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Heath closed his eyes, the better to try again. After a moment of considering Reka’s magic, he attempted to shut off his awareness of it, trying instead to sense the type of magic he so often felt from his father, or Percival.
He thought he could feel it, faintly. It was like theirs, and yet unlike. For a moment he pressed into the sensation, but its very foreignness was unnerving. His mind suddenly shied away from it.
“Aha,” said Reka, sounding pleased. “Now we’re getting somewhere. For the briefest second I felt the raw power inside you stir. Why did you pull back from it?”
“I…I don’t know,” Heath said, lifting one shoulder uncomfortably. “It just felt…foreign.”
“It isn’t foreign,” said Reka patiently. “It’s unfamiliar perhaps, in that it isn’t quite like the magic either of a dragon or of any other human you know. But it is unquestionably part of you. It should not feel foreign.”
Heath said nothing, unsure how else to explain it.
“Try again,” Reka encouraged. “And this time, do not flee from it like a frightened rabbit.”
Heath turned his senses again to the power he’d identified, amazed at how quickly his mind raced back to it. Reka had talked about drawing it out and harnessing it, so he tried to encourage it to expand, to reach out from him. He thought he could feel it for a moment, stretching eagerly outward. He opened his eyes tentatively, searching Reka’s face for confirmation that he was doing it right.
His mind was suddenly flooded with consciousness that had nothing to do with what his eyes could see. Reka’s placid face still filled his vision, but it was meaningless, entirely unrepresentative of what was happening inside the dragon.
Reka was a flaming ball of raging conflict and divided loyalties. Heath could almost see his friend’s former certainty as to the superior wisdom of his kind—and by extension himself—battling against other considerations. Considerations Heath could only call emotion.
“Reka,” he said, astonishment making him lose his clumsy hold on his magic. He felt it retreat, but it was still present, still in his consciousness. “What’s wrong? What’s causing you so much turmoil?”
Reka stared at him. “What do you mean? I felt your magic at work. What did it show you?”
“I think…I think it showed me a glimpse inside your mind,” Heath said, with a touch of apology. “It was…intense.”
There was a long silence. “I do not like that,” Reka said, the words spoken without emotion. “Perhaps I grasp in part what you meant about the discomfort of using your farsight.”
“It’s a little different when the boot is on the other foot, isn’t it?” Heath said dryly.
“Do not be absurd.” Reka’s voice was once again lofty. “Dragons do not wear boots, or any other kind of covering. We have no need to hide ourselves in such a way.”
Heath didn’t respond, still examining his friend. It was clear that whatever he’d seen, Reka had no intention of explaining it. But although Heath’s magical vision hadn’t given him any specifics as to the cause of Reka’s struggle, he had an uneasy feeling that it related to the dragon’s coldness toward Merletta.
“That was good progress,” Reka said approvingly. “You are starting to get a feel for your magic. With practice, and patience, you will be able to encourage it to show you what you wish to see at will, not just in random spurts.” He tilted his head as he looked Heath over. “But you are still so tentative. Perhaps you should speak with your grandmother. She was once afraid of her power, was she not?”
“I’m not afraid of it,” Heath said quickly. “Honestly, I’m not. It just…doesn’t feel like it’s mine.” The dragon was frowning at him, and he sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Well, we’re making good progress on waking it, anyway,” said Reka. “No doubt it will feel more like yours once you’ve mastered its use.”
“Yes,” said Heath without conviction. “Probably.”’
“Would you like to return to your farsight training?” Reka asked. “I assume you are curious about Merletta’s activities. I have been surprised that you have not asked me to take you back to Vazula since our last visit there.”
Heath was silent for a moment. Reka was right—it had been weeks since he’d last seen Merletta, and he hadn’t mentioned the matter to the dragon.
“I do want to see her,” he said slowly. “But…well, you heard what that guard said. He claimed I put Merletta’s life—all of their lives—at risk just by going there. I’d never thought I was a danger to Merletta. The island always seemed so isolated, so far from her underwater world.” His voice turned rueful. “But it’s not entirely isolated anymore, is it? What if they’re right? What if friendship with me is a danger to Merletta’s life?”
He didn’t voice the rest of his thoughts. He was ashamed to put into words how thrown he’d been by the sudden addition of the guards to the island sanctuary. Vazula had always been about him and Merletta, and no one from either of their worlds had been able to claim any part of their interactions there. More than that—Merletta had given the impression that she was happiest with him, away from everyone else. It had felt like that was her true place, just as it felt like his. As if their other lives dragged them unwillingly away from where they really wanted to be.
Now…well, Merletta’s world seemed to have suddenly opened up before Heath’s eyes. He’d rejected her suggestions that she didn’t really have a place in the Center, insisting that she’d fought hard for her place and should claim it with pride. And he’d meant what he said. But at the same time, he was uncomfortably aware that while she had the right to a place in the underwater world, he belonged outside it.
A short time ago, it had seemed like he was the only man in Merletta’s world, because any others were well out of sight, and she never spoke of any enough to make him take notice. Now, she’d accidentally started some kind of confusing relationship with another trainee, and one of the guards was showing clear signs that he felt possessive over her. Even if Merletta was too oblivious to realize what Griffin’s over-reactions meant.
If Heath was honest with himself, he was rattled by the competition. Half-ashamed of these thoughts, he had no intention of sharing them with Rekavidur.
He was glad of the forbearance when Reka gave a predictably maddening response to what he had shared.
“It is perhaps for the best,” the dragon said, nodding wisely. “You will not endanger her by staying here, where you belong.”
