Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 46

*Rakota's POV*

The bond made it easier to tell when Kat had woken up and was ready to come out. As I lifted my wing, I used my tail and a brush of magic to slide the pile of small scales closer to her feet.

"Good morning," I told her.

"Good morning," she replied, glancing at the handful of red scales now resting in front of her.

"I let you put it off last night, but it's best to wear them." Since Kat seemed to listen to logic, I added, "It lets other dragons know you're my rider without using magic to check, and if trouble appears when I'm not around, they'll protect you without question. It also lets them easily identify you if I get grounded and you have to run."

She frowned at the scales silently, eventually saying, "I guess. How does this work?"

That hadn't taken nearly as much convincing as I had expected, although I had pointedly mentioned dragons using magic to check for a bond. She'd try to avoid magical checks simply out of habit and possibly a lingering desire to prevent other dragons from discovering her ability.

"Hold them to your shoulder one at a time, and I'll magically attach them to your shirt. There's eight for each shoulder. You've seen the other riders. Three in the first two rows, starting close to the neck, with the third outer row only having two. You can slide the back edge underneath the previous row when you overlap them."

She bent down and picked up one of the scales, which rested easily in her palm, being only about the size of a chicken egg. She looked up at me. "Can we make them removable? In case I need to blend into a group of humans? No one would believe I was a rider with clothing like this. That would be asking for trouble."

I examined her and grudgingly came to the conclusion she was right. "I can, but in exchange, I want you to wear them unless it's absolutely necessary to take them off."

I made a mental note to ask Andar where we usually took our riders for proper clothing. Cloth and leather were very difficult to manipulate with magic unless we were setting it on fire.

Kat hesitated, then nodded. "So, just hold it in place? Here?"

I lowered my head to watch as she held the red scale on top of her shoulder.

"Move it a bit to the left– There." A quick touch of magic secured it to the shirt. "Slide the edge of the next one under the base so the top layer overlaps."

She quickly caught on to the pattern as we added more scales.

"Undo that for a second," she said.

When I complied, she shifted it slightly. "That looks better. Can you attach it?"

It wasn't easy for me to see if a scale was slightly crooked – they were just too small – so it amused me that Kat insisted on them being perfectly aligned when she hadn't wanted to wear them at all originally. Before long, all were in place. They looked good on her.

"Give me a second to make them removable," I murmured.

Dragon scale was just as hard to mold as leather, but I managed to create a silk-like base to attach the scales to, then focused on a spell that would separate the base from her shirt.

"There. If you lift the two scales on the end, there is a circular stone. If you turn it, it will activate a spell to let it come off your shoulder. Try it."

She gingerly lifted the scales and easily felt the rough stone. When she twisted it, the scales shifted as the entire shoulder section came loose. She took it off and examined it now that she could easily see it.

She set it back on her shoulder, but before she could ask how to reattach it, the attraction spell between her shirt and the scales activated, pulling it into its original position and securing it once more.

"It looks good," I told her. "I started the fire, but I don't have the faintest clue how to turn that powder into bread, so I'll leave that for you."

"Powder? Oh– flour. Don't worry about it. I don't mind cooking. It gives me something to do."

I watched her busy herself at the fire. Sleep had done wonders for her mood, although she wasn't quite as talkative as usual. Still, she hadn't stormed off into the trees like some new riders had. She seemed to redirect her energy into cooking, archery practice, or other tasks.

I'd have to ask her later what I could bring to the aerie to keep her entertained. Boredom wouldn't sit well with her, but with the ideas I had in mind, she wouldn't have time to get bored.

I wanted to have a family with Serepha, so why shouldn't my rider have a chance to enjoy the family life she'd told me about several times? I needed the assistance and approval of the elders for what I had in mind though.

It would take a bit of discussion and time for them to debate, but if I could confine the naga to the sea, they'd almost certainly agree to anything I asked. I tapped a claw against the dirt as I thought through the details again, carefully memorizing my points.

My plan would work better if the elders saw how I planned to stop the naga. Were any of them along the coast? I wasn't sure, but there was an outpost with communication crystals along this flight path. I could stop there and contact a few of my friends among the Sea Guard while Kat took a break.

Once I knew where they were, I could start building the cliffs about an hour away from wherever they were, which would prove my skill with molding stone and that I was capable of building a barrier the naga couldn't easily get over. But the coast was long and such a cliff would take a monumental amount of magic. I currently had more than any dragon since before the mage wars, but was it enough?

When the rider bond had formed, a lot had poured in from Kat, and it still trickled in at an unceasing pace. Had the original surge possibly been all the magic she had created throughout her life?

"Kat, did you ever give magic away?"

She shifted uneasily, but still replied, "I let a couple of trustworthy healers take some in exchange for magical healing and their silence, but that's about it. Letting anyone know was a huge risk, so I only did it when absolutely necessary."

"That makes sense. I know dragons can give away magic or lower shields so others can take it. Is it the same for Wellsprings? I don't believe you can cast spells."

"Apart from building shields around my magic, I can't use it. I lowered my shields for the healers, although they could sense it as soon as they came close."

I nodded absently. "If you ever need a spell cast or if any relatives need healing, just let me know."

"Thanks," she murmured, looking more and more uncomfortable with this topic.

I let silence fall since the discussion confirmed I had roughly twenty-two years of magic from a Wellspring.

I hoped it would be enough.