A dragon pearl rested on a table. That was strange. Why would there be a dragon pearl here?
Jason lifted it, feeling the heat radiating from it, the smooth surface, and he studied it. It had a dark color, but glowing as it was, he couldn’t tell if it was black or a deep red.
Holding on to the dragon pearl, he was tempted to use it, but decided against it. He set it back down. He didn’t know which dragon it belonged to, and because of that, he had no interest in trying to use it.
His sister was still sleeping soundly, and he was thankful. She breathed heavily and he watched her for a few moments, relieved she would finally have a sense of peace. It might frighten her being in Dragon Haven, surrounded by all the dragons, but at least here, he wouldn’t have to worry about her finding food or water or safety. He wouldn’t have to worry about her staying warm.
The only thing he had to worry about was her reaction to what he intended to do.
He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to piece together what he might say.
He got lost in thought, thinking of the dragons, of his mother and the rest of the villagers who had been carried away, of the attack and what had happened, when Kayla rolled over.
“How long have you been watching me?” she asked.
“Not long,” he said.
“It’s strange, you know.”
He smiled, laughing softly. “It probably is strange.”
Kayla sat up, running her fingers through her hair before taking a deep breath. “I suppose I did the same thing with Mother almost as often.”
“You kept her alive.”
“We both did.” She yawned. “Had you not been able to hunt and catch food, neither of us would’ve survived.”
“It’s not going to be that hard here,” he said.
Kayla looked around and sat upright, everything in her body a little stiffer than it had been before. It was almost as if she remembered where she was. “I don’t think I can stay here,” she said.
“Where would you go?”
“Jason, there are dragons here. A lot of them.”
“There are. And good people. I’ve worked with them.”
She watched him, resting her hands on her lap. “I still can’t believe you got involved in all of this.”
“I know how hard it is to believe, and I know you still aren’t sure what to make of what I told you about Father, but it’s true. He was killed by one of the Dragon Souls.”
“Why would they do that? This is our father you’re talking about. He wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
“As far as I can tell, he killed Father because he discovered the ice dragon egg. Or perhaps he discovered another egg.” If it was in Varmin as they believed, then it might’ve been the iron dragon. And if that were the case, then… His gaze drifted down to his hand. “I don’t know that it matters anymore. Father got caught up in something that was beyond him, much like we are.”
“Which is why we shouldn’t get involved,” she said. “There are places we can go. I’ve heard stories of places like Varmin, or—”
“I can’t go to Varmin. There’s another town, on the base of the front side of the mountain, that you could go to if you want.”
“How do you know about that?”
“The first time I disappeared. That was where I ended up.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe you could travel that far.”
“A lot of that was falling rather than traveling.” When she frowned, he smiled. “I got caught in an avalanche.”
“Like the one that nearly killed us?”
“Not quite like that one, but it pushed me down the slope of the mountain. I was lucky to stay ahead of it.”
“How did you return?”
“The dragons.”
Kayla got to her feet. She started to pace around the small room, every so often pausing and looking over at him before starting to pace again. “I don’t know what to make of all of this. From what I can tell, you intend to leave me here.”
“I do.”
“Because you think you can somehow go after the others.”
“I have to,” he said.
“What about me? Why can’t I go with you?”
“Do you think you could?” He didn’t really intend for her to come with him, but he also didn’t want to tell her that she couldn’t. Kayla was strong, and after everything she’d done throughout the village, he didn’t want her to think that he didn’t believe in her capability.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know what you intend to do, but I suspect it’s dangerous.”
“I don’t really know how dangerous it might be. Everything they tell me suggests that it would be.”
“Could you die?”
“Maybe,” he said.
“I need to go with you.”
“Kayla—”
She turned, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “It’s my fault. I know you say it’s not. But I’m the one who went to the marshal. Had I not, there would’ve been nothing.”
“That’s not true. They were coming after me regardless. And that’s why I know it’s my fault. Had I not stayed in the village, they would’ve had no reason to come for us.”
Kayla held his gaze. “Whatever you plan, I’m going with you.”
“I don’t know that I’m going to be able to survive it,” he said.
“Then don’t go.”
“I don’t know that I can not go, either.”
She watched him before taking a seat next to him. “I don’t understand. How does it come to this?”
“I don’t know, either. Dragons, I suppose.”
She shivered, staring at her hands for a long moment. “What’s it like?”
“What’s what like?”
“Using the magic.”
He smiled. It was a good question, and one he didn’t have a good answer for. “It’s strange. It’s a way of feeling some part of yourself that you never knew existed. It’s there, the power that stirs deep within you, and when you draw upon that which fills the dragons, it…”
He flushed. He’d never spoken about what it felt like when he used the power of the dragons, and talking to his sister about it was surprisingly difficult. Perhaps that was because of their upbringing, the fact that both of them believed they’d lost so much to the dragons, or perhaps it was the fact that he just didn’t like talking about it.
“You can tell me. It’s okay.”
“I like it.” He stared at his hands for a moment before looking up. “When I first realized I had the ability to use that power, I was scared. After everything we believed, everything we’d been told about the dragons, I couldn’t help but be scared. Even now, I’m not quite sure what to think. What to believe. They are powerful, but they aren’t dangerous to us.”
“You know how the dragons attacked.”
“I know how they attacked, but I don’t know that they ever attacked us intentionally. We were caught between sides.”
That was what he’d been able to uncover, though it still didn’t make all that much sense why his people had stayed where they had. Could they really have been so afraid of the dragons that they’d remained? Someone within the village must have known about the dragons, and must’ve known what they were capable of doing long before, and yet no one had made that claim.
“And that doesn’t scare you now?”
“Should it?”
“What happens if we’re caught between sides again?”
“I think we already have been,” he said.
“You don’t have to go after them,” she said.
“You know I do.” Jason leaned back on the bed, resting his head against the wall. “Even though most in the village weren’t always the kindest to me, and they didn’t really help when we needed it, they were still our people. And there’s Mother.”