Jason took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The pain in his body began to retreat, leaving him with an ache, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. “I don’t know that you need me for that.”
“You’re the one who knows how to do it.”
Jason looked over at David. “He can help.”
“He’s an Auran,” Sarah said.
“An Auran who’s been helpful. An Auran who worked with me to fend off this attack.”
Jason didn’t know what motivated David, but he did believe David wasn’t going to harm them. And there was something David was not sharing with them, though he thought he needed to know what that something was.
“Will you help?”
David looked up. “I cannot.”
“Even after everything you’ve seen.”
“And what have I seen? I’ve seen rebels who continue to attack, who celebrate the dragons in that unhealthy way. I’ve seen a man my people would call a slave who has more power than he should. And I have seen Therin bring to bear a dangerous sort of weapon for Lorach.” David got to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. “These dragons are impressive, but they shouldn’t exist.”
“Without them, we wouldn’t have survived.”
“On the contrary, without them, none of this would have occurred. There would’ve been no need for a fight. There would have been no need for you to get involved.”
“I’m sorry I got involved.”
David turned and watched him, saying nothing for a long moment. “You should not be.”
Heat exploded around him and he twisted his hands in the same movement Therin had made, and flames circled him. He disappeared on a blast of fire.
Jason stared at where he had been.
“What now?” Sarah asked.
“Now I return home.”
“Even after what you know?”
“I know the dragons will need my help,” he said. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that was true. He would do whatever it took to offer that protection to the dragons. The ice dragon would be a part of it, and if they could free more of the dragons, then he would. It wasn’t for him to decide what would happen then. The dragons would choose. Regardless of what Dragon Haven thought, they would make up their own mind.
The forest in the distance caught his attention. The dragon there would need help and protection. There were other hatch mates that would need the same. The ice dragon would be a part of that. The iron dragon, too.
Jason glanced down at his hand. The dragon pearl had molded onto his flesh, forming a second sort of skin. It had encircled the entirety of his hand, all the way down to his wrist. It was a deep gray, and strangely, he was able to flex his hand. Every so often, he thought the metal shifted across the surface of his skin, but then that sensation disappeared.
“You aren’t going to abandon the dragons,” Sarah said.
He took a deep breath. He didn’t have an ice dragon pearl anymore. The one he had was broken, shattered when Therin had dropped it.
At least Therin didn’t have it, either. He didn’t have any of the dragon pearls he’d claimed from Jason. Which meant Jason didn’t have them, either. For his part, he didn’t care. None of that mattered to him, not anymore.
“I’m not going to abandon them. I do need to visit home, but I will return.”
She turned to him, taking his hands. “Do you promise?”
He looked into her eyes. There was warmth, and there was something else. He felt a twinge, and a different kind of warmth flashed through him, one he never felt in his village.
Family first…
“If I return, will you put me in a cell again?”
“You understand why I had to.”
“I don’t understand. I’m not sure that I ever can, but I’m not returning for you.” He looked at Henry. “Or for you.” He didn’t know what had become of William, but William was a friend, regardless of how short a time they’d known each other. But he wouldn’t even do it for William.
And yet, he would for the dragons. They needed his help.
Jason looked up, staring up into the clouds. Somewhere up there was the ice dragon. He let out a heavy sigh, wondering whether he would even be able to contact the dragon.
Without the dragon pearl, it might not be possible for them to have that same connection, and he felt a bit of regret at that. He had enjoyed the fact that they shared that bond. It was something that reminded him of where he had grown up.
A cloud parted and a shadow streaked toward them. Jason smiled to himself as the ice dragon crashed down near him. He leaned his head forward and Jason climbed onto the ice dragon’s back.
“Just like that?” Henry asked.
“I’ll return. But my family needs me right now.”
“What about them?” Henry asked, looking around at the dragons.
“They need me, too. And I will be back.”
With that, the ice dragon took to the air.
Surprisingly, the iron dragon followed, jumping into the air, his body fluctuating with heat. He circled behind them and then disappeared.
“Stay safe,” Jason whispered.
He had no idea if the iron dragon could even hear, but that probably didn’t matter.
The ice dragon flew, heading north. As they traveled, the air became colder. The wind whipped around him. Eventually, snow started to swirl, making it difficult for him to see, even with his dragon sight.
He was warm, almost hot, and he realized he was still dressed in the dragonskin. And he couldn’t even change back into the bearskin. David had his clothing, which meant that he was going to be stuck wearing the dragonskin.
“You don’t care for it?”
“It’s not so much that I don’t care for it, it’s more that I know how others will react to it.”
“Others in your village wear it.”
“They do.”
Knowing what he did about the Dragon Souls, he now had to wonder where others in the village had acquired their dragonskin. As far as he knew, it had been handed down over the years, and yet, why would that be?
It was a question for another time.
He watched over the dragon’s neck, hugging it tightly as they circled ever closer to the icy northern cold. In the distance, the mountain peak pierced the sky, and he stared at it.
“Why don’t we return near the cave?”
“If you choose,” he said.
They swept down and the dragon glided to a stop, landing within the stream.
Jason leapt off the dragon’s back and looked over at the ice dragon. “You need a name.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“So does the iron dragon.”
“If it’s important to you.”
“I think you should have a name for yourself, not because it’s important to me.”
“Would it be easier for you to call me?”
Jason grunted. “Without a dragon pearl, I don’t know that I’ll be able to call you.” That wasn’t entirely true. Somehow, when he had wanted the dragon to help him return home, the ice dragon had known and had come down for him.
Maybe they were connected.
“The pearl was nothing more than a medium,” the ice dragon said.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The pearl allows those who don’t have a natural ability to draw upon it. It would make our bond stronger for you, but even without it, you don’t need it.”
Jason shook his head. “I don’t have enough connection to draw power without it.”
“And yet you have.”
The dragon glided off, sliding through the stream before disappearing into the cave.
From there, Jason had no idea where the dragon would go. And perhaps it didn’t matter.