"It's going well, I think." I accepted the cup he offered me. "I?—"
Before I could continue, Moki suddenly leaped from Saphir's shoulder, sailing through the air to land in my lap with surprising delicacy given his energetic launch. The impact was gentle, but it still startled me enough that I nearly spilled my tea.
"Careful," Saphir cautioned, though there was amusement in his voice. "Moki has been quite eager to see you again."
"Hello to you, too, Moki," I said, setting my cup aside to properly greet the little guy. As I stroked his silky fur, I felt the now-familiar brush of his consciousness against mine.
Unlike the dragons' direct mental communication, Moki projected images and impressions rather than words. This time, I was flooded with a cascade of vibrant pictures of stone circles and strange symbols that reminded me of the ones carved on the floor of the Circle of Fate.
Come to think of it, they resembled the ones on the medallion I wore as well.
"Moki, please be patient," Saphir chided. "Both of us can't speak to Kailin at the same time."
The flow of images didn't stop right away, but it settled into a gentler stream that was easier to process. I caught glimpses of what appeared to be Moki's memories: of him perched on Saphir's shoulder during some kind of ceremony, then the two of them strolling through a vast library filled with scrolls, and then Moki watching a tiny dragon hatchling emerging from its shell.
I gasped. "It's so small and cute."
"Moki loves the hatchlings," Saphir said. "And I have to admit that they are adorable for a couple of weeks, but they grow fast, and feeding them is not an easy chore." He leaned forward. "After bonding with your dragon, you will be introduced to the nursery and help take care of them."
"I know. Onyx told me. I'm looking forward to it."
The shaman nodded and then pointed a finger at Moki. "Last image, and then you leave Kailin alone so I can talk to her."
Moki chattered something that sounded like a protest and projected an image of me standing in a circle surrounded by dragons. In the vision, I appeared to be speaking, though I couldn't hear the words. With one last chirp in Saphir's direction, Moki left my mind and settled into my lap exactly like Chicha used to do, curling up and closing his eyes.
"What did he mean by that?" I looked up at Saphir.
"A possibility," he said. "One of many potential futures, my dear Kailin."
I wanted to ask more, but Moki began to purr, or at least make a sound reminiscent of purring, though slightly more melodic.
"Now that we can finally talk, tell me about your progress in communicating with dragons."
I was sure Commander Ravel had kept the shaman informed, but perhaps he wanted my perspective.
I took a sip of tea to gather my thoughts. "I'm completely comfortable flying with Onyx now. My fear of heights is almost gone, at least when I'm in the air. Oddly, I still get vertigo sometimes when looking down a steep ravine when on solid ground, which doesn't make sense. I should be much more afraid when I'm higher up in the air."
Saphir smoothed his hand over his beard. "That's great progress, and I'm happy to hear it. Now, what about your ability to communicate with dragons other than Onyx?"
"I can speak to any dragon as long as I have visual contact with them. But Onyx is the only one I can communicate with from a distance. He can reach out to me from quite far, and I can both respond and initiate a connection to him from anywhere as well, it seems." I hesitated, then added, "Is that normal? To have a stronger connection with one specific dragon who isn't bonded to me?"
Saphir considered this, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Not entirely unusual, but certainly noteworthy. Perhaps it has to do with you meeting Onyx for the first time under traumatic circumstances. You might have been more receptive because of what you'd just experienced."
"I was sixteen. The ability to communicate with dragons is not supposed to manifest before the age of twenty."
That was why pilgrims had to be at least twenty but no older than twenty-four.
"That is true for most," Saphir said. "But you are also a shaman, so the rules are different for you."
My gut clenched. "You are saying that as if it's a fact rather than a possibility."
He gave me a kind smile. "I know it's hard to accept, but just the fact that you can communicate with dragons you are notbonded with is enough to indicate that you are more than a rider. You should accept it."
"I don't want to be a shaman." I sounded like a petulant child in my own ears.
"There are many upsides to the position," Saphir said. "I've been looking for a new shaman for a very long time. Elucia will be safer with multiple shamans instead of just one."
Now he was making me sound unpatriotic.
