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

dragon, pressing up against him. I frowned, and I felt a surge of power coming through the green dragon, something that alerted me to what he wanted.

To connect to the blue dragon.

Doing so would defuse the effort drawing on him, but then there was a real possibility that there would be more power coming off of this dragon and the yellow-scaled dragon. If the green dragon connected to the blue dragon, it might not only impact the latter, but the yellow-scaled dragon, as well. I looked around the dragon pen. There were five other dragons resting. About as many as usual.

Would there be some way for me to connect to each of them?

If I could cycle those dragons, connecting that power in a way that allowed the dragons to link, then perhaps whatever Cara was doing wouldn’t impact this one quite so much.

“Maybe we are all alike, but we have a respect for animals,” I said.

“Respect. You do realize the dragons are tools of war? That’s the whole purpose of us learning this magic. The king wants to use us. Wants to use the dragons. He wants to use power so that he can continue to expand the kingdom.”

I looked over to her, watching, and frowned. “You say that as if you oppose it.”

“Of course not,” she said, still sneering at me. “Honestly, Ashan. You really don’t understand.”

I could feel the power fading from the blue dragon.

Whatever Cara was doing was different than what Jerith had done. He had siphoned power off the dragon, but he hadn’t pulled it off nearly as quickly. Whatever she was doing was rapid, and it drained the dragon far more quickly than it should. I could feel the way power poured off of the pale blue dragon, the way energy cycled out, held in whatever canister she had, and could practically see the dragon fading.

“You need to stop whatever you’re doing,” I said.

“What exactly do you think I’m doing?” Cara asked, turning to me. “I’m out here practicing with the dragons, testing my connection, no differently than you or any others have done. Now, if that is all?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but then realized Brandel and Dominic were approaching. I didn’t like the idea of confronting Cara with them there.

More than that, I didn’t know if I had time to linger too much longer.

There was something I could do.

I focused on the pale blue dragon and formed a connection, adding that to the cycle of the others. The connection formed within me, finding the power that flowed from the green dragon, and sizzled as it stretched between the two of us. There was a burst of power and a flare of fast-fading heat; once it dissipated, I felt a resistance, but more than that, I began to feel the connection.

There came a brief surge of power coming off of the pale blue dragon, flowing out from him, and it joined with the others. Power stirred, and I began to draw off of what Cara held.

I summoned energy and began to pull power out of whatever canister she used. I could feel Cara attempting to resist, but now that this dragon was connected to the others—and me—it flowed away from her, then disappeared altogether. She staggered back, frowning as she stared at the dragon.

“Is he bothering you?” Brandel asked as he approached, looking over to Cara before sneering at me. “Because if he is, I am supposed to report him to the instructors. Especially given his ties to Thomas Elaron.”

Cara looked over. “Go ahead. We should report him. He comes out here and demands to know what I’m doing with the dragon. I’m sure he intends to sneak more of the dragons off to wherever he is taking them.”

I shook my head. “I’m not doing anything.” I could pull power off of what Cara held and didn’t need to link the other dragons, though I wondered if I could. I turned my attention to a smoky gray dragon resting near the far corner of the pen. He had considerable power, which shimmered, though I was unable to connect to it directly.

Power surged between me and the others, forming a connection. That energy built in a way that told me I could link to this dragon. Could I link to the others? I attempted to do so, but didn’t know if I had time.

Brandel stormed over to me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I looked up at him. “Practicing, the same as Cara told me she was doing.”

“Are we really to believe that’s what you’re doing?”

“You can believe it or not,” I said. “I don’t really care.”

He grinned at me. “Don’t you? You might care when you’re brought for dragon justice.”

“Really?” I asked, irritation filling me. I needed to be careful with him, not challenge him, but Brandel irritated me. “I have some credibility. I did reveal the presence of an infiltrator within the Academy. One I believe you worked with.”

Brandel frowned, and he glanced over to Cara before looking over to Dominic. “That was you? You’re the reason that Elaine was lost?”

Brandel approached, and there was a hint of power coming out of him, more than what I had detected before. It reminded me of what Cara had been doing. I could feel the way the energy was cycling out from him, circling away, and heading toward one of the dragons in the dragon yard. Rather than trying to connect to that dragon, I wondered if I could latch on to what he was doing.

I attempted to draw power off him and it circled toward me, filling me.

Brandel pulled on that power, resisting my attempt. He glared at me. “You’re making a big mistake here, Ashan.”

I shook my head. “I think you’re the one making a mistake. What would your father think of what you’re doing?”

Magic flared.

The power coming off of him was strong enough for me to feel the energy circling out from him, flowing in a way that was difficult