The Betrayed Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 2) by Dan Michaelson (best free ereader TXT) 📕

Heat began to build, and I had to tamp it down. If I didn’t, I would lose control over it. I glanced over at Natalie, and realized that if I lost control of it now, there was a real danger I could harm her.

Releasing power that led to my own injury was one thing. Hitting Brandel with it while challenged didn’t bother me as much, either. Injuring somebody like Natalie who had only come to take a seat next to me was something altogether different.

I pushed the power of the dragon down, squeezing my awareness of him—and my connection to him—deeper and deeper into myself. As I did, I could feel power flowing within me, energy that started to constrict. I held on to it, trying to find a way to maintain that control. Unfortunately, it continued to build. The energy intensified as the dragon came closer. I stared at the dragon, trying to warn him away.

I got to my feet and started to move along the dragon pen, trying to get away from Natalie. When I reached the corner, heading toward the distant forest, I found her trailing after me.

I shook my head. “Don’t,” I warned.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s . . .” I said.

At this point, all I could tell her was that she needed to stay back.

The power continued to course through me. I made a point of keeping my hands pressed together, holding that power as it cycled within me. I didn’t want to release it, and certainly didn’t want to cause it to explode out from me. I tried to hold that power inside, tried to keep it trapped so it didn’t flow in an uncontrollable way.

It was building.

Natalie trailed after me.

The dragon followed me inside of the pen, working his way around as if to taunt me, or perhaps to protect me. I didn’t know for sure. I couldn’t yet know how to know the dragon—how to understand him.

Power continued to build within me. Somehow I was going to have to unleash it. I needed to release that power, needed to cut off my connection to the dragon.

Natalie came up behind me. “Something’s wrong,” she said.

I shook my head. “It’s . . . it’s just I’m losing control over it,” I said.

“Does that happen to you often?”

I shook my head again. “I haven’t really had any control over it before.”

“What have you tried doing so that you could get control?”

“I’m trying to do as Thomas suggested, but it’s not working.”

At least, it wasn’t working well enough for me, though I could feel that power surging and coursing around through me, and I could tell that if it spilled outward, I would lose complete control. The energy of the dragon would explode, and anybody near me would be in danger. This was more power than I had released upon Brandel.

“Let it out,” Natalie said.

I shook my head. “I can’t let it out. I don’t know how to do it.”

“Haven’t you ever released that power before?” She was watching me with an intensity in her eyes, though there was something else there.

“I haven’t. At least, not intentionally.”

“How have you done it unintentionally?”

“I almost blew somebody up,” I admitted.

She laughed. “Now I know why you moved away from me. Just try doing what you did before and see if it’ll make a difference.”

It was worth a shot. When I had accidentally targeted Brandel, I had separated my hands, releasing the power. This time, maybe I could control it. As I kept my fingers pressed together, feeling the energy of the dragon building within me, I wondered if I could let a trickle of that power out. If I could, then maybe I could learn to control it in a way that I had not so far.

“You should stay back,” I said.

“What are you afraid will happen? You think I’ll explode in flames?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I said.

She backed away, moving down the dragon pen, though she didn’t move nearly as far away as I thought she should. I turned toward the forest. That might be a mistake, but if I continued focusing on the dragon pen, then I would run the risk of blowing power into the dragons. I didn’t want to do that, either.

I separated my index fingers. Only those.

I could feel the pressure beginning to ease as it cycled through, and suddenly a burst of heat erupted along my arms, coming down my fingers and spiraling, bouncing from one to the next. The flames crackled between my fingers.

Natalie came closer.

“Don’t,” I said.

“Look. Fire. And you’re concerned you might incinerate me.”

“I still might,” I said. The power flowing through me was still incredible. The pressure had eased, but not entirely. At least I had some way of diminishing it.

“What if you try releasing a bit more?” Natalie asked.

I pulled apart my middle fingers. Now the flames that arced out went from my two fingers, and then connected, before the power cycled through me again. As it did, I could feel the energy starting to fade, easing back. The effect was enough that I could finally start to breathe out, relaxing just a little bit.

I separated my ring fingers. The flames twisted.

“Can you control it?” Natalie asked. “Can you use it?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t know what I’m doing here to begin with.”

“What if you hold on to that flame and separate your hands completely?”

I shook my head. “If I do that, I think I’ll unleash all of the power within me.”

I wasn’t even sure if that were going to be the case, but I could feel the energy, and I could tell the way that power coursed from one hand to the next, and the way it stretched out from me. I wondered if I might be able to control it a little bit better if I were to release another finger.

I pulled apart my pinkies.

The only thing connecting my hands now were my thumbs. That allowed the energy to continue to flow through