Fate of Dragons

Chapter Thirty, Part II

She had to find Fenn and Glenna's father, and not just for his family's peace of mind. If he was in a position to do so, their father would help advance the cause of the riders in Arethia, and help with part of Derol's plan, too.

The bustling crowd of people thinned the nearer Tesa got to the dragon dwell, and the palace after that. Not only that, but among the people who now passed around her, Tesa noticed more and more of the glinting jewels at their necks, a sign they were Karume-trained mages. She tried not to stare, for, like on others she had seen, the jewels were not hanging by a chain or a cord around the Karume's necks, but were sunken into their flesh. Tesa shuddered.

Tesa reached the high bridge that crossed to the academy and joined the line of people shuffling across it. In the middle of the bridge, Tesa paused to gaze at the palace that crowned the top of Areth, looking down into the valley from the very place where the mountain split in two and spread outward to make the valley the Arethians called home. Then she hurried on.

Tesa had never officially met Fenn's father before. She had only seen him when Fenn pointed him out, either at the dining hall or in the mage academy. He had been a busy man, studying or teaching young mages almost all of the time. If he had managed to remain in his teaching position under the Karume rule, he would still have an office in the mage academy buildings.

Tesa kept her head down as she mounted the wide steps in the front of the academy building. Not many here would recognize her, since she hadn't yet taken any classes in a larger group before she'd been pulled away on the quest to find the dragons.

A bell tolled, signaling the end of class, and Tesa found herself among a flood of young mages as they poured out of the many rooms and halls. She relaxed a bit, knowing she could blend in and get lost in the crowd. She managed to stay among students right until she reached the hall leading to the professors' offices.

Second hallway, third door on the left, Fenn had said. Tesa kept her gaze down and did not meet anybody's eyes as she walked toward the office. The hall was quiet when she turned into it. All of the doors were closed, she noted with relief. Nobody would observe her peering at the doors. She scanned the names on the plaques that hung on each office door. She reached the third door on the left and bit her lip as she searched for the plaque. It had none. Her heart sank.

Fenn, Glenna, and their mother had all hoped that their father had been able to adapt under the Karume's rule and hide in plain sight. He did study bound magic, after all. But being the husband of a dragon rider, and the father of another one, couldn't have helped him, either. So where was he now? Tesa imagined him kept prisoner in a deep underground dungeon. She didn't want to think of other possibilities that were far worse.

Just in case, she knocked lightly on his office door. Then she tried the handle. The door swung open easily. Tesa looked around to be sure she was not observed, then entered the office.

It looked as though someone had recently been working in it, and had simply left to get a bite to eat and would be back shortly. Books lay open on the desk, and items were stacked neatly on the work table. Tesa narrowed her eyes and frowned at the office. It just didn't feel as if it had been abandoned all this time.

A clatter at the back of the office caused Tesa to jump, and she attempted to turn and run to the door. But before she could, a person emerged from an alcove that Tesa had assumed was a storage closet. It was a man with a long dark robe and rumpled black hair. He bent to pick up whatever had fallen, and turned as he straightened back up. He twitched and his eyes widened when he saw Tesa standing before his desk. Then he straightened and brushed at the front of his robe.

"Good afternoon," he said stiffly, as though he were attempting to be angry. "I apologize if you had to wait. My office hours are over for the day. The door should have been locked..." he leaned to the side and peered around Tesa out into the hall. "Can I help you?"