The Chosen One

• [ 34 ] •

"Yes, I am." I calmly say.

"You didn't think to tell us." Trent's dark voice almost makes me flinch. "Since when?" He demands.

"Technically, the first night I arrived, but I did not fully understand what was happening until my placement test." I respond. Marcus gapes in shock and Trent sends a glare my way.

"Who? And why didn't you tell us?" Marcus's voice gentler than Trent's, yet still stern.

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid of what might happen. As far as I know, this shouldn't be possible, but it is." I say. A take a deep breath before continuing. "I am able to communicate with Belvedere, Star, Ampiere, Nightshade, and Oceanus. But before you scold them, I begged them not to tell you guys. I was scared that I could be taken advantage of and I didn't want anyone knowing until I was ready." I say, forcing tears to spring in my eyes, my voice slightly cracking.

I know I just lied to my teachers, but I will not let the dragons take the fall for this one. I already know that they are not as appreciated as they should be, so I can't let them be troubled by their riders as well. I guess the dragons and I came to an unspoken conclusion not to tell anyone until it was time. Both of my instructors' eyes soften at the sight of my 'troubled' state.

"Alright, can you explain how you are able to do it?" Trent sighs out. I nod wiping away my 'tears'.

"I don't know if you know this, but nobody is able to enter my mind space without my knowledge of it. I don't understand how, but I can feel one's presence if they are trying to enter my head. So when I allow the dragons to enter my mind space, I am able to communicate with them. It hurts when my mind adjusts to the presence, the more powerful a dragon is, the worse the pain gets. The ache disappears after a minute or two, and that allows me to talk to dragons through both mind-link and bond-link." I say. They absorb the information in silence until Marcus speaks up.

"To answer your previous question, the two fainter strands may be your twin companions. The other strands may be colored based off of the dragon's scales. Try strengthening your ties to your three companions first before attempting to do it with the other dragons." He says. I nod, re-entering my mind space.

I understand what Marcus was talking about, the strands all correlate with the dragons I am able to communicate with. I grasp my hold on the pure white strand first. I keep my grip firm, tugging at it with a pull. The strand begins fading and an image of Belvedere in his strongest state is portrayed in my mind. I continue this process with the twins next, I begin with Artemis. When his image appears, I see a midnight, matte black dragon that is as large as Belvedere's strongest form. The same occurs for Apollo, yet he is a shimmering gold color, a very bright gold, not dull whatsoever. I move onto Oceanus, Star, Nightshade, then Ampiere. I see all of their images in mind after I successfully strengthened our mental connections.

'Why do I feel like I can sense you better than before?' Star asks me from her stable.

'I just strengthened our mental connection. I hope you do not mind.' I say to her, scolding myself for not asking for her permission first.

'It is alright Rose, do not fret.' She tells me. I sigh in relief. I open my eyes and nod towards Trent and Marcus, signaling that I am done. I look over to Lucas and see that he is straining his eyes, his muscles tensed. He opens his eyes and sighs in frustration.