—Circle of Fate Inscription
My head was still spinning from the spiked tea when I realized I wasn't the only one standing. Through the haze, I saw familiar figures standing along with unfamiliar ones. At least twenty had risen, and that included every member of our quintet.
All five of us. It was impossible.
It defied every law of probability. Shovia, Codric, and I had no riders in our families, close or distant, and Kailin was terrified of heights. She was wonderful, brave, tenacious, smart,and capable in every way, but a dragon rider could not be afraid of heights.
And what about me and Codric? Two Elurians who not only lacked gifted relatives but also had the wrong constitution for Elucia's thin air.
I had a sinking suspicion that the selection wasn't done by Elu, or by the dragons, or even by fate. Saphir Fatewever decided who joined the flight academy based on whatever he saw inside the pilgrims.
Did it mean that everyone had the ability to bond with dragons, but Saphir looked for certain qualities in those he selected?
It was a blasphemous thought, but I wasn't a devout follower of Elu or Elurion, and I'd dealt with too many politicians and their schemes and deceits to believe blindly in anything I was told. I had no problem suspecting the shaman of lying or the Elucian equivalent, which was twisting things to serve a particular narrative without actually saying falsehoods.
The pilgrimage might have other goals than the ones stated.
Saphir Fatewever knew my secret, and yet he had chosen me. Why?
He stepped forward, Moki quiet and calm on his shoulder for a change. The strange creature's eyes seemed to glow, and I could have sworn that there was amusement in them. The cat-monkey wore an expression that said it knew something that the rest of us didn't, and it wasn't sharing.
The shaman waited until all chosen pilgrims stood in a semicircle in front of him.
"Twenty-four of you heard the call," the shaman's voice was clear and strong. "Twenty-four have been touched by Elu, who opened your inner eye to the truth of your calling and your inner ear to the mental summons of a dragon."
So, the voice I'd heard in my head belonged to a dragon? It had sounded like an old, gruff human.
"This might seem to you the pinnacle of your journey," Saphir continued, his eyes sweeping over our group. "You might think that you have been tested and found worthy, and you were, but only of being allowed to be tested further."
I had known that, expected that. But what I hadn't expected was for the shaman to discover my secret and still allow me into the academy.
Saphir Fatewever had decided to give me a chance.
Did it mean that he'd looked into my mind and found my plan worthy of his support?
"Shaman Saphir," I stepped forward, needing confirmation. "May I have a?—"
He raised his hand, cutting me off. "I don't have time for private consultations just now." His eyes twinkled with something that might have been amusement or warning. "The other pilgrims are waiting to learn their fates, and I don't want to make them wait longer than necessary." He leaned forward. "Everyone is hungry and eager to get to the Feast of Fate."
The truth was that I'd forgotten about my hunger, but now that he had reminded me of it, my stomach made itself known, twisting painfully.
Moki chittered something that sounded suspiciously like laughter, and I fought down a surge of frustration. I needed to know what the shaman was planning to do with me. Did he intend to expose me later?
Was this all part of some larger test?
A sound like thunder rolled across the summit, but it came from behind us rather than above. I turned to see several dragons landing beyond the circle's perimeter, and they seemed even more massive while on the ground than in the air.
"Ah, your transport has arrived," Saphir said, and this time there was definitely amusement in his voice. "Though I'm afraid we'll need to make multiple trips. We didn't expect such a bountiful harvest of potential riders, so we did not arrange for enough dragons to carry new cadets to the Citadel." He snorted. "Although the problem could be solved if the dragons carried two pilgrims in their talons in addition to the one riding astride them. But given that it will be your first dragon flight, I'd rather you experience it properly."
I shivered at the idea of being carried between those deadly talons, but it also reminded me of the pilgrims saved by the dragonia, and I wondered if the survivors were in the summit campsite or had been flown to the clinic in the Citadel.
"What about food?" Morek's question came out almost as a groan. "It's been three days..."
Saphir laughed. "Fear not, young man. The Dragon Force Citadel is well-stocked, and I can promise you that you will be glad of your empty stomach when you are taken on your first dragon flight."
Kailin uttered a groan, and I could only imagine how terrified she was by the prospect of being taken up to the sky. But she had been selected, so she had to find a way to overcome her fear. Perhaps the best way to conquer a phobia was a merciless plunge.
I wanted to reach for her, but given the gravity of the moment, my gesture would not have been appreciated.
