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

“Is there something going on?”

He glanced behind him. “It’s just . . . I don’t know.” He lowered his voice, and he leaned closer to me. “You were there when I told that instructor about the missing dragon. I just haven’t heard anything. And the others won’t talk about it.” When I didn’t answer fast enough, he shook his head. “That’s what I’m saying about you not being from the city. It is something. If dragons go missing, and if the Vard managed to use them, we might find ourselves facing a dragon war. A full-on battle. And since we are training to be dragon mages, who do you think will be pulled into it?”

I hadn’t given it that much thought, but he was right. That was what all of this training was about, after all. I was training to be a dragon mage. I had some idea of what that involved, but not entirely.

“What happens if the dragons are missing?”

Ames shrugged. “I don’t know. The instructors won’t talk to me. If you hear anything, let me know.”

I nodded, and he shouldered his way past me, staring down at the ground as he headed through the halls.

I started toward Jerith’s office, hesitating a moment at the door before knocking.

Much like all of my instructors, his oak door had three dragons etched into its surface; each instructor’s dragon etching took a different shape, as if each office were meant to depict the dragons in a different way.

The door opened and Donathar stepped out. He tipped his head, nodding, and smiled. “I’ve seen you working with Thomas Elaron.”

I blinked. I suspected Thomas would have informed the other instructors that I was working with him. He would have to, especially as it would keep me out of some of my sessions with other instructors. Given that he was the chief dragon mage, I didn’t think that would be too much of an issue.

“Only a little bit,” I said.

“You should be careful with him. He may not be here for long.”

He winked, then strode off down the hall.

Jerith step toward the door, frowning at me.

I looked behind me, back to Donathar. Thomas wouldn’t be here for long?

I knew that he traveled, so maybe that was true. He might not be in the city for very long. Which meant that I needed to take advantage of the time that I had.

“Ashan. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” He looked along the length of the hall. “Is everything all right?”

I nodded. “I suppose.”

“You suppose?” He started to smile before ushering me in.

I followed him into his office. It was simple, which fit the man that I knew Jerith to be. The walls were all bare, revealing the dark gray stone. A hearth at one end of the room crackled with a warm flame, giving heat to the room. A sculpture of a dragon sat up on the mantle, smaller than some of the other sculptures, though no less intricate for its construction. A small cylinder of pale grey metal resting next to the dragon sculpture had strange writing on it that reminded me of the Djarn. There was a door leading to the back room, where I knew his sleeping quarters to be. The outer room was mostly his personal office, and the place where he, like the other instructors, welcomed students to visit.

I had come to Jerith’s quarters a few times over the months I’d been in the city, though I rarely came in the evening. Most of the time, I came with questions about my assignments, and had pestered him, along with other instructors, looking to try to better understand the connection to the dragons.

I headed over to the fire, standing in front of it, and clasped my hands together, focusing on my breathing. Almost without meaning to, I connected to the green dragon within the dragon pen.

“I understand you’ve been working with Thomas Elaron,” Jerith said, taking a seat at his desk.

I glanced back at him. There were stacks of papers and books and sculptures all piled onto his desk. It was the only part of his room that looked messy. The rest of it was sparse. There was a chair near the hearth, a bookshelf with a smattering of books—though not nearly as many as the bookshelf would have allowed.

“I have,” I said. “He found me outside of the dragon pen one evening and decided to work with me.”

“You should be honored by that,” he said.

I turned back to the fire, nodding. “I was. I mean, I am.”

Jerith chuckled. “Do you care to tell me what happened?”

I approached his desk, pacing in front of it. “He was determined to help me find a way to connect to the dragons—better than I have already.”

“That would be welcome. You have potential. We’ve known that ever since you first came to the Academy, but potential and the ability to reach potential are very different things. In your case, we knew you could and should be able to reach for that power, but it’s a matter of you finding it within yourself.”

I took a deep breath, holding on to the power within the dragons, recognizing the way it flowed. I held my hands together, letting that power flow through me, cycling as it had when I was out in the dragon pen. Gradually I started to separate my hands, forcing some of that power down so that the flames began to crackle with a thin line between my fingertips.

Jerith leaned forward. “I would say it’s been successful.” He looked up at me. “Very few gain control that quickly. He probably won’t be in the city for very long.”

“That’s the same thing Donathar said.”

Jerith shrugged. “Unfortunately, it’s probably true. Thomas rarely spends much time in one place, especially these days. But while he’s available, you should learn what you can. His lessons might be invaluable. What has he taught you?”

I looked around the inside of his office and considered asking