He shifted to face me. “I find that approach more conducive to fostering cooperation and redirecting the behavior of others in a favorable way.”
“Cooperation through compassion and tolerance, rather than aggressiveness or striking a good offense and throwing your power around?”
“Well, there is a line. And I’ll draw it if I have to. Just like you will, hmm?”
“Yeah. Just like I will.” I lifted a shoulder. “Comes with the whole draconic heritage thing.”
“Draconic instincts lean predominantly toward might and enforcing that through challenge and aggression. But draconicleadersdo what you are able to do—walk that line between the need for might and diplomacy. You see the bigger picture, you see a great deal more.” He smiled. “Much like your father and grandmother.”
I started at his observations. His way-too-accurate observations.
Of course, he noticed my reaction and questioned, “You don’t wish to be that leader they expect of you as Crown Heir?”
“I… right now I’m here at Loxley Academy to explore and experience a whole bunch of things.”
“I see. You view your expected role as an infringement upon your freedom.”
“And you don’t? We’re in a similar situation. Our roles and lives were decided for us at birth.”
“Yet we have the means to transcend that. When we take power we can affect change. Even before if we’re smart about it.”
“I… maybe.” I shifted my weight on the couch. “Let’s not… that’s not what I brought you here for.” And it was definitely not something I wanted to get into. It didn’t exactly facilitate my bubbly, positive outlook that, despite the Keuric situation, I’d managed to maintain here.
I held out the river rock to him. “This is what I wanted to show you.”
“It’s truly stunning,” he uttered, taking in the shimmering pastel-blue object that was fused with glacial magic. The surface was like stars floating through frost.
“It’s neutral to the touch,” I assured him. “No freezer burn sensation for you.”
“I’m aware,” he said with a smile. “I can sense it.” He reached out and ran his fingers lightly over the smooth surface. “Besides, when your magic battled against mine earlier, it was very far from being unpleasant.”
I had to suck in a breath as our gazes clashed, the intensity rushing over me.
His eyes glinted as he felt it too—a primal pull between us. One that didn’t want to be denied.
He looked away, then dropped his gaze to the river rock. “So, talk to me about this, why you wished to show it to me.”
I cleared my throat. “This was forged in the glacial torrents of the Ice Dragon Quadrant in the Dracoryn Realm. It’s also fused with Elyrren Vortimer’s magic.”
He arched an eyebrow, that deeply curious look of his blazing forth. “It’s imbued with a powerful enchantment? I can’t feel it. Not at all.”
“Yeah. That’s intentional on her part. It presents itself as a pretty rock to look at, the sparkling aspect just coming off as an art piece. It’s similar to what you said before about leaders notalways being about might. She’s more about careful calculation and not always showing her hand. This river rock fits in with that in a way.” I gazed at it in wonder as I told him, “When activated, it envelopes the user in a dome of the strongest draconic ice-frost fusion in existence. It also has the ability to not only defend against magical attacks, but to absorb said magic into the dome and further strengthen it. The only exception would be Celestial magic that could penetrate and harm its integrity. It can guard against supernatural might.” I eyed him pointedly. “And even sunlight.”
He started. “You wish to gift this to me?”
“Yeah. It can help you. If your Sunveil Crown fails or isn’t charged for whatever reason, you call this forth and it’ll protect you, shield you. It can even be called, the dome erected, through anything. In fact, my grandmother gave this to me after I buried myself beneath several tons of my own ice when I was younger.” I winced. “The source of my claustrophobia.”
“This is extraordinary.” He laid his hand on mine over the stone and beamed out at me. “Alas, I cannot accept it, Evira.”
“Why not?”
“This was created for you by your grandmother. It is a familial object. Yours and yours alone, a draconic magical entity crafted for the protection of you.”
“So, objects created by one species can’t be shared among others?”
“That isn’t exactly—”
“You’re already in complete command of your abilities and power, so you’re not here at Loxley Academy for that, which leads me to believe you’re here to immerse yourself—and the Basilisk people by extension—in the larger supernatural world, to make more than just allies, but actual friends.”
