nothing in Gizel’s voice to give anything away, which was unsettling. The young reptile, however, seemed not to notice this, still engrossed in his story.
‘Yes, Noah knows a thing or two about plants,’ Draco replied enthusiastically. ‘First he just bandaged my hand, and then he found something for a compress… Some sort of lilies.’
‘Trisna lilies?’ The elf looked the dragon in the eyes.
‘Oh, exactly!’ the boy exclaimed happily. ‘They had really beautiful flowers.’
‘Oh, certainly.’ A steely edge crept into the woman’s tone, and even Darius flinched with concern. ‘That’s exactly what they’re known for; they’re as beautiful as they are poisonous.’ Gizel squeezed Draco’s hand tighter. ‘Even for dragons,’ she added, emphasising the point strongly.
‘Noah mentioned something about it.’ The youngster unwittingly walked straight into the trap. ‘But he used a young plant and did something to it. I suppose it’s some sort of magic, or plant control…’
‘Is he perhaps a parthir?’, Bleist diverted their attention to himself, hoping to pre-empt the elf’s outburst. He could see perfectly well that Gizel wanted to tell the boy off for disregarding such serious threats. The mage, however, believed that in his pupil’s case, such behaviour might prove counterproductive.
‘Yes. Oh, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen plants move of their own accord. It was truly amazing.’
‘Your friend certainly knows a thing or two about plants, but you ought to be more careful. If something like that happened to you somewhere where you couldn’t count on anyone’s help, it could end very badly.’ Darius began to explain this calmly and without unnecessary emotion. ‘In future, you must pay closer attention to your condition and any injuries. You mustn’t take them lightly. I really don’t want anything to happen to you because of simple carelessness or negligence. Promise me you’ll look after yourself better, all right? Otherwise, I’ll be worrying about you even more than I do now.’
The dragon froze for a few heartbeats, and then a shadow of understanding flashed across his gaze. It was hard to tell whether the reptile had grasped what
