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

I let out a long sigh. “That’s better,” I whispered.

“It’s interesting how such a little change makes a big difference,” she said.

“I shouldn’t be doing this without having an instructor with me. I’m sure I would be chastised for attempting anything without having somebody to guide me.” Thomas would certainly reprimand me. Maybe not Donathar. When he’d worked with me, it had been almost friendly. The other instructors all seemed like they wanted me to succeed as well.

“You mean the same instructors who weren’t able to help you learn how to reach for this power in the first place?”

I chuckled. “I suppose those same instructors.”

“Then maybe they wouldn’t know.”

I didn’t know if that were true. “It’s possible,” I said.

“And if they don’t know, then why would you be concerned about appeasing them?”

“It’s not a matter of appeasing them. It’s a matter of making sure I know what I’m doing and not trying to use power that I’m not meant to.”

She laughed. “Have you always been like this? So compliant? It seems you’re looking for permission to use power you’re connected to. You don’t need to wait for somebody else to tell you what you can do. If you have that power, then you should use it.” She chuckled, grinning at me. “I would’ve thought a farmer from beyond the forest would have a little bit more independence.”

“When I was on the farm, I did. I had to. You have to get the work done.”

“Why is this so different?”

I looked down at my hands, at the power I could feel still there. There was a faint sense of pressure from the dragon, the connection that seemed to want to course outward, stretching between my hands, flowing from one side of me to the other as it drifted from the dragon.

“You should use the connection you have. Figure it out by yourself. And if your teachers can help you, let them, but maybe you shouldn’t be afraid of what you might learn on your own.”

Behind me came a mournful howl.

I recognized that sound. It was that of a mesahn.

Natalie sat up and turned to look into the forest.

“That’s just one of the mesahn,” I said softly.

“You recognize them?”

I nodded. “I’ve seen one before. I know they’re powerful. If there are mesahn, it means the king’s Hunters are out there. Probably hunting for the dragons that’ve been missing.”

There was a surprising lack of reaction from her. “I’m sure you’re right,” she said, settling back to the ground. She still sat with a bit of tension in her, and I wanted to try to reassure her, but I didn’t know if I could say anything that would.

Instead, I started to practice with the flames again. As soon as I did, she turned her attention back to me, focusing on the way that I wrapped fire around itself. I wanted to master that technique a bit before heading in for the night—if I could, then perhaps I could use that when I worked with Thomas or any of the other instructors again.

“You might see if you can add a fourth strand,” she said softly. “You can do more with it than you can with three.”

I frowned. So far, my attempts of pushing out strands of power had been tied to using my fingers, and I wondered if I could focus power that way.

Start small.

Three strands had worked, but could I do four? What about five?

I harnessed the power, focusing on it as it passed from one hand to the next, and gradually began to separate my hands. When I did, those five strands formed. I smiled to myself.

It was difficult holding on to that connection well enough that I could maintain each individual strand, but as I separated my hands, I began to push power out from one hand to the next, and tried to twist that power. I wasn’t attempting to weave it in any way, but merely to twist it. It was not going to be a complicated wrap at all. Even twisting it, though, left a considerable burst of power going from one hand to the next.

I had to loosen the way that I twisted it, not wanting to force quite so much out from me. In doing so, I could feel the pressure beginning to ease.

What would happen if I extended how far I pushed it from myself?

I trembled, trying to pull my hands apart, using that power so I could call more magic through the dragon. I connected to the power, holding my hands apart, letting each strand stretch between my fingers. It worked slowly, and I struggled to hold on to the power, trying to twist it in a way that allowed the energy to flow between my fingers. As I held my hands apart, I could feel the power forming, and I hoped that my attempt to twist it would permit me to use it more effectively. Unfortunately, even though I pulled on that magic, I didn’t have enough focus for it.

I sagged back, holding the heat between me, tamping down the flow from the dragon through one side of me and to the other. As I did, I began to feel a steady simmering deep within me—heat and energy and magic, all of it threatening to bubble up.

“That’s it?” Natalie asked.

“I’ve done about as much as I can,” I said. “I haven’t used it this much . . . well, ever.” I held my hands out, feeling for the power and heat that radiated from the dragon, through me, and breathed out slowly. “I’m trying to control it, but it’s too much.”

“Maybe you’ll impress your instructor when you see him next.”

I breathed out, holding on to the power within me, feeling that energy as it flowed up through me, trying to push it from one hand to another, but gave up when I recognized that the power was too faint.

Looking to the Academy, I sighed.

Natalie followed, standing and looking at me. “Are you going?” She took