Page 192 of I Dream of Dragons
“Curious?” I whisper. “About what?”
“Us.”
The enormous dragon hovers high in the air, sparkling, hiding the sky. It’s like a living, half-solid cloud with wings, a reptilian head dipping down to watch us.
“You summoned a dara, Jai.” My voice sounds hushed even to myself. I find myself wringing my hands. My heart hasn’t stopped its pounding since the king ordered me to dance with him. “Is it true you called one down when you were younger?”
“When Phaethon first emerged.” He nods, a slight dip of his head. His hair falls in his eyes. “I haven’t been able to do it again.”
“Until today.”
I’m about to ask what changed, but I know.
The bond.
The increase in magic, for both of us.
“You tried to kill the king.” He’s watching me, ignoring the great dragon. “You almost killed yourself.”
“I failed.”
He lifts a hand to cup my cheek. “I should have known you were going to try something like that.”
“Something stupid like that, you mean.”
He sighs. Tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “I understand why you tried it. Though I’d have destroyed this world had you passed on.”
I catch his hand against my face. “I want the world to survive. And I want you to live.”
His smile is sad, and so are his eyes. Why this sorrow? My stomach twists.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper. “Are you in pain?”
He lets out a mirthless laugh. He steps back. “What did the king tell you as you danced?”
“He thinks… He thinks that I can summon dragons and open gates. But he’s wrong. Even if I could, I’d never help him.”
“It’s the prophecy,” Jai says. “He’s sure you’re part of it, and that it’s your fate to accomplish what he wants.”
I stare out at the sea. The dara circles away, then returns, its feathers glittering.
“If you succeeded in killing the king,” he says softly, “then, what? Once the king was out of the way, how would you have fixed the problem?”
“Someone else will ascend the throne. His uncle, or his aunt.”
“Think they are any better? That they don’t share his ambition?”
My heart drops to my feet. “What else do you know? Tell me.”
He sighs. “They aren’t your solution.”
“And what is?”
“Wrestling back the power from the fae.”
“How?”
He nods up. “The dragons. The Great Dara. I told you this before.”
