me of what I had detected when I had been deeper into the Vard lands.
Could that be what this was?
If the king decided to move on Berestal, I would have to get there in time to keep my family safe. But only if he did.
We traveled slowly, zigzagging, and I searched out over the Southern Reach, wanting to see if there were any sign of the Vard out there. When I finally caught sight of their camp, we turned back. By then, much of the day had passed, which I supposed was a good thing. As we neared the forest, and I started to feel what I assumed was the strange pull of the Vard again, we moved more quickly. It was time to return.
It was time to find Thomas. It was time to share with him what I had learned.
I had to make sure Berestal was safe—but given what I had seen, and what the king believed of the Vard, I didn’t know if any place could be safe. Not anymore.
We neared the capital, but far more slowly than I wanted, and the capital seemed far dimmer than it had been when we were here before. I breathed out a sigh of relief as we descended into the capital itself, focusing on the building, on the structures, and on the dragon pen as we came in to land.
The green dragon settled in between the other dragons, and I climbed off his back, hurrying over to the others before finally letting out a relieved sigh.
I had to wait. Even as I focused out into the distance, using the cycle of the dragons, I couldn’t come up with any way for me to detect Thomas. He had to be out there, didn’t he? He would’ve been behind me, not waiting too long, certainly not lingering.
Only nothing came.
I stared at the sky, looking for signs of movement, of the dark shadow coming that would tell me he and the dragon were out there, but even as I stared, there was no sign of anything. There was certainly no sign of the dragon, and nothing to tell me where Thomas was or when he was coming back. But I continued staring, waiting.
I felt increasingly troubled by it, increasingly bothered by the fact I couldn’t tell what had happened to him, only that something had.
Maybe he waited behind, wanting to ensure nothing more happened with the captured Vard, but why would he have taken so long?
There were no answers.
Only more questions.
I made my way out of the dragon pen, then closed it and took a seat on a bench, looking up at the sky. I stared until I could no longer fight sleep, then drifted off.
11
Dreams swirled through my head. They were the kind of dreams that left me trembling, that troubled me. They were filled with flashes of flame and fire, scarred men, people who came at me in the darkness, terrifying magic that called to me, practically demanding I respond. Even as those dreams flashed in my mind, I was fully aware that I was dreaming, but there was nothing I could do about it. I struggled to wake myself, but each time I did, I fell back asleep to see another scarred visage, this one worse than before, lava flowing along the person’s face, crackling with heat and energy, leaving them darkened and blackened—leaving me terrified.
When I finally awoke, dawn had begun to break, and the light rose above the treetops. Everything within me seemed off and unsettled. There was a strange gnawing in the pit of my stomach, and at first, I thought it was just because I was hungry, but the more I felt it, the more I began to wonder if it was something more—something worse.
I feared something had happened while I was out with the Vard, if they had somehow latched on to me, taking a hold of me with their strange power. I didn’t know if such a thing were even possible, but it felt like there was something inside of me, flowing through me.
I looked over to the green dragon. He rested within the dragon pen, curled up and sleeping. I cycled power through him, through the others attached to our cycle, and let that energy flow outward until I could feel there was nothing else taking place. The dragon seemed connected to me, maintaining that hold; there was nothing more I needed to be concerned about.
Finally, I relaxed, releasing the tension within me.
It was only my imagination. I was just overreacting. Perhaps it was the dreams or what had happened the night before—or perhaps it was simply that I had felt something from the Vard. But how was it possible I could feel something like that?
I breathed out, looking into the dragon pen. There was no sign of Thomas’s dragon.
If had he returned, he would’ve woken me, would’ve said something to me. It meant he was still out there.
Had something happened to him?
I could return to the Vard lands. I had a vague sense of where we’d headed, and if the dragon were able to ascend to a high enough level, I might be able to trail across the land, find my way back toward where Thomas had guided us, and perhaps see where he’d trapped the Vard, but what point would there be in doing so?
The Vard had tried to draw power off of me and the green dragon. They hadn’t gone after Thomas. That had been the entire point of my escaping.
I sat in place for a long time, gradually waking up.
When I finally did, I headed into the Academy, gathered some food from the kitchen, and then made my way along the hallway. The dragon lanterns seemed to call to me, the power alternately flickering and glowing brightly from the light within them. I paused long enough to look at them, to see if I could influence them, but even as I focused on the power within the lanterns, I found there simply was no energy within me to do so. I was far too exhausted to attempt to practice the power, even though I wanted to.
One of the doors along the hallway opened, and Eleanor stood there, regarding me for a long moment. I had the sense she was pulling upon dragon energy, though I didn’t know if she were using it in any specific way. At this point, I was too tired to try to detect that, and had no idea whether or not it even made a difference.
“Ashan Feranth. You were absent this morning. I went to check in with you. I thought you and I could discuss your training.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I wasn’t sure if I had anything to fear when it came to Eleanor, but I’d encountered other instructors at the Academy who had proven unreliable, especially when it came to their service on behalf of the Vard. She hadn’t struck me as somebody who would betray the kingdom, but others had proven me wrong before.
“I was out with Thomas,” I said.
“Were you? And what has Thomas had you doing this time?”
I knew he didn’t want Eleanor to know anything about what had happened in the city, though I still wasn’t entirely sure why he thought to keep those things from her. “He was working with me on some of the connections to the dragon magic. He made it clear that I needed to continue to work on the power within me so I could master it, harnessing the energy so I could do more things with it.”
“Where is Thomas now?”
I shook my head. “He sent me back to the city. I was waiting for him.”
As soon as I said it, I realized I had probably told her too much.
“He sent you back to the city? That means he took you from the city. Where, exactly, did you go?”
“Thomas decided I was ready to work with the dragons, to learn how to fly with them,” I said. Hopefully that wasn’t a p
roblem, but I didn’t know what criteria the instructors used to decide which of the students were ready to work with dragons.
“You?” She arched a brow. “You would be too old to learn to fly with the dragons. Most of the students who become riders practice from the time they are young. Very few of them were dragon mages, though I suppose that with the potential you’ve demonstrated, it would be beneficial for you to learn.”
“I’ve been around animals my entire life,” I said. “I think Thomas suspected I’d be comfortable with the dragons, as well.”
She frowned. “Dragons aren’t like other animals. Though, from what others who are familiar with horses have told me, they aren’t so dissimilar to those majestic creatures.”
I blinked, rubbing a little bit of sleep out of my eyes. “They are quite different than horses,” I said. “You don’t know what it’s like to ride a horse?”
She shook her head. “I’ve spent my entire life within the city.”
I almost laughed. There were others like her. Brandel, in fact, had spent his entire life within the city, resulting in a limited perspective about others within the kingdom.
“I could teach you, if you’re interested.”
“Indeed? Perhaps I will take you up on that offer, Ashan. There aren’t too many horses within the kingdom for us though. Most of us prefer to ride by dragon.”
“It’s faster,” I said.
“I suppose it is, but there must be something exhilarating about streaking along the road,” she said, closing her eyes slightly as she smiled.
I was seeing a different side of Eleanor than I had seen before. This was not somebody I needed to fear. This was somebody who had lived in the city their entire life, and would therefore be serving the king. I needed to trust her.
“How often does Thomas disappear?”
“Seeing as how you have much more experience with Thomas than most these days, I’d anticipate you would be better equipped to answer that. With the recent attacks, he has increased his vigilance, which I suspect the king has authorized, but it makes it difficult for us to know what he’d like from us here.”
“I don’t know Thomas well enough to know. He hasn’t really told me where he goes. I only that when he’s back, he’s willing to work with me.”
“Yes, well, I suppose that’s typical of Thomas. Over the years, he’s often been gone for days and weeks at a time. I think the longest he was gone was for the better part of a year, and when he returned, the king brought him into his trust. It was then that he became the chief dragon mage.”
“Did that bother others?”
Eleanor looked behind me before shaking her head. I turned, but I didn’t see anything. Movement, maybe, but that may have been my imagination. “There are very few who really have interest in being the chief dragon mage. It carries a bit of danger with it. Did you know that most of the chief dragon mages have died after only a few years of serving?”
“I didn’t,” I said.
“Well, unfortunately, they have. Many go off and face the Vard, then find that they are tormented, twisted, and something happens to them.”
My dreams flashed back to me, but so too did the memory of what I’d felt returning from the Vard lands. I’d felt something pulling on me. “I don’t understand.”
Eleanor turned her attention to me and frowned, rubbing her hands together slightly. “To be honest, I don’t really understand either. The only thing I know is that we have been watching, trying to understand whether the Vard have any influence on the chief dragon mages. They have been protected. At least, as protected as we could make them. Unfortunately, not all of them could be as protected as necessary. Some have been lost, but I suspect that is the nature of the type of work they do; the fact that they bring themselves into such danger, dealing with the Vard the way they do, jeopardizes their lives.”
“Thomas will be around for a bit longer this time,” I said.
She arched a brow at me, smiling slightly. “Why should this time be any different than others? When it comes to Thomas, I think it’s more about looking at his past to understand what he will do in the present. He has certainly shown he is willing to serve, but it is how he serves.”
“How exactly do you think he serves?”
“In his own way,” she said.
I didn’t want to argue. Thomas wanted to protect the kingdom. That much I believed. “Why were you looking for me earlier today?” I asked.
She shook her head and her demeanor suddenly changed. “I’ve not had an opportunity to work with you the way I think I should. I would very much like to see if I can demonstrate connections to the dragons with you.”
“Is this about my testing for dragon mage?” She nodded, and I relaxed. If I could pass whatever test she and the other instructors had for me, I could become independent. That was what I wanted. “Walter has done the same recently,” I said.
“Of course he has,” she said, waving her hand as if dismissing the idea. “Walter thinks he can get through many of the promising dragon mage students and that they can learn his techniques as if they will be able to carry them out. As you undoubtedly know, it is considered a mark of honor within the Academy for an instructor to demonstrate the techniques to promising dragon mages before they are put up for final testing. Given your . . . demonstrations . . . you likely will not be in the Academy much longer, though of course you know that.”
I wasn’t sure what these lessons meant for my future at the Academy, but I suspected they were important somehow. “What might you be able to teach me?”
I still didn’t know how I was going to be tested by the instructors, only that there would be some sort of testing. That was what Thomas had explained. Maybe learning from Eleanor would teach me something necessary to pass this test—and I needed to pass it to gain autonomy as a dragon mage. If nothing else, I could use the opportunity to learn from her. Now that I had an understanding of my connection to the dragons, I didn’t have to feel as if I were wasting time with an instructor if they couldn’t help me accomplish that.
“You have shown some potential with Thomas, and that tells me you’re prone to using the kind of power he prefers.”
“And what type of power is that?”
“Well, when it comes to Thomas, he does tend to use more of an attacking type of magic. As a chief dragon mage, such a thing is not surprising, and I’d expect you would have learned many of those same skills.” She waited, and I nodded. “As I suspected. There are ways of manipulating it and creating useful patterns. I think I could help you with that.”
“That’s what you wanted to find me for?”
“There is no time but the present to start.”
I glanced behind her, looking out into the brightness of the day. Despite that, I felt exhausted, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I had a feeling Eleanor wouldn’t give me that opportunity.
Even if she did, it was far too bright, and until it was night, or until I knew Thomas had returned safely, I didn’t know if I’d be able to sleep.
I might as well continue to work on learning various patterns from other masters.
It seemed to me there was more going on than what Eleanor wanted me to know, but that was just one more thing I’d have to ask Thomas about when he returned.
“Where would you have us go? To the training chamber beneath the Academy?”
She waved her hand again. “Nothing quite so dramatic as that. I know there are some who like it for its austerity, but I always found it too dimly lit.”
“Considering that we’re using dragon magic, I don’t know if the lighting in the room makes much of a difference.”
She shook her head. “I suppose not, but I have a better place for us to go, and besides, it is more suited for the kind of work we will be attempting.”
She guided me along the hall, away from the main entrance. I wondered if she were going to lead me up into one of the upper levels of the Academy. Seeing as how I had never been there
, I didn’t know what to expect. Instead, she led me out the back of the Academy into a massive garden, where the fruits and vegetables that fed the students were grown. We made our way past a pair of gardeners who both briefly nodded to Eleanor before moving on. The scents of the garden filled me—the aromas of flowers and plants and life all vibrant near me.
“Do you need proximity to the dragons in order for you to reach for that connection?” she asked.
“I don’t,” I said.
“I did not think so. If you had, this would not have been effective.”
“You don’t need proximity?”
She paused, looking over at me. She had her hands clasped in front of her as she strode through the garden, looking almost as if she were floating. “I have found that maintaining a connection at all times benefits me. It permits me the ability to use the dragon magic at any point. When I was first learning, I had to hold on to that constantly, but over time, I finally began to recognize that such a thing was not necessary.” She smiled slightly. “As you are no doubt aware.”
I’d never spent all that much time with Eleanor, and her mannerisms and the stilted way she spoke were both so strange that they caught me a bit off guard. She twisted her head as if a bird watching her prey.
“Where are we going?”
“Not much farther,” she said. “I find that being out in the sunshine, feeling the warmth of it shining down upon me, makes it easier for me to perform some of these patterns. Perhaps you don’t need that, but not all of us have your predisposition.”
“I’m not so sure that it’s a predisposition,” I said.
“No? The rumors must be false, then.”
“What rumors are those?”
“Probably nothing,” she said, waving her hand again.
We made our way down a gravel path, moving past a row of shrubs, then we veered off. I hesitated for a moment as we headed deeper into the shrubs, the shadows drifting around us. I made a point of focusing on the dragons, holding on to the power of that cycle, making sure I could pull it through me if she were to try something, though I didn’t have the sense that she intended to.
The Lost Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 3) Page 15
