It was a mistake, and it was one he should have known better than to make.
“You’re safe now. She’s here. And we’ll help you with whatever you need in order to find your people.”
Jason could only nod.
They reached a low-roofed building with a gradual curve toward the ground. The side of the building had ornate decorations, carvings of dragons, and Henry paused before pushing the door open. He waved them inside, and Sarah and Kayla went first, but Henry stepped in front of Jason before he could follow them.
“You’re going to have to be involved.”
“I know,” Jason said.
“I don’t think you do. We let you leave before. When you uncovered the ice dragon, we left you in your village, and I didn’t think too much of it. I understood why you wanted to stay behind. You aren’t a part of this, and even though Therin had come for you, I thought that…” Henry let out a frustrated grunt. “I suppose it doesn’t matter what I thought. All that matters is that you went back home. You returned to whatever normal was for you. And then you hid the presence of an ice dragon from us. You risked Lorach finding them.”
“And I also went after them,” Jason said.
“You did. That’s the only reason I’m not shouting at you. You did everything you needed to, offering your protection to the dragons, and it was still almost not enough.”
“Were it not for me, we wouldn’t have freed as many dragons as we have,” he said.
He didn’t want to argue with Henry, but at the same time, he didn’t want the other man berating him for choices he’d made.
“You’re going to need to be involved,” he said again.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
Henry locked eyes with him. “Would you be here if your village weren’t destroyed?”
Jason looked down. He had told them that he was going to return. That he was going to help the dragons, and had meant it at the time. Yet the longer he was away, the longer he was separated from their fighting, the harder it was to join them. There was something about being in his home village, remaining behind, waiting, that had kept him away.
Maybe it was nothing more than his desire to see his mother to safety. But then, if that were the case, he could have brought her somewhere in the meantime. With the ice dragon, and with his newfound abilities, Jason would have been able to get her down to the base of the mountain to safety. To a place where she could rest, find a healer, and perhaps not have to worry about food ever again. He could have even brought her to Varmin, a place that would’ve been far more familiar to her.
Instead, he had waited. And then waited again. By the time he was done waiting, it was almost too late. And then the village was destroyed.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“And that’s fine. All of this is new to you. I understand how it can be difficult to know the right step to take. That’s why I wasn’t pushing. Until now. It’s time for you to become involved. The rebellion needs you. The dragons need you.”
Jason took a breath, meeting Henry’s eyes. “I’m here. I intend to get involved.”
“You’re here because you want help recovering your people. And I’m telling you I don’t know if there is any help for your people. Most people here in Dragon Haven don’t know Lorach the same way that I do. Most people haven’t escaped from it and haven’t experienced what it was like to be a Dragon Soul, and most people know nothing about the power that’s there. I do. And I know just how unlikely it is your people will even make it there alive.”
Jason frowned. “I have to believe that Therin intends to use them against me,” he said.
“What makes you think Therin views you as important enough to do that?”
“Because of how I defeated him.”
“Did you defeat him?” Henry held his gaze with a bright intensity that burned in his eyes. “We stopped him, sure. You freed several of the dragons. You disrupted the Dragon Souls. But did you defeat him?”
He no longer knew. Now it was difficult to think he’d done anything but fail. And now that he’d drawn Therin’s attention, inciting his anger, it didn’t seem as if there would be any way to reach those he wanted to help.
More than anything, that was what he was after. He wanted to help those who were now trapped, but how?
“If you know them so well, what do you suggest?”
“I don’t know,” Henry said.
He released Jason’s shoulder and they headed into the building.
Lanterns glowed on the walls, but there was something cold about it. It wasn’t so much the temperature in the room—with his connection to the dragonskin, he was plenty warm, and in Dragon Haven, the air was always a little bit humid, not at all like his home had been—but a feeling to the halls. Every so often, a sculpture of a dragon adorned the hallway. There were paintings, many of them depicting scenes of forest or trees or fields, some of them with buildings in the background. In all of the paintings, dragons flew overhead. They were of different colors, and in his time having experienced the dragons, Jason had seen such colors.
At the end of the hall, he stepped through a doorway, joining Sarah and Kayla in a small kitchen. Kayla sat at a round wooden table, her elbows resting on it and her head hanging down. Sarah grabbed food from shelves, moving quickly behind Kayla before setting various items down on the table. She forced a smile before turning away, grabbing a cup and filling it with water.
“How did you know we were here?” Jason asked.
“The dragons alerted us,” Henry said.
“How did they know?”
“The dragon you were riding has a unique signature. I think all of the dragons know his sense.”
Jason flexed his hand, the metal soft enough that he was able to move it. It still throbbed a little bit. Because of it, he had a connection to the iron dragon, and he could practically feel the dragon in the field.
He had never tried to focus on that connection, and wondered if there might be something more that he would be able to do with it. Could he use that connection in some way to help him know what the dragon was experiencing? Even if he could see what the dragon saw, that would be valuable.
“Thanks for welcoming us,” he said.
Jason took a seat across from Kayla. She was crying, and every so often, her body convulsed, tears streaming from her eyes. He reached across the table, grabbing her hands. He squeezed, trying to offer whatever reassurance he could, but she pulled away, shaking her head.
“Kayla…”
Jason didn’t even know what to say. It was his fault. The attack was because of him. Therin had come because of him. The people in the village had been captured because of him.
All because he’d chosen to return. It would’ve been easier and better for them had he remained away. Jason glanced over at Henry, noticing him watching. It was almost as if Henry knew what he was thinking, recognizing the pain Jason felt, and yet—
“It’s my fault,” she said.
Jason frowned at her. “What are you saying?”
Kayla looked up, rubbing reddened eyes. “It’s my fault.”
Jason squeezed her hand, and she didn’t pull away this time.
“It’s my fault. I’m the reason that they came to the village. I’m the reason they were there in the first place. You don’t need to blame yourself.”
She looked down. She pulled her hands away, squeezing her fingers together, twisting her hands. “It is my fault. After the first day we saw the dragon, or I saw the dragon, I didn’t even know what to say.” She choked off the sob. “You told me Father wasn’t killed by a dragon, but we knew what happened. We had heard. And…”