The Betrayed Dragon
Cycle of Dragons Book 2
Dan Michaelson D.K. Holmberg
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Author’s Note
Series by Dan Michaelson
Similar Series by D.K. Holmberg
1
A dragon roared overhead. I looked up briefly.
It was massive. All black scales with thick leathery wings that caught the wind, spread on either side. Spikes protruded from its sides, and a long tail seemed to guide it like a rudder on a boat in a stream. Heat radiated from it, something I could feel even from this distance. It circled a moment before disappearing into the heavy clouds.
I turned my attention back to the Academy.
It was an enormous stone building situated at the edge of the capital city Carlath near the forest. A green lawn spread out before it, leading up to the massive dragon pens containing the dragons that the Academy trained people like myself, among others, to connect to magic. The building itself was rectangular, with a central portion that rose higher, so it looked as if it wanted to peer out over the rest of the capital, though it wasn’t so high that it could tower over the palace itself.
I had only been up into the higher levels in the Academy a few times, mostly because doing so was not for lower-level students like myself. Moss grew along the surface of the Academy, giving it a greenish contour, helping it blend in somewhat to the forest nearby.
Another dragon roared before launching itself into the sky.
I smiled, staring at them as I had often done since coming to the capital.
There had been a time when I had wanted to simply see a dragon.
Now I was surrounded by them, and eventually would learn to ride them.
As far as I knew, not everyone in the Academy would learn to connect to the dragons. Most could learn to detect them, and those who could—those like myself, something that I still struggled with—would end up being dragon riders.
A figure at the far end of the dragon pen held her hands out, flames streaking from finger to finger as they swept away from her. Her dark hair fluttered in the breeze, contrasting with the orange flames of the dragon magic.
That magic was what I wanted, if I dared to dream.
Since coming here, I’d thought about what it would be like if I could connect to the power of the dragons themselves—if I could use that power in a way that would allow me to perform fantastical, magical feats. A dragon mage.
There were not nearly as many dragon mages within the kingdom as there were dragon riders. The dragon riders had helped defend the kingdom from attack over the years, from the Vard and other enemies, but it was the dragon mages who truly posed the real barrier between the dangers of the Vard and those outside.
I shifted on the bench I sat on outside of the dragon pen, every bit the outsider I had been ever since coming here months before. I had learned to open myself up to the dragons. That had been one of the earliest and easiest lessons, though not one that I had fully mastered. If I couldn’t even do that . . .
Then I would train to ride the dragons.
The thought still made me smile.
The air was cool, the day early, and I waited for my next testing. Watching the dragons always brought me a measure of solitude and comfort, regardless of what others in the Academy would say to me.
“Are you ready, Ashan?”
I looked over to Jerith. He was one of the instructors I had trained with the most at the Academy. He had experience with students of all ages, and had been here for many years. He was dressed in the dark cloak of the Academy, its symbol—a dragon head surrounded by a flowery crest—marked on his chest.
“I didn’t think I had much choice,” I said, getting to my feet.
“Only if you want to continue your training to become a dragon mage.” He smiled at me tightly. “You have potential. Myself and others who are connected to that power believe you do. You just have to reach it.”
He clasped his hands behind him; with his gray jacket and pants, he looked every bit the dragon mage I had always imagined. My gaze lingered on his crest. I was still learning rank, and knew that Jerith was incredibly gifted, but didn’t know where he fit in within the dragon mages of the kingdom.
“And what if I don’t?”
“There’s no shame in failing. There are many who are thought to have potential but never manifest it. Reaching for the connection to the dragons is difficult. It’s not something all can do. It’s not something all want to do.”
“I’ve been trying,” I said.
“I know you have. I have seen it. Others have as well. Now, you just need to find it.” He motioned for me to follow, and we walked through the grassy courtyard, past the dragon pen and toward the forest. “What you need is to feel your connection to the dragon. Succeed, and you will continue in your studies.”
It sounded so simple when he said it, but at the same time, I knew it was anything but simple. It was anything but easy with what he expected of me. I had to find a way to connect, and if I failed . . .
If I failed, then I would become a dragon rider.
That was what I reminded myself each time I thought about failure.
A dragon rider, something I once would only have dared to dream of becoming, was now what awaited me in the event of my failure.
Alison would laugh at the suggestion.
I had thought of my sister and my family often in my time within the Academy. After the attack, Alison had
