“So you’re here to give me a lesson, are you? Put me through dragon school?” She says it sarcastically, although actually, come to think of it, dragon school doesn’t sound like a wholly bad idea right now.
“Well, you’re half right. You need to be taught. And the best way to learn about dragons is through the eyes of a dragon. It’s how I learned, and my father before me. Each bonded dragon consents to do this only once. I thought it would be a child of mine, but…” A brief flicker of something passes over his face—the only clue as to how he is feeling. He was no doubt looking forward to killing the witch, and to the power he’d take as a result. Royals—they are all the same. She doubts the witch is any better.
Skylar folds her arms, and Zryan lets out an exasperated sigh. “Are you really this stubborn? You’d rather die than accept help?”
She contemplates him for a moment, trying to decide if sheisthat stubborn. She glances at Mjolnir, whose violet eyes are narrowed. Like he, too, is a bit annoyed with her. And okay, fine. She needs to try to survive, doesn’t she? For Cam, she needs to live.
“What do I have to do?” She looks between Zryan and Mjolnir, not sure who she’s supposed to be addressing here.
“You just need to open your mind.” Said as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Open my—” But she feels it then. A little like the sensation at the Blood Binding, there is something other forcing its way into her mind. It feels like she needs to step aside to make room for it—only she’s not sure where to step. Panic courses through her, the sense that she might be crushed under the weight of this presence.
She tries to fight it, to push it off. Her vision grows cloudy. She smells rain clouds and feels electricity dance along her scales. Her skin. Fuck. She pushes, her mind expanding as it fights in its desire not to be lost.
Stop.
It’s his voice. Thunder embodied.
Breathe.
A breath shudders through her and she feels herself settle, just a little. Feels his mind take over even more of hers, as the essence of her scrambles to the corners.
Good.
Is this what it feels like to be bonded?she wonders.
Not quite. But we are fortunate. It seems our minds are… compatible.
So you can hear me, then. Good to know.And good to know she can speak back, too. Easier than she thought it would be.Do all dragons share minds like this with their riders?
Only when we need to impart knowledge quickly.
She doesn’t get any more clarity on the subject before his mind bends hers to his will. Then she is somewhere else. The world looks different—up close, it is brighter, like she can see every individual particle that makes up the blue sky. But if she tries to look farther away, everything is obscured, so that she can only make out vague shapes and color. She is somewhere high, she knows that, and the air is warm on her scales.
Your skin. You must remember who you are.
But she can’t even figure out where she is in relation to the land around her, so remembering who—and what—she is isn’t exactly easy right now.
We are on the island—but I cannot show it to you as you will see it. Part of the trial is in navigating it for the first time unseen.
So that’s why it’s all… blurry.He makes a kind of huff sound— a laugh? Can dragons laugh?
There is a noise behind her, and she turns in the air to see a blue dragon swooping down over the ocean. Water rises to meet it, and the dragon snaps at the waves it makes, like it’s playing with them.
A water dragon, Skylar thinks.
Correct. One of the three Elemental Dynasties.
So it’s true, then? There are no Earth dragons?
There is a rumble again.That is a myth, nothing more. Earth dragons have never flown among us, despite what some may theorize.
So there are really only two Elementals—wind and water.Because the egg is all that remains of the Fire Dynasty.
Another dragon comes into view. A black dragon, bringing darkness and shadow in its wake.
A Lunar Celestial, Mjolnir says,with command of shadows and smoke that is poison to the touch. One to stay away from, if you can help it.Skylar watches the dragon whip through darkness, but she finds herself wondering about the errant Lunar Celestial, rumored to be flying around Vatra.
