Fate of Dragons

Chapter Twenty-Five, Part II

Derol's face had reddened. "Yes, but it's not really like being a mage," he stammered. "I just use the stones."

"You learned bound magic?" Tesa asked.

"Just how to use the tiller stones for a boat," Derol said.

They had reached the large fire pit ear the tents that belonged to Malía and her party. She sat on a folded blanket near the fire, and the others found their own perches.

Tesa eyed Derol as he found his seat next to Amina. Derol could use magic. Although she knew that Yennar Lei's system of magic with spellstones allowed most people to use magic to some degree, it was strange to think that Derol could do it. First Astrid talking to dragons, now Derol using magic.

Malía added logs and kindling to the embers in the fire pit and set to blowing on them. Soon, flames consumed the kindling and licked their way up the larger sticks and logs.

Still warm from the bright sun overhead out in the middle of the spires, Tesa shifted backward, away from the fire. But when she glanced out the cave entrance, she saw the beginnings of the darkened sky. The storm clouds had begun to march over Saldive. A flicker of lightning flashed in the distance, and moments later, the distant rumble of thunder reached her ears.

As they talked, the storm slid across the sky until it finally covered all that they could see from where they sat under the overhang. Everyone in camp scurried to take shelter in the caves as the rain began to come down in sheets.

Malía led the discussion with input from the dragons, and pulled in different people as necessary. She even included some of the Yennar Leian mages who still remained as part of the effort to heal the dragon, when she needed to clarify some piece of information about Yennar Lei or bound magic. Though her questions were specific and did not give away the broader context of their conversation, Tesa was sure the mages were aware something was happening. The dragons and riders were still guests of Yennar Lei, but Tesa knew that would change as soon as they stole the eggs.

Their first point of discussion was getting the dragons and eggs away from Yennar Lei. Away from anywhere, in fact, that used bound magic. The island was the logical choice, for now.

The next problem, however, was deciding what to do in the long term, both for the dragons and riders, and for the eggs. There was some disagreement on that.

"Where can we go?" asked Neela, who had joined the discussion. "There aren't enough of us to take on the Karume ourselves. Not when they've got the advantage."

"You're right." Malía shook her head and frowned. "We can't take them on directly. Not without the mage guard to back us up."

Tesa listened to their words with a sinking heart. Until now, she had held out some hope that, once the lost dragons had been recovered and healed, they would all be able to return to Arethia and take it back. Dragons had, after all, been Arethia's defenders. But, as Malía pointed out, they weren't the only defenders. They'd worked in concert with the mage guard, and with that support gone, the dragons couldn't do it alone. That was what the Karume had counted on, when they'd infiltrated the mage guard and taken it over.

Now the dragons were cut loose from their home. They couldn't even stay in Yennar Lei, who claimed to be the dragons' original home. Tesa looked northward, thinking about Arethia's borders. If only they could sneak back in, and take the Karume by surprise the way the Karume had done to them. But they must be expecting some kind of attempt. How long had the Karume worked at their plot? Tesa recalled hearing whisperings of them for years, possibly her whole life. Their vision had been long-term. An idea began to take shape in Tesa's mind.