When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I blushed a bright red. "You heard that?"

The icy hotness faded and seemed to exit through the bottom of my feet into the clay flooring. I no longer felt the presence of the second essence and did not even try to speak with my mind. I was once again powerless.

"I will bypass the insult for now and dismiss it as justified frustration. You are able to wield telepathy which means you do have an essence, albeit a sleeping one considering how quick the power fled," said the Wielder.

"None of this is making any sense to me," I admitted, defeated.

"Tell me. Why do dragons share their essence with their half-breed counterparts?"

"To give us a power which increases the likelihood of their species' survival, as well as ours. It's an even exchange; they give us an essence and we protect them with our powers against our common enemy."

"Yes, many centuries ago, the Nyrial Empire's human emperor found two separate nests of dragon eggs. Demons were feeding on the eggs until the emperor killed the demons. Only one egg from each dragon family's nest survived and the emperor nurtured them until they hatched. As payment, the two dragons, Armaeda and Hyrule, shared their essences with the emperor. Armaeda's essence gave him a unique power and Hyrule's turned him into a shifter with horns, wings, and the ability to breathe fire. The two dragons mated, and the rest is history."

I felt bad interrupting him to tell him I already knew how we teamed up with the dragons and came into being half-Draconian shifters and summoners. I'd just called him a crazy, decrepit man and cursed at him, so I didn't need to give him another reason to get rid of me. I needed to stay in his good graces if I wanted to find out why I didn't have an Insignia.

"Thank you for the refresher," I said trying to be polite.

The Wielder placed the vial back on the bottom shelf where he had taken it from. He used his cane to point at the top shelf and requested, "Take that vial there."

I was not much taller than him, but I stood on my toes and reached for the vial.

"Not that one," he said when my fingers grazed the glass tube. "The one behind it. Blue liquid."

I strained to reach further back on the shelf and held my breath, biting my lip as I plucked the vial off the shelf. Handing it to the Wielder, I offered, "Here you go."

Giving my hand a gentle push, the Wielder folded my fingers around the vial. "It is for you. Do not use it until you need to. Your essence is asleep, but do not wake it too soon."

"Too soon? Isn't my power too late?"

"It is dangerous for you to initiate it before it is ready."

"How will I know when it's the right time?"

"A resting dragon must not be awoken during its slumber for the rage will be felt by all."

"What does that mean?" I interrogated, pocketing the mysterious blue substance.

"The demons are in a bout of unrest. They are fighting the sleep and the undo torment they are awakening to."

He was getting even more ambiguous as the night went on. I was going to blame it on the lack of essences flowing around the Azmar island, as well as Armaeda's distant capture. His age and loneliness were also probable factors contributing to his obscure way of speaking.

Scratch the Wielder, he should be called the Oracle.

"So, are you going to give me an idea of when to consume the blue juice, or no?" I wanted to know.