‘I never said you were hopeless,’ he said. ‘You’ll command shadows. It will take time, a lot of mine mostly, but you’ll get there.’
His certainty made me want to believe him. I laughed. ‘Seems like a lot of effort to keep your mother happy.’
‘I came because of her,’ he admitted, ‘but I’m staying because I want to train you.’
Before I could respond, he stepped back and extended his hand. ‘Now take my hand and use your power to trace the darkness coiling around my fingers.’
I tilted my head, amused. ‘Your lucky day, mate. You get to choose between fire or witchcraft.’
Suspicion flickered in his eyes, gone in a heartbeat. ‘Which one would you use in a duel with me?’
The reference to the time I nearly attacked him made me smirk. ‘Against a combat professor? Neither. Unless you’re terrible at your job.’
His bright eyes gleamed with humour, then suddenly hardened. His attention darted past me, his body snapping to alert.
A deep rumble rolled through the ground beneath our feet.
Isaac stepped in front of me, shadows coiling thick around his arm. Peering from behind his shoulder, I saw what had captured his attention.
The shadow dragon.
The ground trembled as the creature landed ten feet away, releasing a roar that rattled the stones. Black velvet smoke poured from its mouth, scales shimmering in the dim light. The sight stole my breath; he was magnificent, like the isles themselves had birthed him.
‘Stay back!’ Isaac warned, his stance defensive.
‘I mean no harm,’ a deep voice resonated in my mind. ‘It has been so long since I could talk to anyone.’
I blinked. ‘You can speak to me? But the Isles…’
‘Your mind is open,’ he explained simply. ‘Tell your guard to stand down. He’s testing my patience.’
I turned to Isaac. ‘Stand down.’
Shadows kept me pinned behind him as he shot me a bewildered glare. I couldn’t move an inch.
‘He won’t hurt us,’ I insisted. ‘He just wants company.’
‘Our company? He’s feral. One wrong move, and he will torch you like he always does.’
‘My company,’ I corrected quietly. ‘Please. Trust me. He promised he won’t attack us, and dragons are too honourable to lie.’
‘It hasn’t said a word,’ he muttered.
I sighed. ‘Dragons don’t speak, Isaac. Not aloud. They communicate telepathically.’
The professor’s composure cracked. Disbelief giving way to reluctant astonishment made his breath hitch. ‘What does he want from you?’
The dragon’s tone rippled through my mind, irritated. ‘He’s a prime example of why I lose my patience and eat people.’
‘And you think that’s all right?’ I countered.
‘Not entirely. Your bones are dreadful for digestion.’
I rested a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, trying to calm him. ‘Dragons are herd creatures. They don’t do well alone. He just wants to talk.’
Isaac’s gaze never left the beast, every muscle taut and ready. ‘How do you know that?’
‘I told you, I’m bonded to a dragon. It’s why he can speak to me.’
