Page 195 of The Forbidden Dragon King
What will it be like to hear someone inside my mind?
Nothing.
I keep my chin up.
Second dragon.
Nothing.
I wipe my tangled hair out of my eyes, wracked with tremors from the cold. Then I cast a hurried glance at Aquila, who is still standing at stiff attention in front of Ignatius.
Aquila is managing to look both bored and furious at his choice of matching.
If he hurts Ignatius, and I know deep down that he already is planning to, I will put Omega solidarity aside to kick Aquila’s ass.
Fourth dragon…fifth…
Nothing but the sound of the rain pelting against the floor, my feet dragging through puddles, and my blood roaring in my ears.
Silence inside my own head, apart from my own whirlwind of thoughts.
We’ll be thrown to the Shadow Gods…devoured…and I won’t even be able to spend all my lovely coins in that silk purse Aurelius gave me.
Daire drags me to stand in front of the sixth and final dragon, the largest of them all. He stares him defiantly in the eyes, as if daring him to not talk telepathically.
The dragon swings his tail, staring back lazily.
Nothing.
“Think louder,” I say, desperately.
The dragon turns away his head.
“It was worth a try.” Daire is glancing around the enclosed training ground, as if there’s any way out of here.
There’s no escape.
To my shock, Ignatius makes a sharp move out of his position. He lowers his head, and suddenly, I don’t need to read his mind to realize that he intends to either attack the instructors or else, allow us to fly out of here with him.
It would be treason.
It would mean a death sentence for him, and even if we weren’t caught, a life on the run for all of us.
Surely, we can think of a better plan.
“No,” I yell, startling everyone.
Unexpectedly, a shadow swallows the sun.
I tip back my head, shielding my eyes. A giant Golden Dragon is circling the training ground.
“Aurelius,” Daire breathes like he can’t hold the one, reverent word behind his teeth.
My breath catches.
Aurelius’ wings glitter with molten gold scales. He is the dying sun, and his light on my face is the warmth that I have been missing for weeks.
Aurelius’ piercing eyes fix on me and then he dives.
