Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 18: Even More Unlikely Discoveries

I cringed at the word, but the response of the conference members was quite the opposite. They all looked either indifferent or weirdly pleased.

The cinem woman smiled, which only freaked me out even more. "Excellent. Our meeting will end soon. Wait downstairs while we finish."

"Excellent?" I knew I shouldn't have drawn attention to myself again, but I couldn't help it. This was the weirdest meeting I'd ever stumbled into.

"Yes, quite so. Go on now." She waved me and Sarafin into the hall.

We went downstairs, and I kept an eye on Sarafin. He didn't seem too keen on grabbing me again, so I might just have a second chance to escape.

"Don't even think about running." Sarafin gingerly took his wand out of his pocket. "I can still hex you."

"You'd be better off killing me now, because I am going to get out of here, one way or another."

He groaned. "Just because I'm a death elent doesn't mean I kill people. Besides, Callah wants you alive."

"Why?"

"Callah wanted to be the one to explain, but if it keeps you from doing something stupid... Callah has a particular interest in paltors. She hasn't told me much, but I know she needs a paltor to do something."

"She really doesn't want me dead? Like, not now, not ever?" That seemed too much to believe, especially coming from the Academy director.

"No, she doesn't." Seemingly trusting me not to flee, he dropped his wand back into his pocket and blew on his burned hands.

It would've been a lot easier to kill me than bring me here and contain me. If all this was just leading up to an execution, Callah would've at least sent a few armed guards to chain me up. He might actually be telling the truth.

I grimaced at his hands. "If you're really not going to kill me, I'm sorry. For the burns, I mean."

He bolted for the front door.

So much for apologizing. Fine, I would just stay here by myself.

"Help me, ferge it." He was grasping at one of the heavy front doors, but it was obvious the pain in his hands wouldn't let him pull it open enough to slip through.

I started toward the door, and a dragon's roar made my heart skip a beat. I ran to Sarafin and threw open the door.

Leera was attacking Sarafin's mount. Leera's opponent roared in her face, raising his neck crests. They made him look bigger than he was but not nearly big enough. Even though Leera was a crestless female, she was plenty huge. She slashed at his golden hide with her claws and drove him back.

While I had no idea what to do, Sarafin was already running right for them, shouting for Leera to stop. I realized what he was doing a moment later and sprinted after him. He got there first, dodging past Leera's thrashing tail to touch her on the leg with his wand. She stopped mid-swipe, and I was at her side before she hit the ground.

Sarafin went to his own dragon as I concentrated on Leera. She was completely still when I knelt to touch her side. As afraid as I'd been that she would out me as a paltor, I hadn't want her to die. And what if I died with her? Had it been long enough for our life sparks to fuse?

[Don't touch me.] There was a voice in my mind, a female one.

I fell back from Leera's side, sure I was hearing things. Was this the mental echo Sarafin had mentioned?

[You can hear me?] the voice asked.

I was afraid to answer, but the voice seemed to be able to read my mind.

[It's about time you could. I've put up with being treated like some glorified horse for ten long years, waiting for a rider—and you treated me just the same. Thank goodness for death elents. If it weren't for that hex restarting my magic, I'd be stuck with you not knowing for years.] Leera suddenly started breathing again.

I realized with a start where the voice had to be coming from, but I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it.

[You guessed it. It's Leera. Now back the prip up.]

I jumped up and retreated a good ten feet from her.

She pushed her massive, scaly body off the ground and shook out her wings.

I wanted to say something, but I had no idea what.

["Sorry," would be a start. "I won't do it again," and "what can I do to make up for it," would be even better.] She glared down at me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know- if I had..." I trailed off, flashing back to every demeaning thought I'd had about her. She'd heard them all, and I couldn't think of anything that would make up for that.

"Why- why did you come after me?"

She snorted twin streams of fire at my feet.

[I felt your fear, and a dragon protects their rider, no matter how nasty they are.]

"If you hate me that much, why don't we just unbond?" It seemed like it would solve both our problems.

She took a swipe at the ground with her claws, leaving streaks of blood in the furrows of dirt. [Dragons can't rejoin after separating, and do you know what they do with unjoined dragons?]

I shook my head, afraid that she might fire again.

[They're put to work doing manual labor for the rest of their lives—no better than horses or oxen. So no, I would not like to unbond. Just remember, I am no beast.] She took to the sky, leaving me breathing the dust her wings had kicked up.