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

“Walk?”

She chuckled. “You know, by using our legs. I imagine a dragon mage such as yourself would much prefer to ride atop a dragon, but some of us aren’t quite that lucky.”

I laughed softly. “I’ve only ridden on a dragon once, and that was a bit terrifying, if I’m being honest.”

“But you have ridden a dragon,” she said.

I closed my eyes, thinking about how it had felt when I had soared with the dragon. “When I was a child, I wanted to know what it would be like to ride on a dragon. I remember the first time I saw one of them, and the king’s riders, and I remembered just how impressive they were. At that time, I dreamed I would one day be able to be a rider like that.”

“And now you are,” Natalie said, guiding me around the dragon pen and toward the road leading away from the Academy.

“What about you? What did you dream of when you were younger?”

“Many things,” she said. “Mostly, I wanted normalcy.”

I frowned. “Normalcy?”

She nodded. “My life has not always been what you would consider straightforward. We moved around quite a bit, and that made it difficult to make friends.”

“How long have you been in the city?” I asked.

“Well, not nearly as long as some, but longer than you,” she said, chuckling again.

I shook my head. “I didn’t realize you haven’t been in the city that long.”

“Only because there hasn’t been any reason to tell you.” She glanced over, winking at me. “Besides, I have been here a little bit longer than you.”

We made our way along the street and turned toward the city proper. The Academy was situated on the edge of the capital, a place that would allow students like myself and others to have the freedom to make mistakes without causing problems within the city. That, and there was a desire to keep the dragons outside of the center of the city. When I’d first come here, I had wondered about that. It seemed surprising that we would be concerned about the dragons, as if there were some reason to keep them separated, but the more I learned about them, and how free they really were, the more I began to suspect it was for the best.

“Where else have you lived?” I asked.

“Several places,” she said. “I was born in the city of Regar, though I don’t have any memories of it. We weren’t there very long. We moved on, my father taking us to Jintan, and then to Oshan. I have a few more memories of those places, though even they are faint.”

“What did your father do?” I asked.

She glanced over to me, saying nothing at first, and then her eyes widened. “Listen,” she said. “Do you hear it?”

I frowned. “What am I supposed to hear?”

“The music.” She dragged me forward, pulling on my arm as she raced into the city.

I had no choice but to follow along with her, and yet as we meandered through the streets, wandering past shops that were closed for the night, homes darkened and shuttered, I found myself glancing back at the Academy, wondering if perhaps I should consider returning soon. It might be a mistake for me to be wandering out into the city. We weren’t denied access to the city itself, but it could be dangerous for students to spend too much time there.

“I don’t know if I should do this,” I said.

I had to meet with the king soon. I should prepare.

Not only that, but since I could detect the dragons, I wanted to keep testing for any of the missing ones. I hadn’t managed to find anything so far, but I had to believe there would be something.

“What are you worried about?” she asked, glancing back at me.

I shook my head. “I’m not really worried about anything, I’m just—”

Natalie cut me off with a long laugh. “If you’re not worried, then come along.”

She continued dragging me along the street, heading deeper into the city.

After a while, I could hear the music she noticed, the sound of it far more obvious than it had been before. I could make out the steady thumping of a drum mixed with a strange horn and other instruments, but throughout it all, there was a chanting. That was where she was leading me.

Natalie pulled on my arm. “You said you were tired of using the dragon magic. You didn’t say anything about being too tired to join me in the city,” she said.

I shook my head. “I didn’t say anything about that, but . . .”

“But nothing. Come along,” she said, dragging me with her.

I was tempted to argue, but what was the point? I was curious where she would guide me, curious what we might find, and I was open to the idea of doing something other than sitting around the dragons for a while, connecting to their power, feeling the flow as it worked through me. I was willing to do something other than what I had been doing.

I had come to the capital for an opportunity to learn to connect to the dragons, to feel that power, and now that I had done it, maybe it was time for me to live just a little bit. At least, until I had to meet with the king.

14

The knock at my door woke me, and I sat up, startled.

I’d gotten back late and was tired. Sitting up, my head throbbed from drinking too much ale the night before. Each glass had gone down easier than the last, Natalie encouraging me with each one. I couldn’t remember how much she had drunk, though she seemed as if she hadn’t struggled nearly as much as I had when it came to stumbling back home. She’d left me near a plaza in the center of the city, and I had been forced to stagger back to the Academy on my own. It was a wonder I’d made it safely, though