I don’t know how long I’m down for. But when I wake, staring up at the ceiling, my head throbs. I blink and let out a loud gasp when I see Zadyn in his fae form perched beside me, watching over me intently.
“There you are,” he says.
“You’re not miniature,” I croak, pushing up to my elbows. My throat is dry as sandpaper.
He chuckles. “Madame Gnorr is ancient. She knows what I am. She can be trusted.”
“I gathered. What do you think she saw in my head? What was she looking for?”
“Her gifts are unique. That’s why she’s been in Aegar’s employ for over three generations. She is a special kind of healer, a sensor. She reaches out into people’s minds and, well, senses them. She can even transmute pain when necessary.”
“So, like an empath,” I say.
“Yes, but with the ability to alter emotions. She was getting a sense of you, sifting through memories and feelings.”
“How intrusive.”
“Better her than one of the Kingsguard torturing it out of you some more.”
I roll my eyes.
Voices sound from outside the door and I freeze, straining to listen. Hearing my dad’s deep voice, I race to the door, ready to fling it open but Zadyn is there in an instant, his hand closed over my wrist. He shakes his head and lifts his pointer finger to his lips. I hold his gaze as we eavesdrop on the conversation.
“Well? Is she a witch?” Dad asks in his familiar husky voice.
“I could sense witch blood in her, Majesty. Though it was very quiet.”
“Black blood?” he presses.
“That I cannot glean, sire, not upon a first attempt, even with the elixir. There is a heavy glamour over her, one that I may only hope to undo in time. I do know that she is not of this world. She comes from the human realm, as she claimed.”
A pause ensues. I hold my breath.
“Could she ride? With the proper training, of course.”
“I cannot say with certainty, sire. The glamour is too thick. It would be a danger to the girl’s life if she attempted to bond the dragon without black blood.”
“She bleeds red,” says another voice I recognize as Jack’s. My heart clenches painfully.
“I have seen glamours affect eye color, skin color, blood color, even scent. Magic is a very powerful thing. I would rule out nothing at this point.”
“And this doe-eyed, lost little girl act? Is she mad or just a convincing actress?” Jack asks. “How many Blues have come forward over the years claiming to be the Dragon Rider to satisfy their own inflated sense of pride? How many idiots have lost their lives trying to wake her?” he says in disgust.
“I sense disorientation in her, Majesty. She is frightened and fatigued. If she is a Blackblood, she certainly isn’t aware of it. Itwould take a skilled witch to be able to fool a sensor such as myself into a false reading.”
“Not to mention it would be an act of treason,” Jack adds with a bite to his voice.
“I have been at this longer than you have been alive, young Captain.” Her voice is lightly amused. “I sense no malice from her. Instead, I sense a tenderness for you, my King. She has told all that she knows.”
“What do you propose we do with the girl?” the king says.
“She needs to be questioned further,” Jack says mildly.
“I disagree, Captain. Torturing the girl isn’t going to do any good in waking her magic or prying out answers she doesn’t have. Put her to work around the castle. Keep eyes on her. Her magic will show itself in time. In the right environment, asafeenvironment,” she says pointedly, “she may blossom and prove to be the one you seek.”
“And if she’s a danger?” Jack presses.
A long silence ensues.
