the tower for no apparent reason.’
‘Maybe he wants to impress Sethi Gar’quette?’
‘He’s chosen the worst possible way to do it.’
‘You didn’t argue with Cedric when he was explaining the plan.’
‘I tried to talk him out of it earlier, in private.’ The boy wiped his forehead wearily. ‘He can be so stubborn…’
‘Perhaps the risk will pay off, though.’ The dragon scanned the shore once more, then turned his attention to the fortifications. ‘For such a small outpost with a large garrison, there’s not much going on there.’
‘That worries me too, but there’s a chance they’re sitting on pins and needles, waiting for us to make our move.’
‘There are plenty of chances. . .’
‘You don’t need to tell me.’ Parthir shook his head. ‘As soon as something starts happening, we’ll move forward. I can’t do anything in open terrain, but perhaps I can provide some cover for the rear.’
Draco looked at the other cadet, wondering just how energy-intensive nature spells were, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. On the one hand, Noah had no trouble at all coaxing smaller bushes to form a path for them or shield them from prying eyes. On the other hand, getting an oak tree to catch a flare was something parthir considered extremely difficult and not particularly safe. Suffice it to say, the lad had no intention of repeating such a feat in the near future. From the dragon’s perspective, the two uses of magic did not differ greatly from one another, and he would even have been prepared to bet that it should be more problematic to constantly create a passage through the thicket or to provide cover.
He was just about to ask about this when a rustling sound behind him caught his attention. The dragon turned and froze upon seeing Aiden with his sword raised. The boy was standing within arm’s reach and seemed just as surprised as Draco.
The dragon reacted instinctively. With one hand, he grabbed Noah by the arm and pulled him behind himself, whilst with the other
