But then, the ice dragon had claimed he was able to use knowledge Jason possessed, and by doing so, he was able to know much the same things that Jason knew.
He wished there would be something else they could do, and yet, as they flew, he couldn’t help but feel as if he were doing what was necessary. In order to help the dragons, he was going to have to secure the protection of Dragon Haven.
When he did, what was going to happen?
Jason worried it was going to require an all-out battle, and yet, perhaps that was what was necessary. In order to protect these misfits, the dragons that had taken on characteristics of their land, he thought it might be.
“How much farther do we have to fly?” David asked.
“I don’t really know. I can feel the effect of where we’re heading, but I don’t know how long it will take us to reach it.”
“You’ve been here before?”
When Jason had shared with him where they were going, David had seemed almost excited. It was enough for Jason to consider not allowing David to come with him, and yet, he needed help, and he thought David would be able to offer either assistance or information.
More than anything, they needed that information. They needed to have some leverage over the Dragon Souls. But there was another reason he’d agreed to allow David to come.
“I’ve been here once, but it wasn’t by my doing.”
“How did you end up here, then?”
Jason said nothing. In the distance, there was a sense of change. It was a shifting on the air, that of warmth, and he allowed himself to breathe it in, feeling the way it changed the air, the nature of the power as it flowed through him.
It was strange, unique, and strong.
The more he pulled on that sense, the more he was aware of it, and the easier it was to know he was traveling in the right direction.
But that wasn’t all. There was something else in the air, some other sense, and the longer they flew, the more certain he was he detected it.
It had something to do with the dragons, but what?
He could feel it. It was a sense of power that flowed through him and energy that radiated around them.
And then it faded.
A barrier. That was what it was.
Dragon Haven was a large city, though not as populated as what the area could contain. There were hundreds of structures, all of them blending into the forest, the curves so different than what was found in his village. Black obsidian sculptures were scattered around the city, many of them of dragons. Those sculptures drew his attention even from the sky. One of the structures was larger than the rest, situated near the center of the city. It was where he had met Sarah.
Coming back to Dragon Haven left him feeling guilt. Mostly it was because he felt as if he had betrayed Sarah and Henry and even William. He had denied the existence of the ice dragon. He had denied the presence of that dragon, and he had withheld knowledge of it from them.
Would they forgive him?
He didn’t have any idea what they were going to find, or what sort of greeting they would get, and as they approached, Jason realized he didn’t even know how to find anyone.
But then, it didn’t matter.
Five dragons suddenly leapt into the air. They came in formation, a massive golden-scaled dragon leading the way. The others all had similarly bright colors, red and yellow and green and orange, and they streaked toward them.
Jason glanced over at the iron dragon. He was still with them, and yet he had been silent during their travels. They had not needed to rest, and though he didn’t expect the iron dragon to need rest, the moment that the other dragons approached, he worried what would happen.
On a whim, Jason reached for the ice dragon pearl. He pulled on power through it, and he sent it surging out from him, toward the dragons, sweeping into the nearest of them. There was no resistance.
He worked his way over the dragons, one by one, and he found no resistance as he had with the other dragons, telling him that they were all untouched. None of them had been tormented, tainted the same way that the Dragon Soul dragons had been.
As the dragons approached, Jason sat upright. He stared, worrying about what they might uncover.
He needn’t.
Sarah rode the lead dragon.
She looked as he remembered. She had bright blue eyes, high cheekbones, and golden hair that hung down her shoulders, fluttering in the breeze. She was beautiful. A band of silver ringed her head, catching the sunlight. He smiled at her, but she seemed not to notice.
“Jason?” she breathed out as they approached. Her gaze swept over the dragons, lingering on David, before looking back at him.
“Hey there,” he said.
“What are you doing?”
“I found a pair of dragons.”
She stared at the ice dragon. “I thought you said you didn’t find a dragon.”
He said nothing. She whistled and the dragons turned, banking, heading toward the ground. The ice dragon and the iron dragon followed, and he had a sense that even if he were to want to, he wouldn’t be able to guide them any other way. They would have to follow the course of the other dragons, and if they didn’t, he worried they would be attacked. He stayed with them, landing alongside the others.
When he was down, he slid down the ice dragon’s side. “You need to take to the air.”
“This place does not cause any discomfort,” the ice dragon said.
“It doesn’t?”
“I feel pressure, but I am free to draw upon the cold.”
“If you need to fly higher in the sky, go ahead. I can summon you if I need you.”
The dragon rumbled and Jason turned toward Sarah. She was dressed in a deep green cloak, and her hair hung in a braid. She was lovely, as lovely as she had been when he’d seen her before.
“What happened?” she snapped, watching him before taking in the dragonskin clothing for the first time. “A Dragon Soul? You’re dressed like a Dragon Soul. And not just a Dragon Soul, but one of their Aurans?”
Jason frowned at that and shook his head. “I don’t know what that is.”
She reached forward, grabbing his cloak, and twisted the pin on it. “This. It marks one of the Aurans…” She paused, studying David. She grabbed for the bearskin, touching it a moment before shaking her head. “I see. You brought one to us.”
“He has information we could use,” Jason said.
“I’m sure he does, but do you know what he might do to us when he gets the chance?”
“I have spoken the words of the flame,” David said.
Jason shook his head, turning toward him. “Would you stop saying that? That doesn’t mean anything to them any more than it does to me.” He glanced over at Sarah, but her face had gone pale. “What is it?”
“The words of the flame. It’s a vow. What exactly did he say?”
“Something about not hurting me. Not hurting the dragons. Not betraying me. I don’t really remember. It was in the middle of me threatening to kill him.”
That wasn’t entirely what he’d done, though it was near enough. He wasn’t really going to kill David, though he would have left him behind with a broken leg. He had no interest in harming the Dragon Souls, but he did want to ensure that the Dragon Souls didn’t harm the dragons. If it came down to either him or the Souls, then he was more than willing to do what was needed.
“You managed to get an Auran to speak the words of the flame?”
“He wanted to study the dragons,” Jason said.
She frowned again. “About that. What kind of dragons are these?”