A voice behind me caught my attention.
“Couldn’t do anything with Onas, so he comes out here? Look at him.”
I spun, the power I had been holding on to disrupted, and watched as Brandel approached. He was with two others. He seemed to enjoy having people hanging on every word he said, and each time he came around me, it seemed as if he were with another person.
This time, he had two of the younger female students with him. Becca was dark-haired and lovely. She had been kind to me. From what I’d learned, she’d been at the Academy for the better part of four years. She was only two years younger than me, and had I not felt like such an outsider, I might have been interested in her. Cara was pale-haired, a little shorter, and had a sharp tongue that I had unfortunately encountered. I ignored her barbs, mostly because I recognized the nature of her insults as being similar to ones that my sister had used. They were both close in age.
“What have you been doing out here?” Brandel asked.
I remained near the dragon pen. I could still feel the connection to the dragons, though it wasn’t as potent as it had been before. I wondered if I might be able to harness that energy while talking to Brandel. At least if I could do that, I wouldn’t be at quite the same disadvantage with him as I would be otherwise.
“Practicing,” I said.
They approached, watching me, and I could feel energy building from Brandel. I knew that as he continued to build on that power, holding on to the energy within him, he would start to use it on me. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d targeted me with his connection to the dragons, but it would be the first time I’d manage to grasp some of the power myself.
“Didn’t you get enough of a taste of failure with Onas?” He glanced over to Becca who didn’t say anything.
Cara, on the other hand, just laughed. “You won’t be able to reach anything, anyway. If you could, you would have done so by now.”
“I can still learn to connect to the dragons,” I said.
Cara laughed again. “You’re barely going to be able to become a dragon rider. You’ll never become a dragon mage.”
Now that I knew I was too old for even that, the insult stung more than it should.
“I am studying with Thomas Elaron,” I said.
I looked at each of them. I expected it would irritate them, but was surprised to see Brandel laughing.
“Thomas Elaron? You’ve got to be kidding me. He hasn’t been seen around here in ages. My father tells me the king and his Sharath advisor are finally fed up with him.”
I shook my head. “He was here yesterday and worked with me.”
Brandel stormed toward me. As he did, I began to reach for the heat and the connection to the dragons. I had to hope that I could hold on to it, grasping that energy quickly enough for me to draw it through me, but I didn’t know if it would be effective. When I had held on to it so far, it had come to me, but there had been some limitation to it. I worried that even though I might be able to call that power, I might not be able to do it quickly enough for a defense against Brandel.
“What are you going on about?” Brandel asked.
“He offered to work with me.”
Brandel glowered at me. “Listen. If you think you can intimidate me by your experience working with Thomas . . .” He pressed his hand up against me.
“Don’t,” I said.
Brandel cocked his head to the side, grinning. “And what are you going to do about it?”
“I told you don’t.”
He laughed. “Look at him,” he said, glancing back at Becca and Cara. “First he lies and tells us that he’s been training with Thomas, and now he thinks that he has enough strength to withstand me?” He turned his attention back to me. I could feel the heat coming from the dragon that he connected to. I could even trace the dragon. He had a considerable connection, though surprisingly, I also recognized that it was different—and less powerful than—what I had detected from Thomas. Not that I was surprised that Brandel wouldn’t have the same power as Thomas, only that I would be aware of it at all.
I focused my breathing, steadying myself, and began to try to call upon the energy from the small green dragon nearby. If I could do that, then maybe I could deal with Thomas in a different way.
He chuckled again and shoved me back. I staggered back a step, catching myself before spinning to him.
“I warned you,” I said.
“Or you’ll do what? I’m not afraid of any boy from the Wilds.”
Power suddenly flooded through me.
It wasn’t what I called for. I didn’t have control over it. I could feel the small green dragon pushing it toward me, as if the dragon itself were aware of what was taking place and wanted to offer me assistance. As that power flooded into me, I had no choice but to open myself to it. My time spent practicing had shown me that I had to let that power cycle through me in order for me to have any sort of control.
I reacted and released it.
Instead of holding my hands together, which would have confined the power in a circle through me, the energy exploded when I pushed outward toward Brandel, slamming into him and throwing him back.
He grunted and landed on the ground near Becca and Cara.
I looked down at my hands. Had I done that?
I had certainly
