Only, I had not learned to use power from those instructors. Thomas had demonstrated a different technique for me to grasp at that magic, and because of that, I needed to listen to him.
I focused on my breathing, quickly moving on to focusing on the heat within me, and then trying to relax while also pressing my fingertips together. The power shimmered, bouncing through me. Distantly, I was aware of the energy within the dragon, and that energy seemed to surge. It was as if the dragon were pushing more at me.
That couldn’t be the case, could it? The dragon couldn’t be trying to cause more discomfort for me.
“You need to let the power flow. Stop trying to fight it.”
“It’s almost too much,” I said.
Thomas stepped over to me. Energy radiated off of him, mixed with heat. “Let it flow,” he said.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my breathing, trying to focus on everything else within me. As I did, I felt that power as it filled me. There was a hint of energy, and then it rolled outward.
It happened slowly.
And I recognized I could relax—I could use that relaxation to let the power flow through me. It surged, building with more intensity than had been there before, but at least it continued to flow. It was stable in a way that it hadn’t been before.
“Good,” Thomas said. “Now that you have taken control over it again, I want you to simply let it roll through you.”
I struggled. I tried not to fight it, and I tried to let the power roll through me, but even as I did, I recognized there was some part of me that rebelled against it. It was as if that part of me recognized that the power that filled me exceeded my capacity to contain it.
“Relax,” Thomas said. “It comes easier if you relax.”
“What should I be feeling?”
“Most who are new to their power recognize the trickle of energy that flows through them, working between their hands. Unfortunately, it can quickly destabilize if you aren’t able to relax it. And in your case, you tried to use concentration and a connection to power before you are ready for it.”
It didn’t feel as if it were a trickle of power in any way. This felt like a torrent of power that flooded through my arms, jumping from one hand to the next, circling through me, as if it were trying to add to the energy within me.
It continued to build.
There was something about it that left me unsettled. I could barely hold on to it.
I tried to keep my hands pressed together, trying to maintain the connection Thomas said I needed in order for me to hold on to that power, but even as I did, the power rolling through me was more than what I could maintain. It rumbled, and my hands exploded apart—the force of it tossing me back.
I laid there for a moment, trying to gather myself, trying to understand just what had happened. As that power filled me, it had thrown me away from the pens. It reminded me of what had happened in the forest.
Maybe the dragon decided I didn’t deserve to hold on to that much power.
When I got to my feet, I found Thomas watching me.
“You have potential, but your technique is sloppy. I suppose it’s to be expected, given how little time you have worked with it. Unfortunately, if you don’t gain control over it, you might find you lose it altogether.”
“I’m trying,” I said.
I started to press my fingers together when Thomas grabbed my wrist. He shook his head.
“I think you need to take a break. Focus on recognizing the power of the dragons first, and once you do that again, then you can once more try to connect to them. Until then, I would hesitate to do anything more than what you have already done.”
He turned, and heat built from him. I detected the connection he shared with the brown dragon. It might be my imagination, but it seemed as if he connected to more than one dragon, though the connection with the brown dragon was the most potent. It was almost as if he were touching upon the power of each dragon within the pen. Even the green dragon.
I licked my lips. My mouth was dry and tasted of blood. I glanced behind me where I’d landed, and shook my head, trying to clear it. None of that took away the sense of victory that filled me.
I had done it.
The next step would be harder. I would have to learn some control over it, especially if I were to become a dragon mage the way I intended, but regardless of anything else, I had reached for the power of the dragon, connected to it, and had managed to have it fill me. I had learned that there was some aspect of it that I could use.
“You will meet me here again in the morning. We will continue working until you have enough control that you can use it.”
“Is there a reason you’re working with me rather than the Academy?”
Thomas glanced behind us toward the Academy. “The Academy can do many things, but there are some who never learn what is necessary from their teachings.”
“Like you?”
I watched him, noticing the expression on his face as he continued looking toward the Academy. There was something about the look in his eyes that suggested he hadn’t had the best experience there.
“I am an instructor at the Academy,” he said.
“Were they able to teach you?”
He grunted. “You have a connection to the dragons, Ashan. You need to keep working with it. There are some things those within the Academy can teach you, but there are some things they cannot. Use what you know
