Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) by Ava Richardson

Author:Ava Richardson [Richardson, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-04-02T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14:

The Winter Ball

At the rear gate to the academy, I told Seb, “We have to see the king.”

He let out a breath, and I couldn’t blame him.

To be honest, I didn’t really know what to make of the story Jodreth had told us. How could it be real? Did that mean Lord Vincent was the Darkening—and he was the middle prince? Had he been alive for thousands of years? Was that even possible? It would certainly explain why he knew how to use the Memory Stone better than anyone—and how it was he had survived our last encounter. But…but how did you defeat someone who was magical? One way or another, the king needed to know his son had had the Memory Stone used on him, and that the stone was no longer under guard and safe.

I couldn’t help but think that if Commander Hegarty had used so much planning and secrecy to arrange for us to meet his brother, that meant he suspected spies of the Darkening were at the academy. Or was it all lies? But Jodreth had sounded sincere—and I could feel that Kalax had accepted him. That had to count for something.

My thoughts spun like clouds under a hard wind as we flew back through the dawn to land on the slopes behind the enclosure. The sky was already gray and some of the owls who’d been hunting were joined by the first blackbirds to be awake this morning. Dragon Mountain was waking up with bright, wintry light, the heather and gorse flowers turning the rocky hillside colorful as the day dawned.

But I was worried, and not just about Lord Vincent, or that ancient prince, or whoever he was and Jodreth.

The Dragon Stones change you.

Why should I—who’d had the fortune and misfortune to be healed—be changed forever by that stupid Healing Stone? Already, it seemed I had a much better connection with Kalax—nowhere near as good as Seb, but I shouldn’t have the dragon affinity at all. I’d never had it before. Was that what the stone had done to me? Would it do more? Maybe it would even turn me to the Darkening the way Lord Vincent had been turned. It could be a connection that left me bitter and angry, too. Maybe that was why they used to gather those touched by the stone together—because they were a danger.

I glanced at Seb as he rubbed between Kalax’s horns. She butted her nose into me, as if to tell me not to worry. But the story we’d heard had only made the whole situation seem a lot worse than I had already thought it was.

Heading into the academy and carrying our saddles and harnesses, I told Seb, “We not only have to find the other Dragon Stones, we have to defeat an ancient evil that wasn’t defeated before. Is that even possible?”

He nodded and let out a breath. “At least we know where the Healing Stone is.”

I shook my head. “It’s the Memory Stone we have to worry about.

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