Page 96 of A Kingdom Restored

Heath ran a hand over his face, too tense and frantic to take any great interest in this fascinating insight into dragon lore. He took a moment to check in with Merletta, the massive amount of magic in the air from Reka and his father boosting his sight so that he had no trouble viewing her whole surroundings. Conflict raged around her, but she seemed to be enveloped by friends for the moment. Heath thought he recognized the merman with her—Andre. He didn’t even feel the tiniest pang of emotion when the dark-haired young trainee embraced Merletta.

It was funny how the threat of imminent death put foolish little things like jealousy into perspective.

“No offense, but why are we talking about what you expected to find instead of searching for what we might actually find?” Heath asked Elddreki.

The older dragon regarded him indulgently. “I hope it will guide our search,” he explained. “I would anticipate that the dragons who departed here would have left a more substantial record of their presence than just runes and markings.”

“Truly?” Rekavidur sounded intrigued. “You mean they might have intentionally left memories? I would not have thought it likely—I certainly never came across any that I recognized.”

“How do you leave memories?” Heath demanded.

Elddreki turned to face him, looking bewildered. “I thought you were in a hurry, Heath of the Dragonfriends. I am happy to oblige your request, but I confess it surprises me that you wish to select this moment for an explanation of the mechanics of memory imprinting, which is a complex and intricate process.”

“I don’t!” Heath said, exasperated. “I just meant…never mind.” He shook his head. “If therearememories left here, would they be reliable enough to convince the elders they were accurate?”

“Of course,” said Rekavidur simply. “You cannot tamper with a sealed memory. No dragon would doubt their authenticity. But do not get your hopes up,” he cautioned, clearly seeing Heath’s rising excitement. “I explored this island on many occasions. If memories were left for future discovery, I would expect to have found them.”

“Yes, that would be my expectation also,” said Elddreki, nodding. “Humans would not be able to sense it.” He turned to Heath. “Although, as I said, the ability of power-wielders to detect memories is untested. But to any dragon, it should shine like a beacon. The purpose of preserving history is for it to be freely known, after all.”

“Tell that to Merletta’s world,” said Heath grimly. At the words, his extra sight activated and his mind involuntarily dove back underwater. Merletta was speaking with an older merman now, her expression horrified.

“The skies.”

Reka’s sharp words brought Heath’s head snapping up. His eyes widened in dismay at the sight of dragons—dozens of dragons—streaking past some distance away. Horribly, they were right on target, heading unerringly for the location where they’d just left Merletta and the others.

“They’re here!” Heath gasped. “We’re out of time!”

One of the dragons turned its head, and even from the distance, Heath caught the glow of yellow as its orb-like eyes found the trio on the beach. No doubt there would be repercussions for Rekavidur and his father later, but none of the dragons diverted toward them now.

“The sealed memories!” Heath cried, turning in desperation to his companions. “Where would they be if they were anywhere?”

“As I said,” Elddreki’s voice was grave, but still unhurried, “the location of the runes Rekavidur observed would be as sensible a place to search as any.”

“Take us there, Reka,” Heath begged. “And please hurry.”

Rekavidur scooped Heath up, as he’d done so many times before. Elddreki followed, the three of them streaking toward a spot on the far side of the island. They covered the distance so quickly, Heath’s eyes were streaming and his face stung from the lash of the wind.

When Reka set him down, he stumbled forward, looking wildly around at a small clearing he’d never visited before.

“Here?” he said, looking up at Reka. “Is this the place? What’s special about it?”

Reka folded his wings against his sides. “Do you sense nothing different?”

“Reka, there’s no time for—”

“There is no time for you to delay the process Rekavidur is attempting to take you through,” interrupted Elddreki sternly. “He is a dragon. He does not act without purpose.”

Heath shut his mouth, chastised but still incredibly frustrated. His mind tried to pull him back underwater, to show him what was happening in Merletta’s vicinity, but he refused to let it. He knew that if he watched the dragons wreaking death and destruction on the merpeople, he’d never be able to focus on the task before him.

“My sire is correct,” Reka said. “There is an intention behind my question. If you cannot sense the signature of dragon magic here, there is no point in you continuing to search for anything the dragons may have left behind.”

Heath made no more attempt to argue, knowing it would only waste time. Instead, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He wanted to still his mind, but that was an impossible task. Instead, he pushed his fear and urgency to one side, minimizing rather than banishing them as he let his senses roam the area.

“I do feel it,” he said, his voice a little surprised as he opened his eyes. “There’s magic here other than yours and mine. It’s…deeper. Older.”

“Good,” said Reka calmly. “Where?”

Heath didn’t close his eyes this time, letting his sight join the inexplicable extra sense of power-wielders as he searched the area.

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