"We are short on riders, so a dragon might accept you the way you are and bond with you despite your handicap, but the connection will have to grow over time, and dragons are not patient creatures. Go now and practice opening your mind."
Shovia stood, looking unsure and determined at the same time. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll do my best."
After she left, Nyxath's voice returned to my mind alone. "She's formidable and will make an incredible rider. Her dragon will have much work to merge with her properly, but she is well worth the extra effort."
Morek arrived like a force of nature—eager, restless, barely able to contain himself.
"Shaman Saphir! Your Majesty!" He practically threw himself into the chair, then caught himself and tried to sit more formally. It lasted about three seconds before he was shifting again, unable to hold still.
"This one vibrates like a plucked string," Nyxath observed with amusement.
"Cadet Wagoy," I said. "Take a breath."
"Sorry, Shaman Saphir. I'm just—this is—I can't believe I'm actually here." He gestured at the roof, the auroras, the massive dragon watching him with patient eyes. "I passed the written tests. I never thought I'd pass the written tests."
"You underestimate yourself."
"Everyone keeps saying that. But I don't know what they base it on. My scores were always below average. I'm not good at studying facts and formulas and all that stuff. I'm an action-driven guy."
"If everyone had the same strengths, the world would be very boring,"Nyxath spoke directly into his mind. "Your strength lies in motion, in action, in the immediate moment. Books and papers do not capture how your mind works.You are the master of speed.Not just physical, though you have thatin abundance, it's speed of reaction and decision. When others are still processing, you have already moved."
"That's exactly right." Morek stared at my dragonia with fondness in addition to a healthy dose of fear and respect. "Sometimes I move too fast, though. I don't think things through."
"That is the shadow side of your gift. Every strength has one."Nyxath blinked. "The bond will help you find balance. Your dragon will be your anchor when you need to slow down, and your wings when you need to fly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed his head. "I'm looking forward to the bond."
"Of course. Now go and send in the pattern-finder."
Codric approached with the easy grace of someone accustomed to social situations. He bowed to me, bowed to Nyxath, and settled into the chair as if he'd been invited to attend court.
"Shaman. Your Majesty." A slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. "I assume you've saved the best for last?"
"Confidence," Nyxath observed. "Or the appearance of it."
I smiled. "With this one, it is often difficult to tell the difference."
"You like to give the appearance of the irreverent clown," I said aloud. "But you are hiding a sharp mind and an incredible ability to memorize things."
"A fool who plays at wisdom is tiresome," Codric said. "A wise man who plays the fool is invisible. I prefer invisibility."
"Why?" Nyxath's question cut through his easy demeanor.
For a moment, something raw flickered in his eyes. "Because invisible people see things others miss." He recovered quickly, the smile returning. "It's useful. Especially for someone like me."
"Someone like you," Nyxath repeated. "A foreigner in a foreign land? A prince's cousin playing at being common? Or the man whose mind sees patterns everywhere, even where none exist?"
Codric didn't look surprised that Nyxath knew who he was. Alar must have told him that I had plucked the information from his head back at the Circle of Fate.
"Patterns always exist," he said. "Sometimes they're just hard to decipher."
"And sometimes humans imagine them to impose order on chaos." Nyxath's voice was gentle, probing. "You say that the temple symbols are a language.You also suspect dragons of murdering their riders, based on patterns that are easily explained away."
Codric's expression tightened, but he didn't cower before the queen of the dragons, even though he was accusing her people. "The pattern was there. The explanation might have been wrong, but the pattern was real."
"Pattern recognition can be a true gift or a delusion." Nyxath lowered her head. "Patterns can illuminate the truth, but they can also obscure it. The wise pattern-finder knows when to trust what he sees and when to question it."
"How do I know which is which?"
