Shi’s hand rested on my forearm.
And I did not want to move or disturb that touch.
Chapter Seven
3946, New Translaw Calendar
Life always settles into rhythms, and most of life on Unkea was routine. We walked the walls, we flew the routes, we trained, we cleaned, we cooked, we slept. We got up and did it all over again. Fin thrived. He loved the schooling, turned out he was cleverer than his old dad. He loved the time he spent with the dragons. Fenwick was so different from Eustace that I sometimes struggled to believe it.
So I watched my son grow and felt I was growing with him.
Life wasn’t easy, though. The threat of seafarer attacks remained. We had issues with supply regularity. I had issues with trench foot, which I seemed completely incapable of resolving on a long-term basis. Most of the injuries around here happened in training. Just because we hadn’t had to fight off attackers didn’t mean that Flight Captain Shi was going to let us slacken on our training.
As part of that training, Shi asked Fenwick to train both Fin and I on dragon anatomy. As the request was made unexpectedly with all four of us in the same room, I saw the surprise on Fenwick’s face, and I suspect I looked much the same.
“Forgive me, sir,” I said, “but I already know dragon anatomy.”
“Flight Sergeant, you know dragon anatomy the way most Riders know dragon anatomy, in generalities. I want you to know in specifics. Just as a medic studies human anatomy, I want you to study dragon anatomy.”
“Why?” Fenwick asked. “What good will that knowledge do?”
“He healed Salvadora’s paw pad. And it is not only Riders who can get injured in clashes with the seafarers. We may be a tiny outpost to the continent, but I will not have us being a weakness to the continent.”
And so Fin and I started dragon anatomy lessons. Together. Fin was much cleverer than I was. Salvadora seemed to like the lessons too. If there was something we couldn’t understand, Fenwick would often take us to her nest and point out musculature or joints or… whatever else needed pointing out.
As she was stretching out one wing one day, she was in my mind.
I wish I had more feathers in my nest. Sometimes it gets cold.
I looked around the nest. There were fewer feathers than the last time I had been there.“Well, don’t pull yours out,”I told her quietly.“You don’t want to go bald.”
No, he wouldn’t like that.
Following up that comment wasn’t possible as Fenwick asked me a question. But as we left the nests, I noticed white fur. And passing Lord Aurexian’s nest, I noticed blue feathers. I shrugged it off. They must have been fighting again.
Ang Shi certainly didn’t let up on Fin. Once Fin achieved good and consistent control with his light magic, they moved on to his mental magic and communications with dragons.
“Do you remember any of the dragons you used to talk with in Pasaocea?” Ang Shi asked one day.
Fin frowned. “Dylanyue?”
When Fin didn’t go on, Shi looked at me.
“He’s Sky Commander Llwydadain’s purple,” I said.
“Do you know if they are still stationed in Pasaocea?”
It seemed like an odd question. “I have not heard of any Sky Commander transfers, sir, but Llwydadain acted as Dragonlord Tiernan’s adjutant, so he might go wherever the Dragonlord goes.”
Shi nodded and turned back to Fin. “See if you can reach out to Dylanyue.”
“What?” The screech was mine. Pasaocea was on the far side of the continent. “That’s three and a half thousand leagues away!”
Shi looked at me. “Your point?”
He knew what my point was. No one was known to be able to mind-speak over that distance, so to set that as the first task beyond Unkea seemed excessive. But one thing I had learned was that setting a limit on expectation was to raise a barrier to achievement. “No point, sir. I was just surprised.”
Shi looked back at Fin. “I ask this of you because you already know the dragon, this Dylanyue will be aware of your voice, your touch on his mind. He will not, he should not, react against you.”
