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

had already left for the day. I made a circle around the pen, touching the bars of cool metal before moving onward. I stared through the bars, focusing on the dragons. The deep green dragon remained inside. I had rarely seen him leave.

“I’ve seen you watching them often,” a voice said.

I looked over to see Donathar. He was dressed in dark navy, the crest of the king on one shoulder, and a playful smile on his face as he regarded the dragons. Much like what I had detected with Thomas, he released power from him that flowed through the bars of the dragon pen and touched upon each of the dragons.

“I’m just trying to find my connection.”

Donathar turned to me. “From what I understand, you have successfully managed to do so.”

“Successfully, but it’s different.”

Donathar paused. He tapped on something in his pocket before glancing up at me. “Different doesn’t mean less potent. Different only means different. As you likely learned, all students at the Academy come to understand their connection to the dragons differently. Even Thomas.” He said his name with a slight tension pulling on his eyes. “Though if he has managed to demonstrate something for you, I should say that it has been valuable.”

“None of the other instructors succeeded in coaxing a connection out of me.”

“Or perhaps they just didn’t have the time,” he said. He frowned, glancing over to the Academy before turning toward me. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time outside of the city, it’s that there are many means to reaching the same kind of power.”

“Did you learn that with the Djarn?”

His face didn’t change, though the tension that I had detected in his eyes persisted, if only a little bit. “My time with the Djarn was challenging,” he said. “They are quite secretive, even to those sent to them as emissaries.”

“You didn’t learn anything?” That surprised me. Even Joran had learned something, if only because his father had connected to the Djarn.

“Oh, there are many things that I learned in my time among them, but few were what I had hoped.” He glanced over and winked. “I know the stories of the Djarn. I thought many of them true before I spent any time with them. Unfortunately . . .”

“They don’t have a connection to magic?”

“They most certainly have some connection to magic, but finding what it is proved difficult, even for as long as I was with them.” He shook his head and turned to the dragons. A bit of power trailed off of him, touching from one dragon to the next. When he reached the green dragon, the dragon started to stir, looking over to me, and a bit of heat ballooned within me. “I had hoped to gain insight about the Djarn during my time there. Perhaps even bring word back to the king that they could be allies, rather than . . .” He looked at me. “I shouldn’t even be speaking about this around you. I think it was your connection to Manuel, or perhaps that Thomas chose you to teach.”

“That was chance more than anything,” I said.

“Was it, or perhaps he sought you out.” Donathar looked over to me, cocking his head as he regarded me. Heat bloomed from him, but it was the only thing that I could feel. Nothing else. “I’d be happy to work with you myself, if you would be inclined. Now that you have discovered your connection to the dragons, the techniques are much more universal. The patterns might not be. Each instructor has their own area of expertise, as I imagine you have learned. If you are interested, all you would have to do is tell me. I’m sure Thomas wouldn’t mind. Especially . . .” He shook his head, glancing over to the Academy before turning back to me. “Anyway. It seems as if you have a visitor.”

I looked over, thinking that maybe Natalie had come again, but I was not disappointed to see Joran.

I nodded to Donathar. If he wanted to work with me, who was I to refuse? I needed the opportunity, especially from an instructor who was willing and as capable as he obviously was.

“Thank you,” I said. “I would be honored to work with you.”

He nodded, and I hurried off, catching up to Joran.

Joran looked back at the dragon pen for a long moment, shaking his head. Finally, he grinned at me.

“Where do you want us to go this time?” Joran asked, guiding me into the city.

There was a crowd out in the city, and there was more activity going on than there had been in quite some time. I looked out, watching the commotion, and finally turned my attention over to Joran. “I’ll leave that up to you. At this point, it’s your choice. You’re the one who only has a little bit longer in the city, after all.”

I tried to suppress the sadness in my voice, but I knew I wasn’t so successful.

Joran eyed me, and there was a hint of amusement glittering in his eyes.

“You can come back,” he said, before sweeping his gaze around him. “But I have a feeling you have no interest in doing that.”

“It isn’t so much that I have no interest,” I said. “It’s just that I feel like I still have something I can accomplish here.”

“I should hope so,” he said, chuckling. “Look at what you’ve done so far. You’re going to be a dragon mage, Ashan.”

I looked away.

What had I done?

Not succeed.

Not yet, but I would.

We paused near one of the strips of shops within the city. There was an open-air market near here, and dozens upon dozens of street vendors converged upon it every day, something that was rare enough in Berestal, but incredibly common here. The sound of shop owners shouting rang out, carrying over to us, and both of us continued onward. We picked our way through the booths, and at one point, we paused to watch a troupe of acrobats