‘First time?’
Draco lifted his head and opened eyes, though he immediately regretted it. Whilst the nausea and other, more unpleasant symptoms had finally subsided, his photophobia was still very much present.
‘It seems so,’ Cedric answered himself. The dragon heard the commander sit down beside him. ‘When did your abilities first appear?’
‘In May…’ The dragon didn’t want to risk the stomach cramps returning, so he stuck to short answers.
‘You’re doing quite well.’ In his current state, Draco couldn’t read anything from Retfield’s tone. ‘That doesn’t change the fact that you did something idiotic.’ The commander’s voice caused an echo to reverberate inside the dragon’s skull time and again, making him feel slightly dizzy. ‘You’ve exhausted the source… and in a very short space of time. What on earth were you thinking?' It seemed as though Cedric was on the verge of raising his voice, but he was still in control of himself. 'Exhaustion can kill you, you idiot. Be glad the medallion didn’t activate, or you’d have eliminated yourself.' He paused for a moment. ‘Ugh… let this be the first and last time, do you understand?’ Draco nodded, taking it to heart. ‘Since you might not have known this yet, I won’t say any more, but next time you won’t get away with it.’
‘Thanks. . .’ The dragon opened his eyes, trying for a moment to keep his gaze fixed on Cedric.
‘Stay close to Noah and follow his orders.’ Retfield stood up and shook his head sadly. ‘And no casting spells. Physically, you should recover in a few minutes, but your source will need time. More than usual, in fact.’ The boy turned and walked away.
Draco groaned softly, longing for complete silence in which the echo reverberating inside his skull would fall still and give him a moment’s respite. The commotion around him, however, seemed to be intensifying rather than dying down, so rest was out of the question. His only consolation was the assurance Cedric had offered as he left.
‘You’ve really made a mess of things.’ Zane nearly crashed into the wall,
