I felt incredibly lucky to have him by my side.
He chuckled. "You are the lifesaver, my love. You saved countless lives last night."
The young cadet stationed outside Saphir's office, the same one from my previous visits, looked up as we approached. "Cadet Strom," he acknowledged with a nod. "Cadet Tekum?"
"I'm just here to assist Kailin. She was drained by the experience, and climbing eleven floors has been difficult for her. I can wait here, if that's okay with you." Alar waved a hand at the two chairs facing a fireplace that was not lit. "Or I can wait in the corridor."
"You can wait here." The cadet rose to his feet.
As the guy opened the door to Saphir's inner office, I wondered why the shaman didn't have a permanent assistant and chose a second-year cadet instead.
Stepping through, I saw Saphir standing by the window with Moki perched on his shoulder.
At my entrance, the shaman turned and dipped his head in greeting as if I were already a shaman and he was paying me respect. Moki clapped his tiny hands, then jumped off Saphir's shoulder and onto the desk, where he proceeded to bounce up and down while projecting festive images into my mind, with many cat-monkeys like him dancing in a beautiful meadow with fauna that wasn't found on Aurorys.
"That's enough, Moki," Saphir admonished.
Looking like a chastised kid, Moki changed the images to a party with human children dancing in a more familiar environment.
"Forgive him," the shaman said. "Moki gets overexcited sometimes. He believes that the incredible manifestation of your power last night warrants a celebration." He waved at the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit down. You look ready to collapse."
"Thank you." I gratefully sank into the chair. "If not for Shovia and Alar waking me up, I think I would have slept until tomorrow. The experience was draining." It was my subtle way of complaining about his summons.
I believed that I'd earned the right, but on second thought, I realized that I hadn't done anything all that amazing. I hadn't fought the Shedun like the riders and the ground forces had, and they were all still working on clearing the dead and getting help for the wounded.
"You can return to bed after we are done here," Saphir said. "I wanted to get your perspective before you had a chance to forget any details of what you experienced. Onyx reported that you'd severed contact the moment he told you things were under control."
"I didn't want to stay and see the carnage," I admitted, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath before leveling them at the shaman. "How many casualties?"
His face fell. "The numbers are still coming in, but so far we’ve counted one hundred and six patrol members and sentries that were murdered before the main attack. During the battle itself, one hundred and eight ground force soldiers fell fighting the Shedun, and there are many wounded soldiers who are being treated by the healers. Some might not survive. One dragon was injured by a projectile but managed to land safely rather than crashing. The healers are tending to him now, and his prognosis is good. We don't have the number of civilian casualties yet, but thanks to you, there weren't many."
I swallowed hard. "That's still too many."
"It is," Saphir agreed, "but it could have been much worse. Without your warning, the death toll would have been in the many thousands. The people of Podana were saved, Kailin, thanks to you and your foresight."
I shifted uncomfortably at his praise. "I'm not sure it was foresight. Since I started drinking the tea, I have been dreaming about merging my consciousness with that of small animals and birds. It was disturbing, especially since most of what they did was hunt or be hunted. I must have been tuning into their consciousness somehow. The alarm they experienced when they sensed the Shedun emerge from the ground must have reached me. I saw the Shedun amassing forces outside of Podana, preparing for the attack."
For a long moment, Saphir regarded me with an unreadable expression.
"What?" I finally asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Have you eaten today?" he asked, the abrupt change of subject catching me off guard.
"I... yes. Alar brought me a breakfast tray to bed." I hesitated. "I didn't have much of an appetite at first, but Alar insisted that I needed to replenish my reserves and practically spoon-fed me."
"Good," Saphir nodded, looking oddly smug, as if he was privy to some private joke. "I'm glad to hear that Alar is a good partner."
"He's the best."
Saphir's expression grew even more self-satisfied, as if he was taking credit for matching us up.
"I didn't," he said. "It was Fate's doing."
I felt heat rush to my cheeks. "You're reading my mind again."
"Not on purpose," he assured me. "You were just thinking very loudly. But considering that you've just shared yourdreams with hundreds of dragons and some of their riders, you shouldn't be too bashful about me taking a peek."
"I still don't understand how that happened." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "It wasn't voluntary, at least not in the beginning. I was just dreaming. But when I realized the danger, I cried for help, and luckily Onyx heard me even though he was asleep. I was also able to reach Nyxath per Onyx's instructions."
