Toward you or against you?
“I’m not sure.” I let out a breath. “It’s…Gideon.”
Behind the silver dragon, farther back in the den, a dragon moved forward slowly, eyeing me as if he recognized the name.
It had smoke-gray eyes to match its smoke-gray skin. Its eyes were half-lidded, and mist curled from its nostrils as he studied me. It almost felt as if it could see the shape of my mistakes before I made them. But beyond all that, I felt its gaze study me.
Gideon.The silver dragon repeated, and I nodded.
Gideon’s name felt like it snagged on something unseen
The bronze dragon’s presence pressed closer, not physically, but in attention.
Speak.
I licked my lips and glanced around the den as several sets of dragon eyes stared at me.
“Gideon helped us with the orcs. The priestess is forcing hordes of magical folk from their homes, and the orcs marchedtoward the Luminary. When we all had arrived, the Priestess had orchestrated the event to pin us against one another. Gideon stood between the orcs and Stonewick, giving his word that the Priestess wanted to see the battle and that she was indeed driving them from their homes.”
The den went very still, and the smoke-gray dragon exhaled. The mist in the air curled like a question.
You closed the circle.The silver dragon watched me.Unexpected things can come from unity.
“He’s come to me through my mind and physically as well. He confirmed my mom is alive, and he also offered something…a stone.”
The shadow stone?
I smiled and nodded, unable to hide my pride that the dragons continued to be one step ahead of us all.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to have it. But Gideon thinks it would be safer for us to keep it. And he feels that’s why the Priestess is hunting him.”
One of the reasons, no doubt.The silver dragon eyed the bronze dragon, and they both turned their eyes toward me.
We don’t want the Priestess to have the stone, but not because it’s all that powerful, but because she thinks it is. All of Shadowick thinks that stone holds something greater than their parts, and that’s where the power comes from. Believing in something apart from themselves that enables them to go deeper with the magic.
“So the stone isn’t dangerous by itself?”
Not particularly. Your world is full of objects you believe you can control or that can control you, the bronze dragon murmured.But the oldest magic is not held. It is agreed with.
The silver dragon stepped forward.If you believe in yourself, you can become more powerful than anything a stone can give the priestess.
The young dragon nearest me stirred, stretching one tiny claw in its sleep. Its wings twitched, and a soft pulse of warmth rolled through the alcove like a sigh.
“I don’t want you to tell me what to do,” I said, looking up at the elders. “I know you won’t. You don’t meddle. You’ve told me that before.”
The silver dragon’s eyes glinted.And yet you return.
“Because you comfort me. You remind me that this isn’t just about… me. You’ve been here. You’ve seen cycles. You’ve watched people make choices and live with them. And you’re still here.”
I let my gaze drift over their massive coils, their folded wings, the ageless patience in their eyes.
“Your mere presence gives me hope that we can do better.” I shrugged. “Maybe that’s my problem, though. I hope for things that…”
Hope isn’t foolish,the silver dragon said.It’s disciplined and trained. Hope is the most powerful tool humans have.
“My mother believes she’s saving us. She believes she’s doing what only she can do. And part of me understands it because I keep thinking… if it were that simple, wouldn’t I do it?
The question hung there, and the dragons didn’t answer immediately.
