The Betrayed Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 2), Dan Michaelson [best books to read all time .txt] 📗

What if that were the reason Joran and his father had been traveling through the Djarn lands?

If only he were still in the city for me to ask.

Thomas glared at the Sharath. “I have been far more reliable than most. If you want to question my allegiance to the king, at least wait for me to leave.”

“You have been trustworthy,” the king said. “I think . . .” He cocked his head, and surprisingly, he looked over to me. “I think I should like to see you have an opportunity to prove yourself. You have the rest of the week. After that, I’m afraid we will proceed as if you are guilty of what the Sharath suspects.”

Thomas studied the king, glancing over to the Sharath, and then nodded.

With that, he turned, grabbing me by the arm, and guided me out.

16

We reached the edge of the wall surrounding the palace, and Thomas still hadn’t said anything. He marched forward with an intense gate, storming ahead and leaving me wondering whether I’d done or said something that angered him. I was frustrated though. He’d pulled me into this, making me a part of whatever danger that he was now a part of, leaving me stuck.

When we reached the walls, passing through, the two soldiers nodded to us, and I finally spoke up. “What was that about?”

“It’s about nothing,” Thomas said.

I stopped, turning away from him, looking back at the palace. Even now, the draw of the dragons within the palace called to me, a hint of energy I noticed simmering just beyond. It was faint, though not so faint I couldn’t trace the source of it, the power that stretched outward and away, an energy that suggested there was something more.

“This is more than nothing,” I said. “You pulled me in. You were obviously accused of doing something to the dragons, but—”

“I was accused, but falsely. And it matters not.”

I laughed bitterly. “It matters not? Do you really think I should believe that what you’ve done and pulled me into doesn’t matter?”

“It does not,” he said again.

I shook my head. “This isn’t my responsibility.”

“No? You’re a student at the Academy, are you not?”

“I am, but—”

“And your training at the Academy has permitted you to be a part of this. Don’t think that just because you’re a student, you don’t have a role to play here,” he said.

I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. “This isn’t about me having a role,” I said, looking back to the palace. I could still feel the dragons, and I focused on their energy, thinking about whether there was anything within them that I might be able to utilize, but even as I started to feel that power out there, I still couldn’t detect anything quite as strongly as I would have liked. “This is about you pulling me into some battle you have with the Sharath.”

Thomas growled softly. “That bastard thinks to make me the villain.”

“Are you?”

Thomas looked over. I was probably a little bit too direct with my questions, and given what he might be responsible for having done, I knew I should be more careful with him than I had been. “I’m not responsible for what happened with the dragons.”

“Who is? I’m not convinced it’s the Djarn.”

“No? Well, that’s what I intend to find out.”

I debated mentioning something to him about the Djarn and Joran and what they were doing in the city, but decided against it.

I didn’t know what to make of Thomas at this point, but I wanted to find the dragons. I’d been looking and had failed. Thomas intended to find them though.

That meant something to me.

He started off, leaving me, and I lingered for a moment, considering whether I wanted to chase him down. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else here that I might find, some answers I might determine, but even as he went, I didn’t know whether I should go with him or try to turn around and leave him to his own devices. But I was curious, and I had learned from Thomas.

That thought stayed with me. I’d gained something from him. Because of him, I knew how to reach for the dragons, how to feel for the power that existed, and I knew there was a connection I shared with the dragons that I hadn’t been able to fully uncover before.

There would have to be something more within that connection that I could master, though given what I’d uncovered in my time at the Academy, I was no longer certain I could do that with the assistance of the Academy’s instructors. I needed to have another opportunity to keep working with Thomas so I could continue my progression with the connection to the dragons.

More than that, I wasn’t entirely sure whether I trusted Thomas, considering what was taking place. To be honest, I didn’t know who to believe. It could be that I needed to trust the Sharath, though it was difficult for me to know who was right. I didn’t know either of them, really.

The Djarn were up to something.

I’d found them in the forest. Twice. And there was whatever Joran and his father had been doing in the city. Those occurrences were related. They had to be.

I chased down Thomas. When he looked over at me, I said, “I’m not exactly sure whether I can trust you with this, but I feel like I’m now a part of it, so if nothing else, I want to be given the chance.”

“You want to be given what chance?” he asked.

“The chance to decide whether or not you’re guilty.”

He grunted. “You too?”

“I figure if the king and the Sharath aren’t certain about you, I shouldn’t necessarily openly trust you,” I said.

“You should always question. Don’t trust everyone’s word as truth. Find your own truth.”

It sounded similar to what Joran had said.

He headed onward, and this time I kept pace with him, determined to see just what I