Page 19 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

“What is his name?”

Benji’s brow furrowed. “These dragons are different to ours, sir. They speak in pictures, not words. And they’re… I don’t know how to say it. But they make decisions with their hearts.” He frowned like the words weren’t right.

“Their instincts?” Donavyn asked carefully.

Benji brightened. “Yes! They… they are led, so they move. But they’re very strange. Their minds are in boxes.”

Donavyn frowned. “Boxes? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know how to say it. It’s like there are parts of their minds that are closed off.”

“That’s normal, son. Dragons won’t trust you with all of themselves—”

“No, no. I mean, parts of their minds that are closed off, even to them.”

“What?” I gasped.

Benji shot me a dark look, but turned back to Donavyn before he’d spoken. “I don’t really understand it. They will start to talk to me, then stop. They’ll trust me for a minute or two, then hurry away like they’re scared. I need to spend more time with them, sir.”

“I’m not sure that’s going to be possible, Benji. We’ve learned a great deal tonight, and not all of it good. It may not be safe to return to this herd.”

“But you said we were coming to find dragons to add to our herd, and some of these might go if they got to know us. They don’t seem to have bonded riders, or mates. None of them!”

Donavyn’s expression was confused. “None of them? How many of them were there?”

Benji bit his lip. “I don’t do good with numbers. But I think I counted twenty more than two times—and that was just the males. There are more females, but they’re in a different place, so I couldn’t count them.”

Donavyn’s head snapped back. “Fifty or more dragons, and none are bonded?”

Benji shook his head emphatically. “If I had more time, I could understand more. It’s just hard to be sure what they mean with the pictures, sometimes. I have to listen with my feelings. And sometimes those aren’t clear.”

Donavyn looked at me. In the bond, he felt as stunned as me.

They didn’t speak with words? None of them had bonds?

“Where did they come from?” Donavyn asked.

“That’s part of what I didn’t understand. They just showed me pictures when I asked. Places I don’t know. A few showed me long flights, so I think they came from a long way away. But I don’t know.”

Donavyn clawed a hand through his hair. “You’ve done well, Benji. Very well. You were faced with unexpected trials, and you didn’t lose focus. Well done.”

“Thank you, sir,” he said, and even in the dark, I could see his cheeks flush.

“What about Hanson. Did you see him?”

Benji tensed when I spoke. He didn’t turn to face me, just shot me a look from the side and spoke sullenly. “The black-haired Lord? No. I didn’t see him after you left.”

I opened my mouth, but Donavyn shot me caution through the bond. ‘He doesn’t know all the threads at play here. Better he doesn’t understand. He’s less likely to say something that could put you in danger.’

I closed my mouth, but my stomach panged because it was clear Benji was angry with me. And I could hardly blame him. Yet, I was sure, if he understood, he’d forgive me.

“Benji,” I started quietly.

“Sir, I need to speak with you. Alone,” Benji blurted.

Donavyn’s brows shot up. Then he looked at me. I shrugged. Donavyn scratched the back of his neck. “I’m reluctant to leave Bren here alone, Benji. A gentleman always makes sure the women are safe—”

“We can just go far enough to talk where she can’t hear,” Benji replied sullenly.